Joanna Coles

Growing up, 'Cosmo' was my lifeline to the world. A world that I wanted to be in but couldn't get to yet.

When I was growing up as a child, a magazine, to me, was like a finger beckoning me to the future.

When I was growing up, Sunday lunch was my favorite time as a child. We would have a big Sunday English meal, and we would argue about things.

Every time I've been offered a new job, I've automatically said, 'Oh, I don't think you want me for that job.' It's sort of a weird female - or, at least, it is in me - a weird female defense, when, in fact, what you want to do is scream, 'Hooray, I want to do this!'

Feminism means, basically, are you in favor of equal opportunities for men and women? It's hard to argue with that.

I have never had an unsupportive female boss. I've had several female bosses. They've all been super supportive.

I think that women's lives are multilayered.

One of the things 'Cosmo' feels really strongly about is we need more women candidates running, and we need more women across the parties in D.C.

There's nothing more mainstream than equal pay for equal work. I mean, it's completely obvious that's what feminism should be for, and for women's right to choose what happens to their own bodies.

I like to use exercise classes as a way of understanding what people are doing. I'm promiscuous in terms of exercise. You see what people are wearing. You see what people are responding to. You see what the music is they're listening to. An exercise class is social anthropology: what clothes people are wearing, what are the new sneakers.

As long as you're interested in people and things, that curiosity propels you forward.

I have no problem understanding that women are interested in mascara and the Middle East.