Filament Magazine
Encyclopedia
Filament is a quarterly magazine aimed at women, showcasing erotic photographs of men. Filament professes, through its tagline, to be "The thinking woman's crumpet
". Unlike other magazines for women that have featured solely muscular men, Filament features a wide variety of men. Alongside erotic photographs the magazine also includes discussion on topics not only related to sex but to other aspects of life. Since "Men's magazines regularly mixed aspirational and intelligent content with high-brow erotica (...)" Filament attempts to replicate this in a magazine for women.
The inspiration for the magazine according to their website is that:
The magazine is published in the United Kingdom and is available for purchase worldwide through their website and selected retailers.
and Softcore pornography, and etiquette tips alongside atheist parenting. This in turn relates to their goal of creating a magazine for women with intelligent discussion similar to men's magazines. It further chooses to distance itself from typical female magazines by not covering topics such as dieting, celebrity gossip, fashion and cosmetics.
. The magazine uses academic and primary research findings about the types of men and photography that more women prefer both to guide photographers and to assess erotic photography for publication.
were strongly positive, whereas those undertaken by British chat show The Wright Stuff
were mainly negative. Many blogs have been positive in their reception of the magazine citing it as "a highly-researched, beautifully bound publication chock full of both saucy males posing for the camera and intelligent articles" with "not just your emaciated pretty boys, they cover quite a range of the male form" and saying that "the articles, interviews, short fiction and poetry pages are top notch".
pictorial, after the printers of its first issue declined to print the second if it contained such images. Filament sought to sell 328 further copies of the first issue to finance changing printer, and succeeded . The campaign attracted widespread support, including high-profile figures such as Zoe Margolis and Warren Ellis
, and highlighted a double-standard in the print and distribution industry, where explicit female nudity is widely accepted but publishers like Filament experience "cockblocking".
Thinking man's crumpet
In British English, the term the thinking man's crumpet refers to a woman who is intelligent and good looking, particularly one who has a high profile in the broadcast media...
". Unlike other magazines for women that have featured solely muscular men, Filament features a wide variety of men. Alongside erotic photographs the magazine also includes discussion on topics not only related to sex but to other aspects of life. Since "Men's magazines regularly mixed aspirational and intelligent content with high-brow erotica (...)" Filament attempts to replicate this in a magazine for women.
The inspiration for the magazine according to their website is that:
Women are 10 times more likely than men to undergo cosmetic surgery and 43 times more likely than men to suffer an eating disorder. Is this because women are 'naturally' life-threateningly obsessed with their appearance, or is this in some way influenced by women's media? Many men's magazines don't discuss men's appearance, but nearly all women's magazines discuss women's appearance.
Filament breaks this trend by covering a wide range of topics that inspire and engage, and giving you gorgeous boys the way you like to see them.
The magazine is published in the United Kingdom and is available for purchase worldwide through their website and selected retailers.
Topics Covered
Filament is a magazine for women which alongside its erotic aspects (images of men and erotic fiction) offers coverage on topics related to sex and those that are unrelated to sex. For example the first issue contains an ethical discussion on HardcoreHardcore pornography
Hardcore pornography is a form of pornography that features explicit sexual acts. The term was coined in the second half of the 20th century to distinguish it from softcore pornography. It usually takes the form of photographs, often displayed in magazines or on the Internet, or films. It can also...
and Softcore pornography, and etiquette tips alongside atheist parenting. This in turn relates to their goal of creating a magazine for women with intelligent discussion similar to men's magazines. It further chooses to distance itself from typical female magazines by not covering topics such as dieting, celebrity gossip, fashion and cosmetics.
The Female Gaze
The magazine features both explicit and non-explicit photography of men. The magazine presents photography of men designed for women, as distinct from that designed for gay men, which has been traditionally simply been repackaged for women in magazines such as PlaygirlPlaygirl
Playgirl is a print quarterly adult magazine published in the United States that is marketed mainly to heterosexual women, but has also gained a considerable gay following...
. The magazine uses academic and primary research findings about the types of men and photography that more women prefer both to guide photographers and to assess erotic photography for publication.
Reaction
Reactions to Filament have been both positive and negative. Voxpops with women undertaken by New Zealand current affairs programme Close UpClose Up
Close Up is a half-hour long New Zealand current affairs programme produced by Television New Zealand. The programme airs at 7.00pm weeknights on TV ONE and is presented by Mark Sainsbury with Paul Henry as the back up supporting host.The show remains the country's most watched night news and...
were strongly positive, whereas those undertaken by British chat show The Wright Stuff
The Wright Stuff
The Wright Stuff is a British television chat show, hosted by Matthew Wright, and currently airing on Channel 5 each weekday morning from 9:15 to 11:10am....
were mainly negative. Many blogs have been positive in their reception of the magazine citing it as "a highly-researched, beautifully bound publication chock full of both saucy males posing for the camera and intelligent articles" with "not just your emaciated pretty boys, they cover quite a range of the male form" and saying that "the articles, interviews, short fiction and poetry pages are top notch".
Erection Campaign
In August 2009 Filament magazine began a campaign to become the first UK women's magazine to publish an erectionErection
Penile erection is a physiological phenomenon where the penis becomes enlarged and firm. Penile erection is the result of a complex interaction of psychological, neural, vascular and endocrine factors, and is usually, though not exclusively, associated with sexual arousal...
pictorial, after the printers of its first issue declined to print the second if it contained such images. Filament sought to sell 328 further copies of the first issue to finance changing printer, and succeeded . The campaign attracted widespread support, including high-profile figures such as Zoe Margolis and Warren Ellis
Warren Ellis
Warren Girard Ellis is an English author of comics, novels, and television, who is well-known for sociocultural commentary, both through his online presence and through his writing, which covers transhumanist themes...
, and highlighted a double-standard in the print and distribution industry, where explicit female nudity is widely accepted but publishers like Filament experience "cockblocking".