Scarlet (magazine)

Scarlet was a monthly women's magazine launched in November 2004 with the tag line, "the new magazine for women who get it".^[1] It was published by Blaze Publishing Ltd, then sold to Interactive Publishing. It was distributed UK-wide at retailers such as W H Smith, Tesco, Superdrug and Somerfield. It is currently being republished as a digital only magazine by a new publishing company called Scarlet Media Limited.

Intentions

Scarlet claims to empower women to lead healthier sex lives through "frank informative features that talk to the readers the way women talk to each other when men aren't around." Its erotic fiction section 'Cliterature' attempts to promote safe sex through eroticising condom use.^[2] launched a campaign against Fatism in the media.^[3] Scarlet has received positive reviews in UK daily newspapers The Times and The Guardian.

Criticism

Although Scarlet has been described as having "feminist stripes" it is also said to promote sex as a consumer commodity,^[4] to depict little variety in women's body shapes and to promote a pornography-influenced view of women's sexuality similar to that described in journalist Ariel Levy's book Female Chauvinist Pigs.^[5]

Current

Scarlet went into liquidation and ceased publication in June 2010.^[6] It has recently been bought by a new publishing company, called Scarlet Media Limited to launch as a digital only magazine.

References