Overview

New Lad culture boomed in the 1990s with the publication of mens magazines such as loaded, FHM and Maxim. What were the commercial roots of this boom and what did it say about contemporary masculinity and the dynamics of cultural production? Applying a cultural-economic approach and drawing on interviews with key figures at the sectors leading products, Crewe unwraps the means through which publishing companies comprehended and addressed the mens magazine audience in the 1990s. He argues that it was informal knowledge about cultures of masculinity held by editorial practitioners that was decisive in constituting individual magazines and the overall character of the sector. In exploring the cultural resources, identifications and ambitions around which the market crystallized, Crewe provides an in-depth comparison of the editors and editorial identity of loaded, the pioneer of the mass market, with those of Esquire and Arena, magazines associated with the sectors initial reformation. Clear and comprehensive, this work sheds new light on the commercial assessment and representation of modern masculine culture.

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9781859737415

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Reviews

'Written in a lucid and genuinely informative style, Crewe's work will make an important contribution to the study of contemporary masculinity. Carefully nuanced [and] always attentive to contradiction - between theory and the lived practices of consumer culture, between different elements in the production process, between the editorial policies of different publications and between the social profiles of the editors.' Professor Frank Mort, University of East London 'Opening up the phenomenon of the 'new lad' and his prodigious currency within magazine publishing and the wider media, Crewe offers us a detailed and compelling account of the internal dynamics of the world of 'lad publishing' and the identifications, lifestyles and motivations of its key protagonists. In doing so, he not only brings to life this media phenomenon, but also adds much to our understanding of the dynamics of commercial cultural production and the processes by which business ambition, popular desires and

'Written in a lucid and genuinely informative style, Crewe's work will make an important contribution to the study of contemporary masculinity. Carefully nuanced [and] always attentive to contradiction - between theory and the lived practices of consumer culture, between different elements in the production process, between the editorial policies of different publications and between the social profiles of the editors.'Professor Frank Mort, University of East London'Opening up the phenomenon of the 'new lad' and his prodigious currency within magazine publishing and the wider media, Crewe offers us a detailed and compelling account of the internal dynamics of the world of 'lad publishing' and the identifications, lifestyles and motivations of its key protagonists. In doing so, he not only brings to life this media phenomenon, but also adds much to our understanding of the dynamics of commercial cultural production and the processes by which business ambition, popular desires and

Author Information

Ben Crewe is Research Fellow at the Institute of Criminology, University of Cambridge

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