Mad About Boys

Mad About Boys was a monthly magazine in the United Kingdom aimed at girls aged between nine and twelve. First launched in January 2001 by Planet Three Publishing, it attracted controversy over what many saw as adult content, and was banned from many chain stores, including Woolworths and WH Smith. It ceased publication after four issues due to poor sales.

The editor of the magazine, Maria Landolfi, told PR Week: "Our USP is that we feature 12 teen boys aged 13 to 17 and get our readers to vote for the 'boy of the month' by post or on our website".

Barney Dow, one of the 'hunky babes' featured in the magazine, was due to become 'Boy of the month', encouraging the magazine's young audience to vote for each contestant. However, the magazine was banned before he could be 'crowned'. Other unsuccessful candidates included Thomas Ellum, Nicky Thomas, Thomas Williams and other 15-year-old boys. They were offered 'vouchers' as payment for the privilege of 'becoming a pin up' in the magazine, and were led to believe the magazine would launch their modelling careers. Most of the copies were destroyed, but there are still rare copies circulating in the Maldon area where some of the models came from.

See also

• moral panic