If you happen to be a frequent magazine browser like me, you may have noticed something different about Maxim’s latest September 2015 issue. Instead of a scantily clad woman posed in a provocative manner, there is instead a *gasp* man on the cover. Idris Elba, British actor and musician, is the first man to ever grace the cover of Maxim, a magazine that has long been categorized as a “lad mag” and is perhaps best known for its presentation of highly attractive women in bikinis bearing lots of cleavage. The decision to put Elba on the cover may, therefore, appear odd to many, but the change in Maxim’s style actually started about a year ago, when Kate Lanphear, former style director at T Magazine, the New York Times style magazine, and Elle, was named the new editor-in-chief of Maxim in September 2014.
The magazine’s change in direction is apparent in the March 2015 issue, which features supermodel Candice Swanepoel on the cover. Known best for her role as a tanned, toned and cleavaged Victoria’s Secret model, the cover photo of Swanepoel on the March 2015 issue — just her face, a focus on her engaged blue-green eyes, her hair more naturally blonde than its usual platinum — is indeed a stark change from her 2014 feature with the magazine, when she was awarded the No. 1 spot for “Maxim’s Hot 100.” Yet the March 2015 photo of Swanepoel is, in my opinion, no less intriguing or “sexy” than her 2014 photo, which included her entire long, tanned body in a teeny white bikini, stretched provocatively on a rock by the ocean. There is something more alluring about Swanepoel’s latest March 2015 photo, a sort of mystery about her body and beauty, since only her face is shown. There is also the intimation that there is more to Swanepoel — and women in general — than their bodies and sexual appeal.
Other issues of Maxim under Lanphear’s guidance demonstrate the same focus on as Lanphear calls it, “authentic” and “raw” beauty. There is the edgy, upside down photo of Charli XCX on the May 2015 issue, and then the July issue that features Taylor Swift, sans legs and breasts, her bright blue eyes striking and intriguing. Swift, who has achieved an enormous amount of success as an artist in the past couple of years, was crowned Maxim’s hottest woman, showcasing to the world that a woman can be more than merely a sex symbol in order to be deemed “hot.” Lanpear’s shift away from the previous, highly sexified photos of women that Maxim was so well-known for is an effort to make the magazine not only more esteemed, but also women-friendly. The change is, in my opinion, a smart move, as appealing to a larger audience (both women and men) can indeed help to improve sales and readership of the magazine. While most women still don't look like Swanepoel or Swift, I like how Lanphear is moving away from the unrealistic, almost cartoonish images of half-nude women that once characterized the magazine, to more natural and unaltered images of women.
While there is still much work to be done, Lanphear’s increased focus on the featured women's and men's accomplishments and aspirations and her favoring more “authentic” beauty with closely cropped, classy photos is indeed a step in the right direction. I, for one, am more compelled to read Maxim now, as before I would flip through the magazine only to feel 1) that my own body type is inadequate and 2) disinterested in what most of the articles had to say. I hope that as the magazine continues to evolve under Lanphear, I can expect to read about more women and men, and admire them both for their "authentic" beauty and deserved accomplishments.
