Pornographic magazine

Pornographic magazines, or erotic magazines, sometimes known as adult, sex or top-shelf magazines,[1] are magazines that contain content of an explicitly sexual nature. Publications of this kind may contain images of attractive naked subjects, as is the case in softcore pornography,[1] and, in the usual case of hardcore pornography, depictions of masturbation, oral, vaginal or anal sex.[1]

Pornographic magazines on display in a Japanese shop, 2009

They primarily serve to stimulate sexual arousal, and are often used as an aid to masturbation.[1] Some magazines are general in their content, while others may be more specific and focus on a particular pornographic niche, part of the anatomy, or model characteristics.[1] Examples include Asian Babes which focuses on Asian women, or Leg Show which concentrates on women's legs. Well-known adult magazines include Playboy, Penthouse, Playgirl and Hustler. Magazines may also carry articles on topics including cars, humor, science, computers, culture and politics. With the continued progression of print media to digital, retailers have also had to adapt. Software such as Apple's discontinued Newsstand enabled the downloading and displaying of digital versions of magazines, but it do not allow pornographic material. However, there are specific digital newsstands for pornographic magazines.

History

The first issue of Playboy, published in December 1953.

Pornographic magazines form a part of the history of erotic depictions. It is a form for the display and dissemination of these materials.[2]

In 1880, halftone printing was used to reproduce photographs inexpensively for the first time.[3] The invention of halftone printing took pornography and erotica in new directions at the beginning of the 20th century. The new printing processes allowed photographic images to be reproduced easily in black and white, whereas printers were previously limited to engravings, woodcuts and line cuts for illustrations.[4] This was the first format that allowed pornography to become a mass market phenomena, it now being more affordable and more easily acquired than any previous form.[2]

First appearing in France, the new magazines featured nude (often, burlesque actresses were hired as models) and semi-nude photographs on the cover and throughout; while these would now be termed softcore, they were quite shocking for the time. The publications soon either masqueraded as "art magazines" or publications celebrating the new cult of naturism, with titles such as Photo Bits, Body in Art, Figure Photography, Nude Living and Modern Art for Men.[2] The British magazine Health & Efficiency (now H&E naturist, often known simply as "H&E") was first published in 1900, and began to include articles about naturism in the late 1920s.[5] Gradually, this material came to dominate - particularly as other magazines were taken over and absorbed. At times in its post-WWII history, H&E has catered primarily to the soft-porn market.

Another early form of pornography were comic books known as Tijuana bibles that began appearing in the U.S. in the 1920s and lasted until the publishing of glossy colour men's magazines commenced. These were crude hand drawn scenes often using popular characters from cartoons and culture.[6]

In the 1940s, the word "pinup" was coined to describe pictures torn from men's magazines and calendars and "pinned up" on the wall by U.S. soldiers in World War II. While the 1940s images focused mostly on legs, by the 1950s, the emphasis shifted to breasts. Betty Grable and Marilyn Monroe were two of the most popular pinup models. Marilyn Monroe continued to be a popular model for the men's magazines in the 1950s.

The 1950s saw the rise of the first mass-market softcore pornographic magazines: Modern Man in 1952 and Playboy in 1953.[7] Hugh Hefner's Playboy started a new style of the men's glossy magazine (or girlie magazine).[8] Hefner coined the term centrefold,[9] and in the first edition of his Playboy used a photograph of a nude Marilyn Monroe,[10] despite her objections. Another term that became popular with Playboy readers was the "Playboy Playmate". These new-style magazines featured nude or semi-nude women, sometimes simulating masturbation, although their genitals or pubic hair were not actually displayed.

