The most appealing things about any teen magazine were the posters and pinups. Let’s just be honest about that. Yes, learning your future partner’s favorite color and food was tantalizing journalism for any 12-year-old, but the meat and potatoes of picking up a fresh copy of Tiger Beat was knowing that in no time, it’d be in pieces, and your walls would have a fresh coat of gorgeous faces adorning them. With that, and since Mallory Kiersten came through to talk about her Tiger Beat crush Zac Hanson, we’re going to take a look at the history of teen magazines…
The Beginning
The first Tiger Beat debuted in September 1965, and as you can see – they kicked things off with, well, men who were most definitely not the same age as their demographic. The Righteous Brothers were apparently the shit in the ’60s, and teens couldn’t get enough of them. At least, that seems to be the case seeing as they were the first people to grace the cover of this coveted magazine. Mentioned, though, were the likes of The Beach Boys and The Beatles, two groups that most definitely kickstarted the teeny-bopper scene.
The ’70s
By the ’70s, teen culture was ever present, and businesses were taking notice. The Osmonds and Jackson 5 were pushed to market, and young people could not get enough. The same goes with solo acts like Leif Garrett, seen below on the cover of Tiger Beat with a Dino stuffed animal. This type of photo would go on to be synonymous with teen magazine photoshoots. Also, if you think it’s weird that Tony Danza was on the cover as well, just note that ‘Taxi’ was huge, and he probably wasn’t even 30 yet when this shot was taken.
The ’80s
MTV definitely sent youth culture into hyperdrive in the ’80s, and TV and movies started to feel more geared towards younger folks as well. While the previous decades had their fill of teen entertainment, the ’80s stepped it up to an iconic level thanks to, again, MTV but also the likes of John Hughes.
The ‘70s gave us the real foundation of what teen magazines would be for years to come, but I think the fascination with MTV pushed people to want more than just the typical posed pictures. This resulted in pictures like this one of Jordan Knight from New Kids On The Block.
However, you can’t deny that the over-the-top cheesy aspects of teen magazines weren’t still alive and well. As seen here in this stunning Ralph Macchio photo in which he is showcasing his support for educators by holding an apple in a fedora.
The ’90s
Every generation can argue that they had it the best, but let’s be honest again, it’s hard to compete with the decade that brought you not only the Spice Girls but a bevy of boy bands. Oh, not to mention a pretty decent amount of actors that were the same age as the typical Tiger Beat reader, like the ’90s crush to end all ’90s crushes, JTT.
The rooms of those who came of age in the ’90s were, as Kris would say from Today We Laughed and Learned, “a fire hazard.” I know mine was, and it was because of the Backstreet Boys. These magazines would be overflowing with them and all the other boy bands that followed, and in an era where sex was a great marketing tool, even teen magazines utilized it to their advantage. I mean, your favorite boy band in a POOL? Talk about hormonal overload.
That’s not for those who were attracted to guys, either. Female favorites were also plastered in these magazines.
The 2000s
By the 2000s, the internet had almost replaced the beauty of these magazines. Why pay around $6 for a magazine when you could just Google your favorite celebrity? Monetarily it made all the sense in the world, but I do think the Disney Channel kept these pieces of literary wonder alive and well for a bit longer thanks to shows like ‘Hannah Montana‘ and ‘Wizards of Waverly Place.’
The Disney Channel also gave way to the obsession that was ‘High School Musical,’ and who didn’t want a picture of Zac Efron in their room? Also, the evolution of the types of photos was interesting during this time. In the year prior, the photos felt real. They were either in a studio or poolside. In the 2000s, photos like that were not MIA but rather less common. In their place were these more designer pinups with eye-catching backgrounds that almost felt filter-like. A sign that the internet’s influence was slowly and steadily making its presence known.
The 2010s
For some reason, we went back to basics in the 2010s, and it was likely because publishers felt as though a new boy band in town could revitalize the art form of teen magazines. The Jonas Brothers always felt more in line with the Disney Channel explosion at the time rather than their own thing, but One Direction? They were manufactured goodness from overseas, and while they weren’t around as long as the boy bands that came before them, their impact was huge. I could be thinking too deep about this, though, and whoever did this particular photoshoot with Harry Styles just thought, how cute would it be if Harry held a freaking puppy?
Today teen magazines still exist, but they’re holding on for dear life as the internet continues to strip away the old-timey ways of the 1900s. Why spend hours decorating your room with photos of your favs when you could spend that same amount of time scrolling through their Instagrams and TikToks? At least on social media, the teeny-bopper dream of possibly connecting is higher than that of decades past when all one could do was pen a letter to the random fan mail address provided. We talked about social media vs. physical magazines with Mallory and concluded; different strokes for different folks.
So while it does sadden me that not every kid today is obsessing over the layout of their room based on posters and pinups of their Tiger Beat crushes, at least teen magazines are still being published for what little demographic they do have.
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