I Miss The Good Ol' Days

I miss the days of walking into a newsagent and sneaking a look at the covers of men's magazine spread out along the top shelf. In the UK we had of course Playboy, Penthouse, Hustler and other USA titles, but we also had Fiesta, Mayfair, Club, Men Only, Parade, Knave (probably my favourite) and around 30 or more monthly soft porn titles. Like most teen boys I was fascinated with boobs (of all sizes) and my eyes quite often didn't know where to look first!

Then came the second wave of magazines that, for a time, sought to make 'glamour' just part of lad's culture- FM, Maxim and the like- and this time the glances became mid-shelf and searching for whichever sexy popstar or TV star was hot at that time (Nell McAndrew, yum yum).

Sadly, political correctness and a swing that tried to make all men sexual deviants based on the actions of a few evil bastards, also ended that particular outlet. It seemed that anything remotely 'laddish' was to be frowned upon and stamped out and that's precisely what happened.

Now, don't get me wrong. Misogyny is a terrible blight on society. The men who abused their power (even physical power) should rightly be condemned. But the conflating of laddishness with misogyny was also a terrible act that, in the long run, will lead to a more severe societal backlash further down the line.

As for me, yes, I grew up surrounded by soft porn mags, videos, sex shops and red light areas, Looney Tunes with guns, Hot Gossip, Carry On, Love Thy Neighbour and more, and I turned out okay.

I think.