Men's magazines

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brasilboy75 said:
Are men’s magazines sinful?
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That depends what you mean by “men’s” magazines. If you mean things like “Family Handyman” or “Popular mechanic”, then no, that is not sinful.

If you are referring to pornography, then, yes, it would be sinful to make them, buy them, or look through them.

Personally, I think it’s very sad that words like “men” and “adult” are equated with pornography. Looking at porn does not make you more of a man, but less of a man and less of an adult.
 
One of my priest friends referred to “men’s magazines” as “adolescents’ magazines”.

Because real men don’t bother with porn. But some adolescents do.
 
In other forum I have talked to women who are in the pornography business and what to leave (including a pair of Brazilians) and yes the money can be good but the effect on those women lives and minds is terrible. There is not only a sexual sin problem but also in my opinion a sexual justice problem. Grab women who oftem are poor and oftem come from trauma or disavantages and ask them to do things that they consider humilliating in private for money.
None are happy. Some are even suicidal.
 
Are men’s magazines sinful?

Well they vary in sinfulness.

One thing is true about all of them though- They are completely idiotic.
 
inthecloud said:
In other forum I have talked to women who are in the pornography business and what to leave (including a pair of Brazilians) and yes the money can be good but the effect on those women lives and minds is terrible. There is not only a sexual sin problem but also in my opinion a sexual justice problem. Grab women who oftem are poor and oftem come from trauma or disavantages and ask them to do things that they consider humilliating in private for money.
None are happy. Some are even suicidal.
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I have found this to be true as well. In college, I wrote a research paper on the negative impact on those who participate in pornographic films (both men and women). I used completely secular, non-religious sources, but it was quite apparent that many of the people in that industry are living quite sad lives. We should definitely pray for them.
 
Actually we should do better that just pray.

I’m in contact with two of them who want to leave.
One was raised Catholic and she wants to go back to her faith and family but she thinks she is damaged goods and needs help spiritually (orthodox but non judgemental priests in LA and Miami are welcome), pyschological (she has a huge substance abuse problem and PTSD and guilt issues that predated porn but were made worse by porn), and socially (here ethnic childhood friends has shunned her). Her family has means but she was been disowned by them. She needs someone that could make peace with her family so she can go back to them. And she needs follow throught to avoid relapses.

The other is foreign, she was raised from a nonfamily, of alcoholics, drug addicts and was abused psychologicaly, physically and sexually growing up. She ran away from home since she was 16 and she was lived as a sex worker since coming to the US at 18 to strip and do porn. She hates what she is doing but she is scared because she feels she is dumb and do not know anthing else to do. She was raised without religion and only has been to Church twice in her life. But she is interested.
She will need the same things of the first girl but also need things like job training, evangelizing and a whole new family and friends.

That is a example of what is needed to help the women who are trapped into pornography. Prayers are good but works are needed to. Faith and works, science and faith.
 
How about Maxim?

I used to read Maxim because it had a variety of topics and humor. If you are open minded, there are also articles about relationships and dealing with significant others. However, not being a single 20 something male, it is not as interesting. I do like Popular Mechanics, Popular Science, Aviation Week, National Geographic, Motor Trend, Sports Afield, Guns and Ammo, etc. I just can’t afford to get 20 magazines sent to my door. It would be great if someone came up with a good variety magazine that was not raunchy and not preachy.
 
royal_archer said:
How about Maxim?

