Assets, Sweets, AsIs: Parsing Newsstand Nudie Mags

Racked is no longer publishing. Thank you to everyone who read our work over the years. The archives will remain available here; for new stories, head over to Vox.com, where our staff is covering consumer culture for The Goods by Vox. You can also see what we’re up to by signing up here.

[Photo credit]

We love writer Yonette Joseph for tackling the subject of nudie mags at city newsstands for the Times. (Seriously, we'd like to see her pitch to The Gray Lady). From her article, we've learned more than we ever wanted to know about the publications, like: "The schizophrenic AsIs magazine, which puts men on one cover and scantily clad women as eye candy on the back, had spun off a 'premier collector’s edition' of that section called Assets magazine (not to be confused with Asset magazine, whose Web site says it promotes 'miniature donkeys as alternative livestock.' Seriously). Assets was priced at $9.99, almost double the cost of People. For that you get an African-American model in a yellow thong on the cover."

Of the newsstand workers Joseph spoke with, many cited customer complaints at the magazines' covers but said their hands were tied because the newsstand owners wanted the issues stocked—they're pricier than gossip rags or newspapers, and they sell well. She also spoke to the press secretary of the city’s Department of Consumer Affairs, who disclosed that newsstands are barred from showcasing 'offensive sexual material' like full-on nudity, which would be a class A misdemeanor. You'll have to buy an issue to see that.
· At Newsstands, the Great Cover Cover-Up Caper [City Room]