In 1963, Lui started in France to compete against Playboy, while Bob Guccione did the same in the United Kingdom in 1965 with Penthouse.[11] Penthouse's style was different to other magazines; with women looking indirectly at the camera, as if they were going about their private idylls. This change of emphasis influenced erotic depictions of women. Penthouse was also the first magazine to publish pictures that included pubic hair and full frontal nudity, both of which were considered beyond the bounds of the erotic and in the realm of pornography at the time. In 1965, Mayfair was launched in the UK in competition to Playboy and Penthouse. In September 1969 Penthouse was launched in the U.S., bringing new competition to Playboy.[11] In order to retain its market share Playboy followed Penthouse in the display of pubic hair, risking obscenity charges, and launching the "Pubic Wars".[11] As competition between the two magazines escalated, their photos became increasingly more explicit.[11] In the late 1960s, some magazines began to move into more explicit displays often focusing on the buttocks as standards of what could be legally depicted and what readers wanted to see.

By the 1970s magazines containing images of the pubic area became increasingly common. Paul Raymond launched in the UK Men Only in 1971, and then Club International in 1972.[12] Playboy was the first to clearly show visible pubic hair in January 1971. The first full frontal nude centerfold was Playboy's Miss January 1972. In 1974, Larry Flynt first published Hustler in the US, which contained more explicit material. Some researchers have detected increasingly violent images in magazines like Playboy and Penthouse over the course of the 1970s, with them then returning to their more upscale style by the end of the decade.[13] Paul Raymond Publications launched Escort in 1980 in the UK, Razzle in 1983 and Men's World in 1988.

Sales of pornographic magazines in the U.S. have declined significantly since 1979,[14] with a nearly 50% reduction in circulation between 1980 and 1989.[15] The fact that the U.S. incidence of rape has increased over the same period has cast doubt on any correlation between magazine sales and sex crimes.[16] Studies from the mid 1980s to the early 1990s nearly all confirmed that pornographic magazines contained significantly less violent imagery than pornographic films.[13]

In the 1990s, magazines such as Hustler began to feature more hardcore material such as sexual penetration, lesbianism and homosexuality, group sex, masturbation, and fetishes.[1][2][8] In the late 1990s and 2000s the pornographic magazines market declined, as they were challenged by new "Lad mags" such as FHM and Loaded, which featured softcore photos.[1] The availability of pornographic DVDs and above all internet pornography also led to a decline in magazine sales.[1][17] Many magazines developed their own websites which also show pornographic films.[1] Despite falling sales, the top-selling U.S. adult magazines still maintain high circulations compared to most mainstream magazines, and are amongst the top-selling magazines of any type.[15]

Paul Raymond Publications dominates the British adult magazine market today,[17] distributing eight of the ten top selling adult magazines in the UK.[17] There were about 100 adult magazine titles in the UK in 2001.[17]

Common features

Several magazines feature photos of "ordinary" women submitted by readers, for example the Readers Wives sections of several British magazines, and Beaver Hunt in the US.[1] Many magazines also feature supposed stories of their reader's sexual exploits, many of which are actually written by the magazines' writers.[1] Many magazines contain a high number of advertisements for Phone sex lines, which provide them with an important source of revenue.[1]

Gay magazines

These kind of pornographic magazines are made for gay and bisexual men focusing on homoerotic male content. The most notable and one of the first is Physique Pictorial, started in 1951 by Bob Mizer when his attempt to sell the services of male models; however, Athletic Model Guild photographs of them failed. It was published in black and white, and was published for nearly 50 years. The magazine was innovative in its use of props and costumes to depict the now standard pornographic gay classics like cowboys, gladiators and sailors.[2][18][19]

Production, distribution and retail

A successful magazine requires significant investment in production facilities and a distribution network.[7] They require large printing presses and numerous specialized employees, such as graphic designers and typesetters.[7] Today a new magazine start-up can cost as much as $20 million, and magazines are significantly more expensive to produce than pornographic films, and more expensive than internet pornography.[7]

Like all magazines, pornographic magazines are dependent on advertising revenue, which may force a magazine to tone down its content.[7]

Depending on the laws in each jurisdiction, pornographic magazines may be sold in convenience stores, newsagents and petrol stations.[1] They may need to be sold on the top shelf,[20] under the counter or in plastic wrappers. Some retail chains and many independent retail outlets do not stock pornographic magazines. They may also be sold in sex shops or by mail order.

