Hustler

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This is an article about Hustler the magazine, for other meanings please see Hustler (disambiguation)

Image:Hustlerc.jpg Image:Hustler June 1978.jpg

Larry Flynt's Hustler, a monthly pornographic magazine published in the United States, was first issued in 1974. It was a step forward from the Hustler Newsletter which was cheap advertising for his strip club businesses. The magazine grew from a shaky start to a peak circulation of around 3 million (current circulation is below 500,000). The magazine was one of the first major pornographic magazines in the United States to break the taboo that existed in the early seventies by showing more explicit views of the female genitalia than other popular magazines of the time such as Playboy.

Flynt also publishes Hustler's Taboo magazine, which specializes in fetishistic material, such as the depiction of sexual bondage and urolagnia. Flynt's Hustler empire also owns the Hustler casino in Gardena, California, as well as a chain of Hustler stores that sells adult-oriented videos, clothing, magazines and sex toys. The chain's flagship store is on Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood.

Of particular infamy are Hustler's cartoons, which have often featured blatantly violent and misogynistic themes. Gang rape, botched abortions, incest, and pedophilia, among other lurid subjects, have all been featured at one time or another as recurring motifs in the cartoons. One long-running cartoon, "Chester the Molester", presented the ongoing misadventures of a pedophile in his attempts to coerce young children into sexual activity. While such material has earned Hustler much criticism from feminists and other critics, Flynt and his supporters defend the cartoons as bawdy social satire. Similar explanations have been advanced on Hustler's behalf by more scholarly writers, most notably Laura Kipnis in her essay (Male) Desire and (Female) Disgust, published in 1993.

Another feature of Hustler is a column called "Asshole of the Month." In every monthly issue of the magazine, some public figure is selected for severe criticism as that month's asshole. An illustration showing a photograph of the criticized person's head emerging from the anus of a cartoon donkey is shown alongside the article.

Hustler has long had a left-wing editorial policy on economics, foreign policy, and social issues. This distinguishes it somewhat from other pornographic magazines, which embrace liberal ideas about free speech or so-called morality issues, but remain conservative or neutral on other matters such as economics. Throughout the 1980s, Flynt used his magazine as a podium with which to launch vitriolic, obscenity-laden attacks on the Reagan Administration, and even published a short-lived political magazine called Rebel. During the controversy surrounding Bill Clinton's impeachment, Flynt publicly announced his sympathy for Clinton, and offered cash rewards to anyone with information regarding sexual impropriety on the part of the president's critics. In 2003, Flynt ran unsuccessfully for the office of Governor of California during that state's recall election.

Every month's Hustler is mailed, uninvited and for free, to the office of each member of the United States Congress. This practice began at some point between 1974 and 1983, and it continues as of 2006. In an interview, Flynt explained, "I felt that they should be informed with what's going on in the rest of the world... Some of them didn't appreciate it much... I haven't had any plans to quit."

A Canadian version of Hustler is published by a Quebec-based firm. This magazine is not owned by Larry Flynt, but is licensed to publish material from the American version. In general, Canadian Hustler imitates the appearance and tone of its American counterpart, with Canadian content added. In 1999, the magazine created a minor controversy in Canada by inviting readers to submit sexually explicit stories about Sheila Copps, a left-leaning member of the Liberal cabinet.

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References

{{cite news

 |first=Thomas
 |last=Burr
 |title= Congress gets Hustler magazine, even if it is unwanted
 |date=February 15, 2006
 |publisher=Salt Lake Tribune
 |url=http://sltrib.com/search/ci_3510974

}}

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