For New Magazine, An Edgy Beginning

The premiere, provocative issue of Inside Edge hit newsstands across America this week, and the early returns are in.

Students interviewed yesterday expressed less than positive opinions about the magazine, some criticizing it for being offensive to women, others saying it is simply juvenile.

The first issue, for example, answers these questions for men age 15 to 22: How can a man tell when a woman "wants it?" What party tune will make "the girl who never lets you see her sweat be ridden hard and put away wet?" What convertible best "mirrors your confidence and complements your style?"

Inside Edge's editorial philosophy, according to a column at the beginning of the magazine, is that staff members "firmly believe that there's more to life than money, beer, and sex. We just don't know what it is."

Some students said the Harvard Lampoon's parody of Inside Edge, distributed on campus Monday, was actually better than the real thing.

Nonetheless, the magazine has partial backing from Time-Warner Inc., which agreed to distribute the magazine worldwide, sending copies to newsstands nationwide and in eight foreign countries.

Created by Aaron M. Shapiro '94 and Jonathan K. Hsu '94, the premier issue of Inside Edge marks the culmination of 18 months of organizing, brainstorming, marketing, writing and editing.

The magazine has an editorial staff of 30 composed of students from Harvard, Boston College and Boston University, according to Hsu. The staff is also supplemented by 300 nation-wide correspondents, Hsu said.

Hsu said he came up with the idea for Inside Edge after noting "a void that had been neglected in the pub- lishing world." Hsu and Shapiro's goal was to create a publication by and for young men, a novelty in magazine production.

Hsu said the magazine has done superbly so far around the Square, selling out at Christy's and "flying off the racks" at Out-of-Town News. Inside Edge has received about 100 subscription requests, according to Hsu.

The media has also latched onto the magazine. The Boston Globe published a feature about Inside Edge, Time magazine interviewed students on campus this week for an article of its own and local television stations have given Inside Edge air time this week.

Not all the media coverage has been glowing, however. Boston Globe columnist Michael Blowen was unimpressed with the magazine, writing in yesterday's paper that Inside Edge "brings new meaning to 'sophomoric'...I mean no 'soph' and very 'moric.'"

Staffers celebrated the magazine's publication at a party on Monday night at the Avalon club in Boston. Top officers from Time-Warner, representatives of WBZ-TV, and several Boston bands attended the event.

Hsu said the party was marred by the "childish" behavior of several members of the Lampoon, who distributed the parody there.

Hsu said although he was flattered that the Lampoon took the time to write the parody, he was was displeased with the Poonsters' behavior at the party.

"They acted very childish. We respect their work very much and it was dismaying to see that fellow students could be so rude," Hsu said.

David Kennedy '93, a Lampoon member, said the parody "has absolutely nothing to do with flattery. We think they're a bunch of misogynous morons."

Kennedy said the distribution of the parody at the party was not offensive, but the magazine itself is.

"One of the things they constantly emphasize is that the Edge man always has two women," said Kennedy, citing one of the reasons he finds the magazine offensive.

Students interviewed yesterday said they enjoyed the parody but had mixed opinions about the real Inside Edge.

"I thought the Lampoon parody was exactly the same but better," said Jason G. A. Vincz '93. "This thing was really poorly written."

One sophomore woman living in Quincy house said, "I thought it was all a big joke. It seemed like the magazine itself was a parody."

Several students felt that the magazine was geared toward a very young market.

"The people who are going to read this magazine are the same [teenagers] who play around with their cable TV box trying to tune in static on the Playboy channel," said Adam D. Taxin '93.

Taxin, however, had several positive comments on the magazine. "I really liked the models. I want to find out who this 'Monique person' [an Edge advice columnist] is and when I do I'm going to ask her to my formal and she's going to say yes.

"I don't see myself using it as a source for any papers," Taxin said, "but I think they found a niche in the market and I think it'll succeed."

But others shared Kennedy's concern about the representation of women in Inside Edge, which contains an article advising men to "hook up with someone else" if they want to break up with their girlfriends and an article on weight-training that states that "Nautilus leg equipment is made for women who want their thighs to look nice. It's a waste for serious athletes."

Jessye Lapenn '93, an active Radcliffe Union of Students (RUS) member, was "appalled" by the magazine.

"I think it's absolutely disgusting. The Lampoon version wasn't much worse. It's one of the most unbelievably blatant sexist things I've seen in while," she said.

Lapenn cited a column in Inside Edge that instructs men on convincing women to sleep with them.

"Nobody remembers to ask if the woman wants to have sex with him," Lapenn said.

RUS Co-President Maura H. Swan '94 said, "The photo and headlines featured on the cover are offensive because they give the dangerous message that women are only prizes awarded to men who fulfill the macho stereotype of masculinity." Swan said she had only read the cover of the magazine.

Hsu contested that he did not think the magazine was offensive to women.

"Most women who do have complaints about it--and that hasn't been many--are caught by its provocative nature," Hsu said.

He said the editorial staff is 40 percent women and would not have allowed offensive material to be included in the magazine. Hsu added that the design editor, who selected the cover picture featuring two women romantically entangled with one man, is a woman. He said the photo was chosen because it was provacative and would get people interested in the publication.

A female Inside Edge staff member said being a woman working for a men's magazine was "weird" at first, but that "they've given us a lot of power to tone things down."

