''Esquire'' is an American

men's magazine This is a list of magazines primarily marketed to men. The list has been split into subcategories according to the target audience of the magazines. This list includes mostly mainstream magazines as well as Adult magazine, adult ones. Not include ...

. Currently published in the United States by Hearst Communications, it also has more than 20 international editions. Founded in 1933, it flourished during the Great Depression and

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

under the guidance of founders

Arnold Gingrich Arnold W. Gingrich (December 5, 1903 – July 9, 1976) was the editor of, and, along with publisher David A. Smart and Henry L. Jackson, co-founder of ''Esquire'' magazine. Among his other projects was the political/newsmagazine ''Ken''. Influenc ...

, David A. Smart and Henry L. Jackson while during the 1960s it pioneered the

New Journalism New Journalism is a style of news writing and journalism, developed in the 1960s and 1970s, that uses literary techniques unconventional at the time. It is characterized by a subjective perspective, a literary style reminiscent of long-form non- ...

movement. After a period of quick and drastic decline during the 1990s, the magazine revamped itself as a lifestyle-heavy publication under the direction of David Granger.

History

''Esquire'' was first issued in October 1933 as an offshoot of trade magazine ''Apparel Arts'' (which later became '' Gentleman's Quarterly''; ''Esquire'' and ''GQ'' would share ownership for almost 45 years). The magazine was first headquartered in Chicago and then, in New York City. It was founded and edited by David A. Smart, Henry L. Jackson and

. Jackson died in the crash of

United Airlines Flight 624 United Airlines Flight 624, a Douglas DC-6 airliner, registration NC37506, was a scheduled passenger flight from San Diego, California to New York City. The four-engined, propeller-driven airplane crashed at 1:41 pm Eastern Daylight Time on ...

in 1948, while Gingrich led the magazine until his own death in 1976. Smart died in 1952, although he left ''Esquire'' in 1936 to found a different magazine for the company, ''

Coronet A coronet is a small crown consisting of ornaments fixed on a metal ring. A coronet differs from other kinds of crowns in that a coronet never has arches, and from a tiara in that a coronet completely encircles the head, while a tiara doe ...

''. The founders all had different focuses; Gingrich specialized in publishing, Smart led the business side of the magazine while Jackson led and edited the fashion section, which made up most of the magazine in its first fifteen years of publishing. Additionally, Jackson's

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

political viewpoints contrasted with the

liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

Democratic views of Smart, which allowed for the magazine to publish debates between the two. ''Esquire'' initially was supposed to have a quarterly press run of a hundred thousand copies. It cost fifty cents per copy (equivalent to $ today). However, demand was so high that by its second issue (January 1934), it transformed itself into a more refined

periodical A periodical literature (also called a periodical publication or simply a periodical) is a published work that appears in a new edition on a regular schedule. The most familiar example is a newspaper, but a magazine or a journal are also example ...

with an emphasis on men's fashion and contributions by

Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. His economical and understated style—which he termed the iceberg theory—had a strong influence on 20th-century f ...

F. Scott Fitzgerald Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald (September 24, 1896 – December 21, 1940) was an American novelist, essayist, and short story writer. He is best known for his novels depicting the flamboyance and excess of the Jazz Age—a term he popularize ...

Alberto Moravia Alberto Moravia ( , ; born Alberto Pincherle ; 28 November 1907 – 26 September 1990) was an Italian novelist and journalist. His novels explored matters of modern sexuality, social alienation and existentialism. Moravia is best known for his de ...

André Gide André Paul Guillaume Gide (; 22 November 1869 – 19 February 1951) was a French author and winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature (in 1947). Gide's career ranged from its beginnings in the symbolist movement, to the advent of anticolonialism ...

, and Julian Huxley. In the 1940s, the popularity of the Petty Girls and Vargas Girls, particularly among the Armed Forces provided a circulation boost, but also proved controversial: in 1943, the Democratic

United States Postmaster General The United States Postmaster General (PMG) is the chief executive officer of the United States Postal Service (USPS). The PMG is responsible for managing and directing the day-to-day operations of the agency. The PMG is selected and appointed by ...

Frank Comerford Walker Frank Comerford Walker (May 30, 1886 – September 13, 1959) was an American lawyer and politician. He was the United States Postmaster General from 1940 until 1945, and the chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 1943 until 1944. Biog ...

brought charges against the magazine on behalf of the administration of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, which alleged that ''Esquire'' had used the

US Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U. ...

to promote "lewd images". Republicans opposed the lawsuit and in 1946 the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

found in ''Hannegan v. Esquire, Inc.'', 327 U.S. 146 (1946), that ''Esquire'' right to use the Postal Service was protected by the

First Amendment of the United States Constitution The First Amendment (Amendment I) to the United States Constitution prevents the government from making laws that regulate an establishment of religion, or that prohibit the free exercise of religion, or abridge the freedom of speech, the f ...

