OTOH, ESPN puts out “The Body” issue with really tasteful celebrations of male and female bodies. And it’s also a sports magazine. Apparently its male readers can handle it.
That they ran out of opaque barriers and somebody had to make an executive decision? 
I think we have to separate straight out “nude” images from the “scantily clad” ones to make sense of what women and men might prefer. I would agree that males are probably more likely drawn to “full nude” images of women than vice versa. Is that a result of socialization, fear of social disapproval, biological differences or something else? I don’t know the answer to that question.
A little googling led me to the fact that Playgirl magazine was actually conceived in response to the overwhelmingly positive feedback to the centerfold of Burt Reynolds that appeared in Cosmo in 1972. And it was a successful magazine in view of the fact that it was a “first” of it’s kind for women - it existed for over 35 years. You cannot compare it to the success of Playboy which was conceived 20 years earlier, before the sexual revolution, and geared toward a population socialized very differently than women. And the fact is that all adult magazines are in decline because it is quickly becoming an outdated business model - everything imaginable is just “one click away.” I don’t have any idea if Playgirl has an online presence - I would suspect it does.
I don’t necessarily agree though that women are less likely to appreciate images of men in extremely good shape. Or less likely to appreciate them in person. I linger on page in a mainstream magazine that might depict a shirtless man in good shape. Do we not notice the men at the gym or on the beach who are very fit? Of course we do, I think that is just human nature and not gender specific. Where I perceive a difference is that women may be less likely than men to admit they notice, or may even feel guilty about doing so. I think that is a result of the different ways in which we are socialized.
I subscribe to Outside Magazine–target demographic is mid-30s men. It has a lot of very good articles about world travel and the environment–but it also pretty regularly has photos of pretty good looking very fit men on the cover and inside. They also cover some of the more unusual sports in which women participate–with photos of women who clearly work out regularly. Makes it just that little bit more interesting to read.
We subscribe to Bon Appetit and Food & Wine, and the people they depict (although usually clothed) are still thin, fit, and good-looking. How does that work?
That! I think most women prefer this type of ‘porn’…http://www.amazon.com/Women-Cambridge-Womens-Pornography-Cooperative/dp/0811855511
@Hunt There are always so many pictures of vineyards and bucolic looking casks in those magazines. Grape porn?
At our house, the Edwards Ham catalogue is the form of porn we can all agree on.
@dietz199 too funny! But some of the reviewers of the book seem to think there is some “truth” to it. I see nothing alluring about a vacuum cleaner whether in the hands of a man or a woman.
I like how the comments range on the SI issue. Just goes to prove people have different tastes. My own dh shudders when he says there is nothing worse than a woman who is nothing but bones. As for me, I love a normal buff man photo but the super musclebound types, no. Yuck. Too much. It’s a good thing there is a variety of tastes and a variety of people. It all works out.
Even disregarding body types, aren’t there simply faces you are attracted to more than others? Or the face plus the personality maybe? Some people I just take an instant dislike to and have to remind myself to give them a chance!
“We subscribe to Bon Appetit and Food & Wine, and the people they depict (although usually clothed) are still thin, fit, and good-looking. How does that work?”
No Mario Batali or Emeril?
Cheryl Tiegs is unhappy with SI for promoting an unhealthy lifestyle by putting Ashley Graham on the cover:
She quotes Dr. Oz, which is funny. Who is there to quote about being unhealthily thin? Perhaps the spirit of a model who died from an eating disorder.
Feel sorry for your sons, too. The media tells them who they should be attracted to - but if they disagree, there must be something wrong with them, too, right?
I was in my 20s before I figured that out. But most guys NEVER do. There’s just pain all around.
For someone Cheryl Tieg’s age to speak up just reeks of jealousy. IMO.
Wow, she looks TERRIBLE. That’s a cautionary tale for too much plastic surgery.
Cheryl Tieg looks AWFUL, does she have any thoughts on what is too much surgery?
I think Ashley is beautiful but something doesn’t add up. Most articles say she wears a size 16, but her stats are listed as 38-30-46, 165 lbs, 5 9". That is not a size 16 by any stretch.
Forty six inch hips? That’s a size sixteen for many manufacturers.
I don’t agree with Cheryl Tiegs. I think she has zero credibility on this issue. I’ll not sure how the model’s size relates to unhealthy decisions when she looks healthier than many “normal” models. BUT reading negative views about Tiegs’ appearance is depressing. One can disagree with her views without referencing her looks, or even making any personal remarks.
Tiegs just needs to shut up. She’s doing nothing to advance the dialogue of a healthy body coming in all shapes and sizes.