"I think there's some positive stuff [in the magazine] about how guys relate to women," said the female staff member, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The staff member said she thought the magazine would eventually evolve into a more "meaty," more mainstream men's magazine. "It's going to have to start to cover more important issues," she said.

The first issue of Inside Edge hit newsstands across the country this week amid media hype. With backing from Time-Warner Inc., expectations are high for this magazine started by two Harvard juniors. However, the magazine geared at young men has not received glowing campus reviews. Some students say the magazine is sexist, and many interviewed this week say the Harvard Lampoon's parody was better than the real thing.

Things have improved for female scholars since the 1990 Report on Women in the Sciences made sweeping recommendations to the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, but graduate students and the report's principal author say there's still a long way to go for...CrimsonMichael K. StemJONATHAN K. HSU '94 (left), editor-in-chief, and DAN WEBB '96, associate editor of Inside Edge.

Hsu said the magazine has done superbly so far around the Square, selling out at Christy's and "flying off the racks" at Out-of-Town News. Inside Edge has received about 100 subscription requests, according to Hsu.

The media has also latched onto the magazine. The Boston Globe published a feature about Inside Edge, Time magazine interviewed students on campus this week for an article of its own and local television stations have given Inside Edge air time this week.

Not all the media coverage has been glowing, however. Boston Globe columnist Michael Blowen was unimpressed with the magazine, writing in yesterday's paper that Inside Edge "brings new meaning to 'sophomoric'...I mean no 'soph' and very 'moric.'"

Staffers celebrated the magazine's publication at a party on Monday night at the Avalon club in Boston. Top officers from Time-Warner, representatives of WBZ-TV, and several Boston bands attended the event.

Hsu said the party was marred by the "childish" behavior of several members of the Lampoon, who distributed the parody there.

Hsu said although he was flattered that the Lampoon took the time to write the parody, he was was displeased with the Poonsters' behavior at the party.

"They acted very childish. We respect their work very much and it was dismaying to see that fellow students could be so rude," Hsu said.

David Kennedy '93, a Lampoon member, said the parody "has absolutely nothing to do with flattery. We think they're a bunch of misogynous morons."

Kennedy said the distribution of the parody at the party was not offensive, but the magazine itself is.

"One of the things they constantly emphasize is that the Edge man always has two women," said Kennedy, citing one of the reasons he finds the magazine offensive.

Students interviewed yesterday said they enjoyed the parody but had mixed opinions about the real Inside Edge.

"I thought the Lampoon parody was exactly the same but better," said Jason G. A. Vincz '93. "This thing was really poorly written."

One sophomore woman living in Quincy house said, "I thought it was all a big joke. It seemed like the magazine itself was a parody."

Several students felt that the magazine was geared toward a very young market.

"The people who are going to read this magazine are the same [teenagers] who play around with their cable TV box trying to tune in static on the Playboy channel," said Adam D. Taxin '93.

Taxin, however, had several positive comments on the magazine. "I really liked the models. I want to find out who this 'Monique person' [an Edge advice columnist] is and when I do I'm going to ask her to my formal and she's going to say yes.

"I don't see myself using it as a source for any papers," Taxin said, "but I think they found a niche in the market and I think it'll succeed."

But others shared Kennedy's concern about the representation of women in Inside Edge, which contains an article advising men to "hook up with someone else" if they want to break up with their girlfriends and an article on weight-training that states that "Nautilus leg equipment is made for women who want their thighs to look nice. It's a waste for serious athletes."

Jessye Lapenn '93, an active Radcliffe Union of Students (RUS) member, was "appalled" by the magazine.

"I think it's absolutely disgusting. The Lampoon version wasn't much worse. It's one of the most unbelievably blatant sexist things I've seen in while," she said.

Lapenn cited a column in Inside Edge that instructs men on convincing women to sleep with them.

"Nobody remembers to ask if the woman wants to have sex with him," Lapenn said.

RUS Co-President Maura H. Swan '94 said, "The photo and headlines featured on the cover are offensive because they give the dangerous message that women are only prizes awarded to men who fulfill the macho stereotype of masculinity." Swan said she had only read the cover of the magazine.

Hsu contested that he did not think the magazine was offensive to women.

"Most women who do have complaints about it--and that hasn't been many--are caught by its provocative nature," Hsu said.

He said the editorial staff is 40 percent women and would not have allowed offensive material to be included in the magazine. Hsu added that the design editor, who selected the cover picture featuring two women romantically entangled with one man, is a woman. He said the photo was chosen because it was provacative and would get people interested in the publication.

A female Inside Edge staff member said being a woman working for a men's magazine was "weird" at first, but that "they've given us a lot of power to tone things down."

"I think there's some positive stuff [in the magazine] about how guys relate to women," said the female staff member, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The staff member said she thought the magazine would eventually evolve into a more "meaty," more mainstream men's magazine. "It's going to have to start to cover more important issues," she said.

The first issue of Inside Edge hit newsstands across the country this week amid media hype. With backing from Time-Warner Inc., expectations are high for this magazine started by two Harvard juniors. However, the magazine geared at young men has not received glowing campus reviews. Some students say the magazine is sexist, and many interviewed this week say the Harvard Lampoon's parody was better than the real thing.

Things have improved for female scholars since the 1990 Report on Women in the Sciences made sweeping recommendations to the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, but graduate students and the report's principal author say there's still a long way to go for...CrimsonMichael K. StemJONATHAN K. HSU '94 (left), editor-in-chief, and DAN WEBB '96, associate editor of Inside Edge.