Sex and the Single Girl by Helen Gurley Brown
"Sex and the Single Girl" is a seminal book by Helen Gurley Brown, published in the 1960s, which offers guidance and advice for single women, particularly those in their late twenties to thirties. Rooted in her personal experiences, Brown emphasizes the importance of balancing work and love, arguing that women should take charge of their own lives and careers. The book covers a wide range of topics, including dating, managing finances, career success, self-care, and even the concept of recreational sex, encouraging women to embrace their independence and actively pursue fulfillment.
Brown’s work was influential during the sexual revolution of the 1960s and 1970s and contributed to changing norms regarding single women's sexuality and lifestyle. It also established a cultural archetype known as the "Cosmo girl," characterized as sexually confident yet socially conventional. The book's success led to Brown becoming the editor of Cosmopolitan magazine, where her perspectives further shaped the dialogue surrounding women's roles and sexual agency. Overall, "Sex and the Single Girl" played a critical role in empowering single women and redefining societal expectations during its time.
Sex and the Single Girl by Helen Gurley Brown
Published 1962
Author Helen Gurley Brown
A book that promoted sexuality among single women. The book, according to author Brown, is not a “study on how to get married but how to stay single in superlative style.”
Key Figures
Helen Gurley Brown (1922- ), author
The Work
Helen Gurley Brown wrote Sex and the Single Girl, her first book, at the encouragement of her husband, motion picture producer David Brown, to whom the book is dedicated. The thirteen chapters offer information and advice, based on Brown’s thirty-seven years of being single, for single women in their late twenties through their thirties. Brown says her book is for women who may remain single but who are “not necessarily planning to join a nunnery.” She contends, citing the father of psychoanalysis Sigmund Freud, that the two most important things in life are work and love. Based on that premise, she devotes chapters to validating the single life, finding men, attracting men, managing money, succeeding at a career, keeping in shape, dressing attractively, decorating an apartment tastefully, entertaining (right down to the recipes), and the most controversial having an affair. Her core message, summed up in the final words of the book, is for single women to “live life” and not to “miss any of it.” In the tradition of the American myth of the self-made man, Brown tells single women that they are in control of their own lives and careers, that they have to do it themselves. Sex and the Single Girl was the first of Brown’s four books, three of which made best-seller lists.
Impact
Sex and the Single Girl, an instant best-seller made into a hit film of the same name, encouraged single women to live the life of the Cosmo (Cosmopolitan magazine) girl, a type of young woman described in the January 29, 1996, issue of Time magazine as “sexually bold, if socially conventional.” The book encouraged single women to realize that, like men, they could engage in “recreational sex,” with both single and married partners. The success of the book and film launched Brown’s career. At age forty-three, she became editor of Cosmopolitan magazine, a position she held for thirty-one years, after which she became editor in chief of Cosmopolitan’s almost thirty international editions. Brown’s voice influenced the sexual revolution of the 1960’s and 1970’s and, ultimately, influenced the voice of other women’s magazines such as Glamour, Allure, Mademoiselle, and American Woman. As a result of Sex and the Single Girl, Brown’s views permeated the values of single career women for the next three decades.
Related Work
Sex and the New Single Girl (1970), Brown’s second book, also a best-seller, updates Brown’s advice to single women.
Additional Information
For Brown’s reflections on Sex and the Single Girl, see “Bad Girl,” an interview with Brown in Psychology Today, March/April, 1994. For an overview and analysis of Brown’s career, see “Was Helen Gurley Brown the Silliest Editor in America or the Smartest?” in Playboy, March, 1997.