Ten Years that Shook the (Men's Magazine) World
By Dian Hanson
Page [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]
In 1953 Hugh Hefner, a vet himself, introduced The Girl Next Door as lust object, a vision of wholesome sexuality equally at home in the kitchen, bedroom and, though Playboy would never state it, the nursery. The US came late to the war and suffered great loss of life but no homeland destruction, so while Europe rebuilt in the 50s, America just grew: richer, fatter, cockier. The domestic renaissance spawned an American consumer society eager to indulge in all the luxuries its booming economy could produce. Cars got longer, houses got bigger, and television became a necessary accessory in American homes by 1960. The new wealth was creating a new culture, one crass and gaudy and geared to the masses. Dubbed "pop" (for popular), it was widely criticized, but its film, music and print artifacts were nonetheless coveted worldwide.
For men's magazines this meant the old purveyors, France and Germany, stumbled as the US surged ahead. American publishers had the means to make quality magazines in unlimited quantity, and the fascination with all things American created an eager international market. Around 1960 Hugh Hefner began exporting Playboy. It was an immediate success overseas and by mid-decade most of Europe had adopted the Playboy blueprint for its own men's magazines. From France came Lui, from Italy Playmen. England made King, Germany Eden. The only serious challenge to Playboy's dominance came when Penthouse appeared from newly hip London in 1965, taking the grittier stance of the Rolling Stones to Playboy's Beatles. From 1966 on Penthouse was copied as regularly as Playboy, resulting in English Mayfair and Men Only and Italian Excelsior, Men], 10 and numerous others. Italy was especially taken with the Penthouse model, since publisher Bob Guccione was a paisano himself, but even Germany's most venerable men's magazine, Er, eventually restyled in Penthouse hipster mode. Soon these "lifestyle" men's magazines, those that covered fashion, food, travel and entertainment as well as sex, were the only titles available on the European newsstands. Playboy's overseas influence was a stunning victory for Hefner, but it came at the expense of the more culturally distinctive magazines made in France, Germany and England prior to 1960. Their diversity of magazine styles would never be fully reclaimed; instead, as The Sexual Revolution swept the Continent, pornographic innovation would come from a new and wholly unexpected source.
Page [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]
Page [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]
In 1953 Hugh Hefner, a vet himself, introduced The Girl Next Door as lust object, a vision of wholesome sexuality equally at home in the kitchen, bedroom and, though Playboy would never state it, the nursery. The US came late to the war and suffered great loss of life but no homeland destruction, so while Europe rebuilt in the 50s, America just grew: richer, fatter, cockier. The domestic renaissance spawned an American consumer society eager to indulge in all the luxuries its booming economy could produce. Cars got longer, houses got bigger, and television became a necessary accessory in American homes by 1960. The new wealth was creating a new culture, one crass and gaudy and geared to the masses. Dubbed "pop" (for popular), it was widely criticized, but its film, music and print artifacts were nonetheless coveted worldwide.
For men's magazines this meant the old purveyors, France and Germany, stumbled as the US surged ahead. American publishers had the means to make quality magazines in unlimited quantity, and the fascination with all things American created an eager international market. Around 1960 Hugh Hefner began exporting Playboy. It was an immediate success overseas and by mid-decade most of Europe had adopted the Playboy blueprint for its own men's magazines. From France came Lui, from Italy Playmen. England made King, Germany Eden. The only serious challenge to Playboy's dominance came when Penthouse appeared from newly hip London in 1965, taking the grittier stance of the Rolling Stones to Playboy's Beatles. From 1966 on Penthouse was copied as regularly as Playboy, resulting in English Mayfair and Men Only and Italian Excelsior, Men], 10 and numerous others. Italy was especially taken with the Penthouse model, since publisher Bob Guccione was a paisano himself, but even Germany's most venerable men's magazine, Er, eventually restyled in Penthouse hipster mode. Soon these "lifestyle" men's magazines, those that covered fashion, food, travel and entertainment as well as sex, were the only titles available on the European newsstands. Playboy's overseas influence was a stunning victory for Hefner, but it came at the expense of the more culturally distinctive magazines made in France, Germany and England prior to 1960. Their diversity of magazine styles would never be fully reclaimed; instead, as The Sexual Revolution swept the Continent, pornographic innovation would come from a new and wholly unexpected source.
Page [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]
History of Men's Magazines Vol. 3
Hardcover, 21.3 x 27.7 cm (8.4 x 10.9 in.), 460 pages
Special Price: $ 29.99
Save $ 30.00!
Special Price: $ 29.99
Save $ 30.00!
Swinging Sixties at the newsstand
High Time, USA, 1965