FHM
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FHM, an abbreviation for For Him Magazine, is a monthly lad mag. The magazine was first published as FHM in 1994 in the United Kingdom, but was originally published in 1985 under the name For Him. Founded by Chris Astridge, For Him was originally distributed through high street men's fashion outlets, expanding to newsagents as a quarterly by the spring of 1987. It was a predominantly fashion-based publication, and was generally regarded as a gay magazine.
After the emergence of James Brown's Loaded magazine (regarded as the blueprint for the lad mags genre) and later competing titles such as GQ and Esquire, For Him hardened up its editorial approach to compete with the expanding market and introduced a sports supplement. It then went monthly and changed its name to FHM. It subsequently expanded internationally. As of July 2004, it publishes 27 editions per month including editions in Russia, the United States, Norway, Denmark, Romania, Australia, Estonia, New Zealand, France, Lithuania, Indonesia, Taiwan, Portugal, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, South Africa, Spain, Slovenia, Sweden and Singapore.
FHM, produced by the consumer media division of publishing giant EMAP, was launched as a response to the success of Loaded, launched by IPC Media the previous year. Like Loaded, FHM arguably relies heavily on the appeal of photographs of scantily-clad women. Unlike many magazines, FHM prints photographs of women already famous for reasons other than their beauty - such as actresses and pop singers. Also, unlike pornographic magazines, genitals and nipples are hidden by underwear or props. Thus, FHM is typically stocked in the lifestyle rather than adult section on newsstands, although Wal-Mart banned lad mags in 2003. Like similar magazines such as Maxim, its large quantity of surveys, humour, dramatic tales and informed reviews of everything from movies to remote controlled blimps has created a readership that ostensibly "read it for the articles".
The magazine is printed on high-quality glossy paper and the photography is of high technical quality. FHM became the best-selling magazine in Britain during the mid to late 1990s, selling 700,000 copies per month. Towards the end of the decade the lads' culture in which the magazine thrived began to die off and publishers turned to celebrity-oriented titles to boost overall sales. Heat overtook FHM as the UK's biggest selling magazine.
As well as the photo shoots, the magazine contains articles on a wide variety of topics, including profiles of sports stars, movie, music, technology and book reviews, gossip, men's fashion shoots, the "bar scene" in a variety of locations, and extensive discussion of sexual techniques.
Contents |
100 sexiest women
Since 1995 FHM has run an annual poll to find the "100 sexiest women in the world". Although the results are not statistically significant, they are an indication of the popularity of particular women in the FHM-buying world. Different countries run different polls. See the lists at Category:FHM lists.
The UK edition poll results:
- 1995 - won by Claudia Schiffer - 1995 full list
- 1996 - won by Gillian Anderson - 1996 full list
- 1997 - won by Teri Hatcher - 1997 full list
- 1998 - won by Jenny McCarthy - 1998 full list
- 1999 - won by Sarah Michelle Gellar - 1999 full list
- 2000 - won by Jennifer Lopez - 2000 full list
- 2001 - won by Jennifer Lopez - 2001 full list
- 2002 - won by Anna Kournikova - 2002 full list
- 2003 - won by Halle Berry - 2003 full list
- 2004 - won by Britney Spears - 2004 full list
- 2005 - won by Kelly Brook - 2005 full list
The US edition also has conducted an annual poll since 2000:
- 2000 - won by Jennifer Lopez - 2000 full list
- 2001 - won by Jennifer Lopez - 2001 full list
- 2002 - won by Anna Kournikova - 2002 full list
- 2003 - won by Halle Berry - 2003 full list
- 2004 - won by Britney Spears - 2004 full list
- 2005 - won by Angelina Jolie - 2005 full list
- 2006 - won by Scarlett Johansson - 2006 full list
Only three women have appeared on the list every year: Pamela Anderson, Cameron Diaz and Kylie Minogue. However in a poll of previous polls published in the UK edition of the magazine in the July 2004, Louise Redknapp won the mantle of Sexiest Woman of the Decade. Note also that from 2000 to 2004, the same woman led both the UK and US polls.
FHM TV
FHM TV is also a music television station in the UK. It timeshares with (and broadcasts on the same channel as) fellow EMAP-owned music channel Q. The channel plays music from "sexy ladies" as well as some rock music.
See also
External links
- Official US web site
- Official United Kingdom and Ireland web site
- Official Australian and New Zealand web site
- Official Mexico web site
- Official Philippines web site
- Official Singapore web site
- Official Lithuanian web site
- Official Danish web site
- Detailed article about FHM
- EMAP page for FHM
- A BBC article on a report that the anti-intellectual stance of FHM and other lads' mags was partly responsible for decreased exam performance in males
- A 1999 BBC report on the first ever decline in FHM sales, from a record high in 1998da:FHM