Man to Man Goes Upmarket

 

The May 1965 issue of Man to Man marks the point at which it made the decisive transition from standard men's pulp to more of an adult publication, with a more open emphasis upon sexual content.  The most obvious change was the adoption of a photo cover instead of the previous lurid cover paintings.  This particular cover is obviously aiming for an 'artistic' look with its nude study, (which still doesn't actually show anything), which, coupled with the change in the styling of the title text, suggests that the publisher's were trying to move the magazine to a more 'sophisticated' feel, doubtless inspired by the likes of Playboy and Penthouse, which combined erotica with 'serious' articles, (often by well known writers).  But this is still Man to Man, so some of the stories trailed on the cover don't exactly drip with sophistication.

'The Wolf's Handbook - Some Crazy Ways to Flip a Female' sounds pretty much like the sort of 'How to Get Laid' articles that could be found in just about every issue of every men's magazine in the fifties and sixties.  Except that, in line with the new pretensions of sophistication, it at least refers to women as 'females', rather than 'dames' or similar unflattering slang terms.  Then there's the 'All American Sex Survey' - a feature that was to serve the magazine well for a few months, by encouraging readers to send in their absolutely 'true' sexual experiences.  A variation on the 'true sex' stories of the magazine's previous incarnation.  'The Rise and Fall of the Libidinous Limerick' sounds like an excuse to publish lewd poetry on the excuse that it is somehow an exercise in literary criticism.  'Oswald - The Assassin Who Wasn't a Man' again sounds like an attempt to cloak a typical 'true conspiracy' type of story that was a staple of men's magazines. (Obviously, I'm not sure whether the story is suggesting that Lee Harvey Oswald was a homosexual, transsexual or actually a woman - back in the magazine's previous incarnation you can guarantee it would have been one of these).  As for 'Incredible! The Incredible Jazz Organ of Jimmy Smith', well, back in the old days there would have been a pretty good chance this would have been the double entendre you expected.  But in this version, it probably is a factual piece aimed at establishing the publication's new 'legitimacy'.

Interestingly, this incarnation of Man to Man lasted for only five issues before, in early 1966, the logo changed to a less 'sophisticated' design and the photo covers went for a more 'titillating' rather than 'artistic' look.  Trying to imitate the likes of Playboy and Penthouse on a low budget was clearly proving unsuccessful, so a move downmarket to try and retain the men's magazine readership was considered appropriate.  By the early seventies it had moved to being a full on softcore sex magazine, with no pretence of 'sophistication'.