Hustler is a monthly adult-targeted magazine published by Larry Flynt Publications (LFP) in the United States. Introduced in 1974, it was a step forward from the Hustler Newsletter, originally conceived by founder Larry Flynt as cheap advertising for his strip club businesses at the time. The magazine grew from an uncertain start to a peak circulation of around 3 million in the early 1980s; it has since dropped to approximately 500,000. Hustler was among the first major US-based magazines to feature graphic photos of female genitalia and simulated sex acts, in contrast with relatively modest publications such as Playboy. In the 1990s, Hustler, like several of its competitors, began featuring depictions of sexual penetration and oral sex.
Today, Hustler is still considered more explicit (and more self-consciously lowbrow) than such well-known competitors as Playboy and Penthouse. Hustler frequently depicts hardcore themes, such as the use of sex toys, penetration, oral sex and group sex.
Larry Flynt Publications also licenses the Hustler brand to the Hustler Casino in Gardena, California, which was owned directly by Flynt as an individual through his holding company El Dorado Enterprises. Other enterprises include licensing the Hustler name to the Hustler Club chain of bars and clubs and the Hustler Hollywood store chain that sells adult-oriented videos, clothing, magazines and sex toys. The chain's flagship store, formerly located on Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood, was torn down in 2016. Both licensed enterprises are operated by LFP's partner, Deja Vu.
Founding
The business first began in Cincinnati, where Larry Flynt and his brother, Jimmy Flynt, opened up a store in 1969. Jimmy wrote the check for $5,000 to pay for the club in Cincinnati, and he was listed on the masthead for volume 1, number 1 of the magazine in July 1974. However, Larry fired his brother in 2009, after which Jimmy began developing his own business, Jimmy Flynt's Sexy Gifts Stand. An old member of Hustler magazine has described the relationship, saying, "Larry is the show, and Jimmy makes it go".
Publisher
Hustler is officially published by LFP, Inc, which also produces pornographic films. The abbreviation "L.F.P." originally stood for "Larry Flynt Publications."
A Canadian version of Hustler is published by a Quebec-based firm. This magazine is not owned by Larry Flynt but is licensed to publish material from the American version. In general, Canadian Hustler imitates the appearance and tone of its American counterpart, with Canadian content added. In 1999, the magazine created a minor controversy in Canada by inviting readers to submit sexually explicit stories about Sheila Copps, a left-leaning member of the Liberal cabinet. There have also been Australian, British and South African versions of the magazine.
During a bookstore signing in July 2011, Flynt stated that less than five percent of his income comes from the print magazine; he also speculated that the print magazine would not be around in two to three years.
Regular features
One feature of Hustler is a column called "Asshole of the Month". In every monthly issue of the magazine, a public figure is selected for severe criticism as that month's "asshole". An illustration depicting the criticized person's head emerging from the anus of a cartoon donkey is shown alongside the article. After Flynt's imprisonment in 1977 and his alleged conversion to evangelical Christianity, he promised to reform "Asshole of the Month". However, as of 2016, reform in the feature has yet to be seen.
The centerfold pictorial is called the "Hustler Honey". Occasionally the models are pornographic actresses appearing under a pseudonym; in the mid-80's, actresses and strippers appeared under their more familiar names.
The following is a list of "Hustler Honeys" by month (models listed with only first names are pseudonyms):
In the 1970s, Hustler ran a comic strip feature entitled "Honey Hooker". In each installment, Honey would have graphic sexual encounters with any male (or female) she ran across. She might be in American colonial times one month and in a Super Bowl locker room the next. This feature was designed to compete against Playboy's Little Annie Fanny and Penthouse's Wicked Wanda. In keeping with Hustler'''s focus on the seamier and less romantic aspects of sexuality, Honey Hooker, unlike Fanny and Wanda, was explicitly portrayed as being a prostitute.
The Beaver Hunt section of the magazine contains explicit nudes of amateur models submitted by readers.