List of pornographic magazines

Main article: List of pornographic magazines

See also

• Fetish magazine
• Glamour photography
• History of erotic depictions
• Pubic Wars

References

1. Peter Childs, Mike Storry (1999). Encyclopedia of contemporary British culture. Taylor & Francis. p. 537. ISBN 978-0-415-14726-2.
2. Marilyn Chambers, John Leslie (2005). Pornography: The Secret History of Civilization (DVD). Koch Vision. ISBN 1-4172-2885-7. Archived from the original on 2010-08-22.
3. Cross, J.M. (2001-02-04). "Nineteenth-Century Photography: A Timeline". the Victorian Web. Retrieved 2006-08-23.
4. St. John, Kristen; Linda Zimmerman (June 1997). "Guided Tour of Print Processes: Black and White Reproduction". Stanford library. Retrieved 2006-08-24.
5. "About H&E Naturist". Health and Efficiency Naturist. Archived from the original on 2006-09-27.
6. Adelman, Bob; Richard Merkin (September 1, 1997). Tijuana Bibles: Art and Wit in America's Forbidden Funnies, 1930s-1950s. New York: Simon & Schuster. p. 160. ISBN 978-0-684-83461-0.
7. Kimmel, p.105
8. Gabor, Mark (February 27, 1984). The Illustrated History of Girlie Magazines. New York: Random House Value Publishing. ISBN 978-0-517-54997-1.
9. "Hugh Hefner Profile". People in the News. CNN. Retrieved July 21, 2008.
10. "The Playboy FAQ: The First Issue". World of Playboy. Playboy. Archived from the original on June 7, 2011.
11. Gene N. Landrum (2004). Entrepreneurial Genius: The Power of Passion. Brendan Kelly Publishing. pp. 156, 157. ISBN 978-1-895997-23-1.
12. "UK | Porn baron Raymond dies aged 82". BBC News. 2008-03-03. Retrieved 2013-02-03.
13. Kimmel, p.98
14. Kimmel, p.116
15. Kimmel, p.123
16. Kimmel, p.122
17. "Observer - Top shelf gathers dust". London: Observer.guardian.co.uk. 2001-05-14. Archived from the original on 2009-02-22. Retrieved 2013-02-03.
18. Bianco, David. "Physique Magazines". PlanetOut.com. Retrieved 2006-10-10.
19. Hockney, David (1995-09-15). David Hockney - Google Books. ISBN 9780719044052. Retrieved 2013-02-03.
20. Iqani, Mehita (January 2015). "The top shelf and its failures: the semiotics of softcore porn magazines at the newsstand". Porn Studies. 2 (1): 35–48. doi:10.1080/23268743.2014.988037.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

Bibliography

• Hanson, Dian (2004). Dian Hanson's The History of Men's Magazines vol. 1 From 1900 to Post WW II. Taschen. ISBN 978-3822822296.
• Hanson, Dian (2004). Dian Hanson's The History of Men's Magazines vol. 2 From Post-War to 1959. Taschen. ISBN 978-3822826256.
• Hanson, Dian (2005). Dian Hanson's The History of Men's Magazines vol. 3 1960s at the newsstand. Taschen. ISBN 978-3822829769.
• Hanson, Dian (2005). Dian Hanson's The History of Men's Magazines vol. 4 1960s under the counter. Taschen. ISBN 978-3822836354.
• Hanson, Dian (2005). Dian Hanson's The History of Men's Magazines vol. 5 1970s at the newsstand. Taschen. ISBN 978-3822836361.
• Hanson, Dian (2005). Dian Hanson's The History of Men's Magazines vol. 6 1970s under the counter. Taschen. ISBN 978-3822836378.
• Kimmel, Michael S. (2005). The gender of desire: essays on male sexuality. SUNY Press. ISBN 978-0-7914-6337-6.
• Pendergast, Tom (2000). Creating the Modern Man: American Magazines and Consumer Culture, 1900-1950. University of Missouri Press. ISBN 9780826262240.