The Truth About... : ...Magazines for Lads And Lasses
Just what is it about magazines? Subject based mags can be pretty sensible when they're not just messing around pinching each others ideas, but when it comes to gender orientated magazines, well they're just so different aren't they?
Aren't they? We set out to find The Truth About Magazines for Lads And Lasses.
| Womens Mags | Mens Mags |
|---|---|
| Semi-naked female model on front cover. | Semi-naked female model on front cover, pouting. |
| Pages full of articles featuring 101 Greatest Sex Tips! | Pages full of articles featuring 101 Greatest Sex Tips! |
| Articles on how to give your man the best sex ever | Articles on how to get your woman to give you the best sex ever |
| Boring article about some 'famous' female celebrity | Boring article about some 'famous' female celebrity, complete with pictures of said 'famous' female celebrity wearing 'sexy' lingerie and not much else. |
| News pages full of the latest celeb gossip. | News pages full of the latest celeb gossip about famous women who have taken their kit off. |
| Fashion pages complete with models wearing the latest 'must buy' clothes from the 'must buy' brands, at 'must avoid' prices. | Fashion pages complete with models wearing the latest 'must buy' clothes from the 'must buy' brands, at 'must avoid' prices. |
| Article on how to improve your life by getting that guy. | Article on how to improve your life by drinking more beer. |
| Features on how to find true love with the help of the stars or tarot cards. | Features on how to find true love with the help of beer. And belching. |
| Article on how to improve your life by getting that guy. | Article on how to improve your life by drinking more beer... And belching. |
| Tells readers how to tell if he's the man for you. | Tells readers how to tell if she's the woman for you, and if not, here are 101 lines to use when dumping her. |
| Feature about some little known mental condition, which is likely to scare half the world into thinking they have it. | Feature about some awful hairy growth on someone's stomach, or disgusting infection on someone else's foot. |
| Includes free, glossy Agent Provocateur lingerie pull-out special. | Includes free, glossy Agent Provocateur lingerie pull-out special. |
| Knitting patterns and recipes. | Reviews of guns and articles about football. |
Well that's radically different then, I'm sure you'll agree...
Background Information
What A Problem! had been written at a time when mens magazines were still quite often specialist magazines about "macho" subjects like guns and cards, but in the 1990s, the Lad Mags really took off.
But were they really any different to what womens magazines had done for years? Not really. Of course this pre-dates Nuts and Zoo, which changes the ball game even more...
This was the third and final Truth article and was published 5 August 2001.
Photo Credit
Magazines photograph by Jai'me, and released under a Creative Commons license.
