grimjack2's Full Review: Maxim Magazine Subscription
I might call this a somewhat more juvenile version of Playboy, but that isn't quite the most accurate description. This magazine seems clearly aimed at the kind of person who is really focused on sex, but not in the traditional skin magazine like Hustler or Penthouse. It is more in a sort of College fraternity sort of way. I think the target audience the editors are aiming for is any character who lived in the title fraternity house in the movie "Animal House". Another description could be that Maxim magazine is aimed solely at the sort of people who tape each episode of "The Man Show". If you don't know what that show is, imagine any half hour of Spanish language television, only in English.
It should be noted that the magazine has achieved an amazing level of success in a very short time. It came out in early 1997, and by the end of 1999 it had become the number one general interest men's magazine. They boast that on the newsstand, Maxim outsells GQ, Esquire, Rolling Stone, and Sports Illustrated magazines combined.
I wouldn't say that Maxim exactly exploits women, since there isn't any true nudity, but it is clearly written for men. Playboy doesn't seem to be written just for men, and the parts that are, are at least written with classy men in mind. Maxim makes it very clear that they would rather entertain college-aged boys, and probably those only with a high school diploma.
I have to compliment its editors for the fact that it has a specific sense of humor about itself and it is kept consistent throughout the magazine, regardless of the articles. It has funny things to say about serious subjects, as well as those it fabricates. It almost seems to revel in its own immaturity.
I also have to admit that it is a pretty interesting magazine to read. It seldom has any long in-depth articles like Playboy, so you can pick it up anywhere and not get too absorbed. Here are some titles, just to give you some examples of some of their articles. How to Fight a Duel, complete with history as well as the best ways to incite a challenge out of someone in the modern age. How to sneak into any sporting event. How to spot a 'fake' woman in a bar to avoid recreating an embarrassing scene from the "Crying Game". Another article is How to sound smart about money, which gives detailed terms to throw out about stocks, bonds and interest rates to impress the unenlightened.
Like many women's magazines, some articles are clearly only aimed at one sex. Both how to spot a nymphomaniac and how to score at a funeral are clearly only aimed at men, but how to screw with a telemarketer can be considered good advice for either men or women. One article lists the top five countries that have more women than men, and possible reasons why. It could be argued that this isn't a gender specific article, but reading it, it is clear that this is telling men where to travel if you want to improve your odds of finding a woman.
Some articles seem to come from the point of view that getting certain things from a woman is a challenge. I doubt women would find these articles entertaining. One article goes in-depth in how to put off commitment by extending your engagement with a woman. It even lists famous men who kept famous women from marrying them for years, and has a handy chart to determine how long you probably have. Another article lists ways to convince your girlfriend to perform 'less traditional' forms of sex, which I won't describe in detail here. But, on a humorous note, they actually include a phony list of sexual statistics for men to cut out and keep in their wallets to show to their girlfriends. It looks very professional, but is completely made up. It lists things like 63% of women enjoy watching porn, and 19% acting along with them.
On the flip side, an article on How to photograph your girlfriend isn't about how to convince them to do it, but is more helpful in a photographic sense talking about lighting, hiding flaws, and the better angles to shoot from.
Somewhere in between the two are articles that may sound like they are aimed for the man, but actually bring up helpful ideas on how to please a woman that couldn't be considered deceit or immoral. One article on how to score on a first date is actually one of the most in depth articles I've seen in the magazine. The title makes it sound like you will want to try and trick the woman into bed, but instead it deals more with the hang-ups associated with first dates, and how to become more comfortable. It has good examples, lists definite things not to do, and even has a side bar on 'morning after etiquette'.
Another article was a sort of tour of Montreal, from one sex club to another. It started by mentioning that the Native Americans named it 'the place of beaver', and gets more dirty from there. They describe the female local look as a "sexy repressed librarian style, with unkempt hair, nerd glasses, and a tight button-down shirt covering a sizzling body." And at the local college town, no coed looks a day older than Katie Homes. They discuss how the French accent when heard can make any women look sexier. As for the sex clubs themselves, Maxim states that it has Swedish talent at Mexico prices, only $6 for a lapdance. If it sounds like I am only listing the dirtiest parts of the article, I am, but that's what really stands out in the article.
