Representing the voices of the Latino culture nationwide, the editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan for Latinas magazine spoke and answered questions Tuesday with students of the Walter Cronkite School after presenting a special viewing of a new HBO documentary series.
Vivian Padilla, president of the National Association for Hispanic Journalists at Arizona State University, introduced Michelle Mulligan before the showing of the new series “Habla Women.” Members of NAHJ-ASU were also present for the event.
Mulligan is one of the featured stars of “Habla Women,” a new HBO documentary series that voices the personal stories and experiences of Latina women living in the U.S. It is also the sequel to the documentary series, “Habla,” which showcases the voices and stories of Latinos in the U.S.
Each Latina woman has a different story to share in “Habla Women,” touching on a range of topics from sex and teen pregnancy to cultural struggles they faced growing up. The documentary presents these stories from a variety of different angles and perspectives, which gives each story a unique feel.
Mulligan shares one of her personal stories in the documentary, in which she discusses the insecurities about sex that she felt growing up. She concluded that these problems most likely surfaced from the lack of communication she had with her mother about topics like sex.
“Sexuality is what makes us human,” Mulligan said. “It’s one of those details about a human being that really makes you relate to another person in a real way.”
Mulligan felt inspired to be a part of the anthology after her realization that there was a common sexualized stereotype of Latina women. Without any regard for the actual sexual desires of Latina women, it is hard for people to understand what Latina women really want, she said.
“There is no discussion of what’s healthy and what’s safe,” Mulligan said. Because of that lack of discussion, all women are unable to own or take control of their own sexuality, she said, similar to the way she felt in her personal story.
After the viewing, students were given an opportunity to ask Mulligan questions about her career in a Q&A format session hosted by Padilla. Mulligan began the session by talking about how her career began.
After she received her degree in journalism from the University of Missouri, Mulligan moved to New York to pursue a magazine internship with Travel & Leisure magazine. Later, she was offered a job with Cosmopolitan for Latinas.
Mentorship was a key thing that got her through her work as an intern, Mulligan told students. She often received advice from Hispanic journalists and would ask them to edit her work for the magazine, she said.
“You can’t be nervous about approaching a mentor,” Mulligan said. “There’s a way you can get easily pushed inside that world because you don’t have the family members that have been working there for generations or you didn’t grow up wearing all the perfect clothes.”
That’s why it’s important to establish a connection with other Hispanic journalists if you’re working for a magazine, Mulligan told students. Mentors will help you if you put in the extra time and effort, she said, which include staying late hours and working weekends.
Mulligan also said that at one point in her career, she felt as though she didn’t belong. Although it is a normal feeling, she advised students to not overlook future opportunities because of it. Nobody will know that you feel out of place but you, and you can overcome that, she said.
Mulligan’s hope for Cosmopolitan for Latinas is to get rid of the “stone silence” that surrounds women with topics like sex, and thus eliminate the unhealthy sexual habits that exist in American culture and others.
Mulligan said when she’s in editorial meetings pitching a story, she draws much of her inspiration from the elements of culture and identity that anyone can identify with in everyday life. She said she believes that the intimate conversational style of Cosmopolitan allows for a sense of “real talk” in articles, which is what readers love about the magazine.
Journalism sophomore Lynnie Nguyen said she enjoyed Mulligan’s free-spirited nature when discussing sex.
“We talked about sex so confidently and it was empowering for a woman to stand up there and be like, this is me,” Nguyen said. “Today’s society suppresses women and our opinions and how we feel and we’re not allowed to talk about sex like men are.”
Journalism sophomore and NAHJ-ASU member Daisy Prado said she enjoyed the content featured in the documentary the most.
“There were so many things I felt could relate to in the video and it empowered me more as a person,” Prado said. “It made me think, I can do it! I feel like anybody, no matter what ethnicity or how much money you come from, you can do it.”
At the end of the discussion, Padilla invited members of the audience to ask Mulligan their own questions, including how to jump start careers as prospective magazine interns.
Mulligan said she looks for interns who have vast skill sets in journalism, social media and writing, but also those who can point out their individual experiences that have benefited them in their college careers.
“If I see that somebody can do all those things, that’s really great, because we do all those things,” Mulligan said.
Almost all editors look for interns who want to make the company better as a whole, and not just those that come in for a paycheck, she said.
“(New York is) a very competitive city, and this is what makes you the intern that gets the job versus the one who is there for a couple of months,” Mulligan said.
Contact the reporter at caperalt@asu.edu
