Remembering Helen Gurley Brown

News related: Helen Gurley Brown

As someone who was born in the '80s, it's hard for me to imagine a newsstand devoid of female empowerment and headlines about sex. My generation and I have Helen Gurley Brown to thank for that.

When Brown took the helm at Cosmopolitan in 1965, it was just another magazine about homemaking you know, “women’s stuff.” Her decision to turn it into a provocative read featuring detailed sex tips not only nudged the sexual revolution along, it redefined what "women’s stuff" was.

The Sex and the Single Girl author not only brought sex out of the bedroom and onto magazine covers, she also was a pioneer of the idea that women could, and should, have it all the family, the career, the designer wardrobe, the fabulous parties, the Fifth Avenue penthouse, the blistering sex life and that there should be a frank national dialogue about all of it. (Subtlety and political correctness were never her priorities honesty was.)

We're a long way from the '60s, but women still remember and repeat her quips, which were by turns grounded ("Being smart about money is sexy") and controversial ("Good girls go to heaven, bad girls go everywhere"). A favorite, quintessential piece of advice I’d be happy to pass on to my future daughter: "Don't use men to get what you want in life get it for yourself."

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