Ironic Sementeen Cover Prompts Unironic State of Teen Boy Mag Discussion
Panopticist’s Andrew Hearst recently produced a mock cover for Sementeen — yes, that — a faux magazine for teenage boys. Never ones to leave a Sementeen unexamined, the Huffington Post wonders — without irony — who would edit such a magazine, and why magazines for teenage boys — even ones without “semen” in their titles — don’t exist:
“This is a demographic that’s simply not used to reading magazines — unless it’s the SI swimsuit issue,” said Men’s Health Editor-in-Chief and Rodale Senior Vice President David Zinczenko. The continuing lack of popular titles for teen boys arguably forms a vicious circle, as well. “I work at a magazine because I grew up reading magazines,” said Seventeen Editor-in-Chief Atoosa Rubinstein. “Because of this, teen girls are easier to market to.” Stereotypes also play a part. “There’s a stigma maybe that teen boys dont read, that teen boys are playing video games,” said [Maxim's Eric] Gillin.
Our mind may occasionally operate like a teenage boy’s, so here’s our take: Teenage boys don’t want to admit they’re teenage boys. So they read Maxim because its not marketed to them. It’s the same problem that faces a magazine like Geezer Jock. What old dude, who still thinks he can run the floor with the hustlers, wants to read about “geezers” — especially if by doing so he is admitting he’s one?
TEENAGE WASTELAND: Where Are The Mags for Teenage Boys? [HuffPo]
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