[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 120 (Monday, September 10, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1457]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    IN MEMORY OF HELEN GURLEY BROWN

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. LAURA RICHARDSON

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, September 10, 2012

  Ms. RICHARDSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay. tribute to the 
memory of Helen Gurley Brown, one of the world's most influential 
magazine editors and authors. As editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan 
magazine for over three decades, Ms. Gurley Brown promoted the idea of 
a modern career woman and left a permanent mark on American culture. 
She passed away at 90 years old.
  Even from an early age, Ms. Gurley Brown never let anyone set limits 
on what she should do with her life. She put herself through Woodbury 
Business College and jumped into a career in copyediting, all at a time 
when society demanded that women marry young and start families 
instead. She knew that women could have it all: successful careers, 
relationships, and the confidence to take charge of their own lives.
  In 1962, Ms. Gurley Brown authored her famous book, ``Sex and the 
Single Girl.'' Three years later, she became editor of Cosmopolitan, 
transforming it into the bold and trendy magazine we know it as today. 
Her frank advice on sex and careers revolutionized the entire media 
industry and sparked a nation-wide conversation on what it meant to be 
a feminist and modern woman. Although her publications were considered 
shocking and risque when first published, she ushered in a new wave of 
ideas and made women's empowerment a mainstream concept.
  Ms. Gurley Brown changed the way an entire generation of women 
defined themselves and their future aspirations. Her outspoken and 
pioneering nature will be greatly missed, but her lifetime's work has 
already liberated a whole generation from outdated ideas of women's 
place in society. Her legacy will live on through the countless women 
Ms. Gurley Brown has inspired.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in expressing deep 
condolences to Ms. Gurley Brown's friends and family.

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