Review: Inside the First Women's Erotica Magazine That Was Sabotaged By the Male Gaze
Jennifer Romolini tells the story of a publication you’ve never heard of — despite hosting the likes of Anna Wintour.
Jennifer Romolini tells the story of NSFW Viva magazine via the documentary podcast, Stiffed.
As the host of “Everything’s Fine,” Romolini is an expert at revealing the sh-t no one wants to talk about. So it’s no surprise that she uncovered the juicy history behind Viva, the first women’s erotica magazine that once hosted Anna Wintour as an editor — yes the Wintour.
The eight-episode docuseries follows Romolini as she dissects what could’ve been a sexual revolution, led by the publication’s founder Bob Guccione and its staff of feminist writers. For those unfamiliar with Guccione, his first publication was the popular men’s erotic magazine Penthouse, a competitor to Hugh Hefner’s Playboy. Guccione later created its femme counterpart: Viva for women. But as Romolini unpacks the story, you quickly learn that the man known as the “King of Sleaze,” wasn’t best equipped to lead a feminist sexual revolution.
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With episodes cleverly titled “Good Girls Walk Into A Porn Magazine” and “Time Off For Bad Behavior,” Romolini compiles former interviews with Guccione himself, his son and former Viva employees questioning, “What kind of life leads a human man to believe he should be in charge of a women’s sex magazine?”
His idea of a feminist sexual revolution literally took a page or two out of Penthouse’s strategy down to employing the same staff members for key roles. The photos were shot from the male gaze, the ads offered products that tapped basic male enhancement ads like how to “grow boobs” — as if any woman would want the back pain that comes with that. As a former Viva writer shared on Stiffed, “I don’t think he gave a moment’s thought to what women wanted or needed” — and it showed.
“What kind of life leads a human man to believe he should be in charge of a women’s sex magazine?”
Despite the damning evidence, Romolini never denies his “genius,” and believes that he was “ahead of his time.” But concurs that his misogynistic approach hindered his team of feminist writers who could’ve revolutionized the space. For context, imagine working for a femme erotica magazine and not being able to utter the word “feminist,” per your boss’ request. That’s the clusterf-ck these women endured.
According to Romolini, the docuseries is the result of 15 years of research after finding her first Viva magazine on eBay. The story she tells doubles as an exposé that would make Guccione shake in his seat, as the mere “mentioning of his critics rattles Bob’s cage,” she jokes. It’s undeniable — his initial idea was brilliant, but his misogyny and aversion to constructive criticism sabotaged any chance of truly building rapport with women, which ultimately, led to the demise of Viva.
Tune in below to hear Romolini’s brilliant storytelling and the history of what could’ve been an iconic sexual revolution.
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