I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell

Lad magazines today have two distinct features according to Gill. The journalist addresses the readers as good friends sharing stories over drinks, and these stories and the pictures are filled with women's bodies and heterosexual sex. These magazines came about as a retaliation to the idea of the "new man" that other magazines were trying to promote. The "new man" was one who was conflicted about his masculinity, and these magazines made it very clear that the men who read their magazines were not. What I found incredibly interesting was that women seemed to prefer guys who read lad mags to the "new man". Even though lad magazines represented "a defensive assertion of masculinity, male power, and men's rights against feminist challenges". This is still more appealing than the "new man" who was the toxic waste of feminism who "is so busy trying to be supportive he has probably forgotten what an erection is for". However, when analyzing the "new man" one can see that he is almost two-faced because of the conflict within him, so I can see why he would not be appealing.

When reading this section I immediately thought of Tucker Max and his book I Hope they Serve Beer in Hell. He seems to be the new form of lad mags. I say this because he has created a website to share his stories and new media is taking over for magazines. Why pay for something when you can get it for free online? His stories are the exact type of thing that you would expect to find in a lad mag. So the question becomes is it anti-feminist? The stories definitely don't present women in a positive light. However, the title of the book suggests that he understands that they don't so he's going to hell for it. So are the stories being ironic because of the knowingness? Personally I find the stories to be hilarious and I can't see myself ever doing anything that he talks about so I don't see a problem with them. However, I also know people idolize Tucker Max so I don't think the irony is fully understood, then it becomes anti-feminist.