Hustler Magazine: Porn for (almost) Everyone

I wince as my husband scrolls my phone’s browser history looking for a link I wanted to share, “Gay porn stars on Ebay huh?” I promise him it’s for my new project and to just keep scrolling. It’s true, my phone records minutes spent on various applications including several hours on Ebay searching for pornography magazines. As an outdated medium, the present and future of pornography exists solely in digital spaces behind cheeky drum intros promising treats for various kinks. But in full disclosure, I do not patronize pornography. Call me a prude, a square, old fashioned, pent up, which is why my newest project “Popporn'' felt like an unpleasant dare performed at a sleepover. “Popporn'' consists of harvesting 3”x3” pictorial excerpts from PlayBoy, Hustler, Men’s Health, Hometown Girls, and the like and designing them to resemble fluffy playful satisfying pieces of America’s most beloved snack, popcorn. I attempted to add “Gay porn stars” to my collection but lost the auction, sadly the only one of its kind in the past couple of months. I am forced to make due with the all female and mostly caucasian sample of printed pornography of which there seems to be no shortage of. The first magazines arrived, 1960’s era PlayBoy. I hypothesize pictorial spreads of charming vintage naked kitsch only to learn folks are truthful when claiming to read these “for the articles”. I count an average of 5 images consisting of titillating content resulting in my first bust (no pun intended). So I return to the market for more modern era issues, year 1990 and on. The PlayBoys arrive first and I observe adorable sexuality in several collections of entirely caucasian, mostly blonde models playing basketball “with the guys” only to end up disrobed on the court minutes later, or sexy starlets arriving for the big premier suffering a wardrobe malfunction, “oopsie, he he.” These are wholesome “fun” girls living life and offering up more scenery beyond the great outdoors. Indeed, porn you can take home to Mom. Then the Hustlers arrived. The first issue, a mid ‘90’s edition, squash any notion that ladies are anything but. Out of a half dozen pictorial collections, my personal favorite features a confusing vignette of an orgy atop a vintage taxi cab, with the 4th wheel (not the kind on the cab) simply squatting and urinating in front of the driver’s side door. Different strokes? I must remember these magazines reflect a market, catered to a consumer with enough disposable income to produce it. Magazine production requires significantly more resources than its digital grandchild. Publications such as 1990’s Hustler presents a reflection of the 14 year old boy who likely stole it from his father as evident in the abundance of juvenile humor found throughout. Nuanced kinks find no home here. Diversity of any kind, body shape, color, ethnicity remain a twinkle in the internet’s eye. I gird my loins as I open the next Hustler, a late aught’s edition, and marvel at a decisively different magazine. More couples represented, both hetero and homosexual (sans male homosexuality), more ethnic representation and a more considered and playful approach to the pictorials provide a refreshing delight akin to watching the first season of Ted Lasso. Real people depicted enjoying themselves within relatable, visually colorful & fun scenarios that invited this prude midwesterner to join in the fun. Amusement washes over me knowing Hustler likely hired a career professional with a similar background to mine to elevate their production, masters of a visual medium bringing enlightenment to an artform often viewed as lowbrow & cringy, allowing Jack & Jill Mainstreet to join. Hooray for Hustler. I recognize a tinge of shame as I deface and deconstruct this collector’s item for my project. My full circle experience provided me with a deeper appreciation for this shadowed artform replacing shock & shame with an invitation to an accessible fantasy open to a broader world.

“Popporn” (Excerpt) - Kathryn Hogan 2023