FHM
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FHM_magazine_cover.jpg
FHM, an acronym for For Him Magazine (or For Horny Men, as the Philippines edition has it), is a monthly men's magazine (of a type known as a lads' mag). The magazine was first published in 1994 in the United Kingdom but has subsequently expanded internationally. As of July 2004, it publishes 27 editions per month including editions in the United States, Denmark, Australia, New Zealand, France, Taiwan, Portugal, and the Philippines.
FHM, produced by the consumer media division of publishing giant EMAP, was launched as a response to the success of Loaded, launched by IPC Magazines 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, their genitals and nipples are hidden by underwear or props. This is for two reasons: Firstly the women they feature are sufficiently famous to be able to make demands as to the degree(s) of nudity of the photos; Secondly it lends the magazine a more respectable air. Thus FHM is typically stocked in the lifestyle rather than adult section on newsstands. 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 not necessarily interested in the photographs.
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 had begun 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. The magazine is written in a notably "laddish" bar-room discussion style, by comparison to the more literary style of Playboy.
Other magazines in a somewhat similar style include Maxim and Ralph (Australia).
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100 sexiest women
Since 1995 FHM has run a poll to find the "100 sexiest woman 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.
- 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
Only two women have appeared on the list every year: Pamela Anderson 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.
FHM TV
FHM TV (For Him Music Television) is also a music TV Channel in the UK. It timeshares (and broadcasts on the same channel) as fellow-owned EMAP music channel Q. The channel plays music from 'sexy ladies,' aswell as playing some rock music.
See also
External links
- Official United Kingdom web site (http://www.fhm.com)
- Official US web site (http://www.fhmus.com)
- Official Australian and New Zealand web site (http://www.fhm.com.au)
- Official Philippines web site (http://www.fhm.com.ph)
- List of Sexiest Women (not pornographic) (http://metalbunny.net/girlz/hotlist.php?list=fhmuk)
- EMAP page for FHM (http://www.emap.com/nav?page=emap.features&resource=441641)
- 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 (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/889972.stm)
- A 1999 BBC report on the first ever decline in FHM sales, from a record high in 1998 (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/the_economy/421023.stm)