I used to read Maxim because it had a variety of topics and humor. If you are open minded, there are also articles about relationships and dealing with significant others. However, not being a single 20 something male, it is not as interesting. I do like Popular Mechanics, Popular Science, Aviation Week, National Geographic, Motor Trend, Sports Afield, Guns and Ammo, etc. I just can’t afford to get 20 magazines sent to my door. It would be great if someone came up with a good variety magazine that was not raunchy and not preachy.
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I’m sorry, but as a man who used to be into Maxim, and other magazines like it, including Stuff, FHM, and yes, I put Men’s Health in this category sometimes - there is nothing useful or interesting to be learned there about relationships, or dealing with significant others. The use of the notion of ‘significant other’ - in the context of articles that are almost always either explicitly about sex, or implying that sex is a part of the relationship - betrays the fundamentally wrongheadedness of all of it. Those magazine’s ‘relationship advice,’ and I know you know this to be true, is 70% about getting her in bed, 20% about getting her to be ‘more adventurous’ in bed, and maybe 10% about ‘making her feel appreciated,’ or something, basically for the purposes of getting her in bed again. It is dangerous to have any illusions about the mindset of the writers and editors, and their objectives and means used to get you to buy the magazine. They sell sex. Maxim is awful. Men’s Health can be just as bad - they sell ‘7 things you need to learn to do in bed’ in just about every issue.

I don’t want to come across too harsh. Someone earlier touched upon a notion I think is ultimately whats going on here: you asked this question because you know if your heart that those magazines aren’t good for you, and aren’t leading you in the right direction. I had the exact same experience with such magazines, and came to a point in my life when I realized that they had so distorted my ideas about what I wanted in relationships that I knew I had to give them up. Some may say those magazines are not technically pornography, but what they are selling - in their ‘relationship advice,’ as well as in the pictures - is ultimately a cheap and commodified vision of sexuality and the human body.

Every once in a while in those magazines there may be some faintly shining kernel of truth about making a girl feel special and appreciated - because women deserve to feel special and appreciated - but almost always that is immediately manipulated to be leverage for the physical satisfaction of male desire.

At one time, I had convinced myself that the advice I gleaned from those magazines was useful, and could come in handy. I learned the painful lesson only later that magazines like that (among other things in my life) did nothing positive, and they had only made me into a man far more prone to hurt and use women than to genuinely love them.

There are practical things to be found in the magazines, beyond their ‘sex and relationships’ content, but there are other places for that information. I would challenge you though: it might be worthwhile to honestly consider whether it isn’t the raunchy stuff that draws you to those magazines in the first place. Everyone has heard the line “but there are some interesting articles in Plaboy.” If you can be honest with yourself, you might be surprised by what you decide about this stuff. Maxim isn’t porn, in the technical sense that it doesn’t display sex acts for the purposes of arousal - but it displays scantily clad women for the purposes of arousal, and its articles about relationships aren’t for much more than learning to get women to have casual sex with you. Not exactly holy stuff. And why should we want anything less than holy stuff?

God Bless, and may we all pray to St. Joseph, patron of husbands and fathers, that men today can still learn what it really means to be a man of God.

Sorry if this is getting long, but can I ask what your views on sexuality are, like are you looking to wait for marriage?
I’m not coming down or anything, I’m just curious.
 
Actually I was posting because I no longer find that magazine interesting and was fishing for ideas for other magazines for men that are not single topic magazines.
 
royal_archer said:
Actually I was posting because I no longer find that magazine interesting and was fishing for ideas for other magazines for men that are not single topic magazines.
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Ah. Didn’t mean to assume anything, sorry if I did. Frankly, that’s something I’d be interested to find out too.

Does anyone know about Men’s Journal? It seems to be kind of like that, with fitness and travel articles, but I’ve never read it.
 
I subscribe to Men’s Best. It isn’t perfect (in fact, there’s an opinion piece this month, from comic actor Ricky Gervais explaining his atheism), but it seems to appeal to married and more mature men… the raunch is toned down, and there’s plenty of good articles about health, exercise, style, and being a good father. It’s pretty good.
 
Although it goes against my general rule of not buying magazines with pictures of men on the front… I am going to try a subscription on your recomendation.
 
Outdoor Life and Popular Science spring irresistably to mind–or if you’re a male member of my family (PopSci’s my sister’s subscription):

First Things
Homiletic and Pastoral Review
the Catholic League Newsletter

Why these, you ask?

We’re geeks. About everything.
 
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