They also sent writers to Washington D.C. to try and find out where hot young interns hang out, but they never did.
In the last year I've seen a large number of articles regarding mercenaries and soldiers. I guess this is just part of the "man's man" type of image they are going for. They also have run several stories on what they call 'probable wars', in great detail.
The photography is actually very good, and many women give the appearance of nudity, when they clearly aren't. Obviously the many famous women who have posed for the magazine aren't bothered by the photos. I also want to say that the pictures are less 'dirty' than "Cosmopolitan", which is a more respected magazine. The models in the ads are definitely older, and the magazine seems to prefer women with breasts. No one is going to accuse Maxim of the type of nudity that Playboy and Penthouse are vilified for. Around Christmas time, they did a huge layout of their models of the year. There were at least thirty different models, probably all of them who have done nudity in other magazines, and you never saw anyone bottomless, nor a single nipple.
I have to give their joke writers a lot of credit. For almost any picture they have in the magazine, no matter how serious the subject matter, they like to put in a funny caption. More than half of these are really funny, and I'm impressed by that percentage.
Their 'in-your-face' attitude is seen very quickly if you aren't the type of guy who just jumps ahead to the sexy pictures. The letters to the editor column prints very negative and critical letters directed towards the publishers. However, the editor's responses are nasty, abrupt, and most of all hysterical. They remind me of a comedian's clever retorts to a heckler. The told one writer from Mexico, "Thanks for Texas". Another guy wrote about seeing the magazine at the Salon he gets his hair cut. They almost ignored his question entirely and made fun of the fact that he gets his hair cut in a salon, and even said 'Hey, nice purse'.
I have noted however, that the editors seem especially proud of any letters they receive from women. I haven't quite decided what it means when they make such a big deal each time.
There is also a 'Joke of the Month' column which amazingly tends to be funny. This is probably because they offer $150 to whoever has the best joke of the month.
One of the more helpful monthly articles is "Ask Dr. Maxim". They actually ask some interesting medical questions, and are usually answered with informative humor. One article dealt plainly with what causes ulcers. Another was very informative and detailed about corrective laser eye surgery. One other was about hernias, and it actually taught me more than I known before. Their article on carpal tunnel syndrome actually demonstrated with pictures a test you can do to see if you suffer from it. Their brief description of Diabetes is actually one of the best capsules I've seen on what is a very complex disease. It summed it up very well.
"Sex * Sports * Beer * Gadgets * Clothes * Fitness" is their subheading. Surprisingly, of these items, I have really only really noticed Sex prominently. I have seen virtually nothing about Fitness, Clothes or Gadgets. And most of their Sports articles seem to focus on injuries, and violent encounters. One issue even featured greatest losers in sport history.
The magazine also reviews various things. But not really in any traditional way. They reviewed various leaf blowers by measuring how far they could blow away empty cans of beer, and sexual blow up dolls. They reviewed some major airlines and rated them based upon the quantity and quality of the booze, the size of the bathrooms, and how pretty the stewardesses were.
There are reviews on books, movies and television shows. These however are primarily useless as a true reference, since they are really brief, and written only for humor. One example is where they said that "Gone in 60 Seconds" failed to impress because it suffered from one major flaw, and that was Angelina Jolie, because everyone knows women can't drive.
One really good thing about the magazine which I wish other magazines would take note of is that all articles start and stop within a few pages. No article ever says continued on page xx and leads you to the end of the magazine. I am someone who reads a magazine from start to finish, and often find it annoying when I jump to the back of the magazine, jump around some more, and then have to find where I was in the beginning again to continue reading.
If I have any complaints, it does seem to have a huge abundance of advertisements. And many look like the photos in the magazines, which makes it hard to pass them by quickly.
I subscribed to this magazine a year ago when they were running a special online of 12 issues for $12. This was certainly a deal then, and it appears to be running again. Buying the issue on the newsstands will cost you $4, and this will initially seem like a great deal when you hold it. This is easily one of the thickest magazines you will find, but don't be fooled. Half of it is composed of advertisements!
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