Jungsheft is a magazine featuring “regular” boys (18+), edgy topics and comes out twice a year. Although Jungsheft exists for over ten years already, it is still a DIY-magazine, produced by the two founders Elke Kuhlen and Nicole Rüdiger and designed by Vanessa Weber.
The idea emerged out of the non-existence of porn magazines for women at that time. It was important to create a magazine, different from the norm, that is aesthetically appealing, features topics the two founders are interested in and photos of naked boys (18+), sometimes with erect penises.
Elke and her co-founder Nicole were on holiday together, when they started thinking about the lack of naked pictures of men, they actually fancy.
There and then they’ve decided to create a magazine for themselves and their friends with content they would enjoy. Who could have known that they would still be producing their magazine about 14 years later.
When asked about the concept or societal motivation, Elke replied:
“For now, this continues to be our DIY-magazine, I’m happy, if it contributes to change in the perception of sexuality, but that’s not our goal. Our goal was always to make a magazine for us, so we choose topics that we find interesting and every man who wants to be naked in our magazine can do so. We don’t curate anything or cast anyone.”
This is what makes this magazine stand out: It is authentic, it is not trying to be anything and it is well designed.
The emphasis is on boys (18+) and girls (18+) instead of women and men, because they’re showcasing the boy next door. Again, it is a subjective decision the two women made, when creating the magazine.
The latest edition includes an interview with Anja Delastik, a story about sustainably produced porn and the question what it would have done with society, if Jesus was a woman. And obviously it contains a lot of photos of natural, naked men. I can recommend reading Jungsheft or just looking at it, because it is refreshingly different.
Last but not least, I asked Elke what she’s missing on the topic of sexuality:
“Everyone seems to be incredibly open-minded about sexuality. That can put a lot of pressure on (young) women and men. Everyone’s so cool, and fine with any sexual practice, everyone has seen everything, nothing is kept in the dark. And I would like to see more honest, authentic Candour. You should be able to be open about not being open. We still live in a society of alleged Open-mindedness. I want less of that and more of a frank and heartfelt sincerity.“
You can order your issue of Jungsheft right here.
