Dating Dos and Don'ts by Mia

I subscribe to all kinds of magazines, and the ones I don't have I read at work (including Parents and Family Circle!)  Cosmo is probably the biggest waste of my money.  The bullshit this magazine spews is ridiculous.  Case in point, their article "The 50 Best Relationship Tops Ever."  I don't have a problem with all of them, just a select few:

#9: "Keep your options open for at least three months before deciding to be exclusive.  You need a minimum of 90 days to even begin to know what someone is really like."

--Cosmo, what is this?  Keep your options open for 90 days?  You find me someone who completely agrees with this and we'll chat.

#12: "Let him be the first to say the L word.  Men generally need more time to process emotions and voice them.  Hearing it can make him feel cornered."

--What decade to we live in?  As long as you don't say it on the first date, I believe women can say it first.  Don't be lame.

#14:  "Hang out with happy couples he knows and thinks are cool.  When he sees a commitment as a fun thing, he'll become more comfortable with it."

--He'll become more comfortable with it?  Yeah, let's trick the guy!!

#30: "Don't let him see you peeing, plucking your eyebrows, or doing an at-home bikini wax.  You can be real in ways that don't chip away at the romance."

--Maybe in the first few months, but if he never sees the real you then that's a problem.

Also, in their "Ask Him Anything" Advice Column, a reader wrote in asking about her boyfriend who spends major quality time with a female friend.  The boyfriend hangs out with her alone, and doesn't want the girlfriend to come along.  Cosmo's advice guru states that the boyfriend is probably just discussing some problems with her that he can't talk about with is girlfriend, and not to worry about it.  Hold up!!  If I'm in a relationship with someone, and we and/or just him are having problems, WE need to discuss it.  Not my boyfriend and his friends, male or female.  That's just common courtesy, and it makes the relationship stronger.  Running to someone else is a major red flag in my book.

I hate Cosmo.  They basically assume that all men are stupid, macho children.  Or basically from Long Island.  Please, DO NOT READ COSMO!!