Vice = Playboy 2.0?
Is Vice positioned in the hipster snarketplace as Playboy for Millennials? Starting in 06ish, Vice’s editorial content moved toward an even split of Issues That Matter (like women’s lib in India, Authors or Pollution) and heaps more T&A. (under the aegis of fashion)
Maybe 15 year old lads are telling mom that they read Vice…for the articles. Now is the mag sending a message to women that they can best be a part of the Vice world sans shirt? Does it castrate the value of writing about India’s Gulabi Gang?
Or are those questions outdated? I don’t doubt the agency of those bearing flesh, and with LiLo topless in NYMag and Playboy aiming 80% of retail at women, maybe the pics betwixt the Vice pages are a non-issue – just some progressive duality for 2.0’08
Comments:
Interesting. I wondered if anyone else was paying attention to this while flipping through Vice.
I think a broader question is: could this be the future of pop-culture advertising? Nudity is one thing, but “voyeurism” adds a different level of sexuality.
Most issues of Vice I’ve picked up are from American Apparel, which is no stranger to this “voyeuristic sexuality”…I can’t even view their website in open view while at work. And that’s not even mentioning the countless issues of vintage “Oui” porno mags plastered on the walls of a New York store or two I’ve been in.
Being “caught in the act” seems to be the appeal these days. You Tube is certainly popular for a reason. Voyeurism is certainly in. And I guess “nekkid voyeurism” to some is even better. :)