Is Cosmopolitan pornographic?

Nicole Weider, a former fashion model, has criticised the US version of the popular magazine for heavily promoting sex to under-18s - see here for the Daily Mail article which talks about her criticism of this month's issue of Cosmopolitan featuring 17-year-old actress Dakota Fanning on the cover surrounded by bright headlines such as 'His Best Sex Ever' and 'Too Naughty To Say Here'.

As a teenager, I gained most of my sex knowledge from Cosmo. Sex education at my school consisted of attempting to put a condom on a banana (not much help when it comes to the real thing) and watching a video of a woman giving birth. Both of these had the - no doubt desired - effect of putting me off sex for a few years.

Chatting with your friends at school about sex always left you wondering why the boys only seemed to grope your friends in the back row of the cinema (they didn't. Your friends were lying) and feeling horribly inadequate as a result.

Cosmo provided a more realistic guide to sex for girls in their teens. The Cosmosutra positions initially looked more daunting than having to do the 1500 metres with your ankles tied together, but once you realised most are just variations of the basics, you felt intrigued and excited to try them out.

Whilst encouraging girls to enjoy sex (always responsibly), Cosmo also pushes women to make the most out of life in general. Get the job you want, have fantastic and rewarding friendships, earn enough money to be able to afford new Christian Louboutins every month, meet a fantastic man and get married - whatever it is you want out of life, Cosmo will urge you to go out and get it.

Even now, as a young woman in a job I'm reasonably happy with and a great group of friends, I still find Cosmo inspiring. I still lust over the clothes and shoes I can't always afford and the Cosmo Centrefold (Adam Levine in February 2011 issue is my personal fave!) and the sex tips will always come in useful. When I was 16, I thought ice cubes were just for adding to drinks. Now, thanks to Cosmo, I know at least another 14 uses for them...