. During the 1950s, Al Moore replaced Petty and Vargas as the main pinup illustrator for Esquire. Petty illustrated for Esquire from 1933 to 1956, Vargas was hired to replace Petty in 1940 and was active until 1946. Beginning with its second number, a blond, pop-eyed, mustachioed character named "Esky" (created by cartoonists E. Simms Campbell and

Sam Berman Sam Berman (July 27, 1907 – August 11, 1995) was an American caricaturist of the 1940s and 1950s. Berman was in high school when he began drawing cartoons for the ''Hartford Courant''. He went to New York to study art and then landed a positio ...

), graced almost every ''Esquire'' front page for over a quarter of a century, depicting the refined character of the magazine and its readership, mostly in the form of figurines, although a stylized design of his face would often appear as well (replacing the figurines in the 1950s), and beginning in 1962, this graphic would be featured as the dot on the "I" of the logo until this was changed in 1978. After then, the character would be occasionally revived, most notably during the 1980s and 1990s, a short-lived "Esky" award given to popular rock bands during the 2000s and during Jay Fielden's tenure in the 2010s. Under

Harold Hayes Harold Thomas Pace Hayes (April 18, 1926 – April 5, 1989), editor of '' Esquire'' magazine from 1963 to 1973, was a main architect of the New Journalism movement. Biography Born April 18, 1926, in Elkin, North Carolina, Harold Hayes earned an u ...

, who ran it from 1961 to 1973, ''Esquire'' became as distinctive as its oversized pages, helping pioneer the trend of

by publishing such writers as Norman Mailer, Tim O'Brien,

John Sack John Sack (March 24, 1930 – March 27, 2004) was an American literary journalism, literary journalist and war correspondent. He was the only journalist to cover List of wars involving the United States, each American war over half a century. B ...

Gay Talese Gaetano "Gay" Talese (; born February 7, 1932) is an American writer. As a journalist for ''The New York Times'' and ''Esquire'' magazine during the 1960s, Talese helped to define contemporary literary journalism and is considered, along with ...

Tom Wolfe Thomas Kennerly Wolfe Jr. (March 2, 1930 – May 14, 2018)Some sources say 1931; ''The New York Times'' and Reuters both initially reported 1931 in their obituaries before changing to 1930. See and was an American author and journalist widely ...

, and

Terry Southern Terry Southern (May 1, 1924 – October 29, 1995) was an American novelist, essayist, screenwriter, and university lecturer, noted for his distinctive satirical style. Part of the Paris postwar literary movement in the 1950s and a companion to ...

. In the mid 1960s, ''Esquire'' partnered with

Verve Records Verve Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). Founded in 1956 by Norman Granz, the label is home to the world's largest jazz catalogue, which includes recordings by artists such as Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simon ...

to release a series of "Sound Tour" vinyl LPs that provided advice and music for traveling abroad. In August 1969, ''Esquire'' published

Normand Poirier Normand Poirier (1928February 3, 1981) was an American journalist, essayist, and newspaper editor. His name is often spelled Norman Poirier. Poirier is noted as one of the first journalists to report on war crimes on Vietnamese civilians by Ame ...

's piece, "An American Atrocity", one of the first reports of American atrocities committed against Vietnamese civilians."Normand Poirier"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

''. February 4, 1981 Like many other magazines of the era, ''Esquire'' shrank from the traditional large-magazine format (about 10-¹/₄"x13-³/₈") to the smaller standard 8½×11 inches in 1971. Esquire cover Feb 1961

The magazine was sold by the original owners to

Clay Felker Clay Schuette Felker (October 2, 1925 – July 1, 2008) was an American magazine editor and journalist who co-founded ''New York'' magazine in 1968. He was known for bringing numerous journalists into the profession. ''The New York Times'' wrote ...

in 1977 (although Esquire Inc. kept its name until its acquisition by Gulf + Western in 1983). Felker reinvented the magazine as a

fortnight A fortnight is a unit of time equal to 14 days (two weeks). The word derives from the Old English term , meaning "" (or "fourteen days," since the Anglo-Saxons counted by nights). Astronomy and tides In astronomy, a ''lunar fortnight'' is ha ...

ly in 1978, under the title of ''Esquire Fortnightly'', ditching the script logo that had been used (with minor tweaks) since 1933. However, the fortnightly experiment proved to be a failure, and by the end of that year, the magazine lost

US$ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

5 million. Felker sold ''Esquire'' in 1979 to the 13-30 Corporation, a Tennessee-based publisher, which reverted the magazine into a monthly, beginning with the July issue (dated both as of July 3 and 19). During this time, '' New York Woman'' magazine was launched as something of a spin-off version of ''Esquire'' aimed at a female audience. In 1986, the 13-30 Corporation (renamed as the Esquire Magazine Group) launched the '' New York Woman'' magazine as something of a spin-off version of ''Esquire'' aimed at a female audience. The company split up at the end of the year, and ''Esquire'' was sold to Hearst, with ''New York Woman'' going its separate way to American Express Publishing, being published until 1992. The arrival of male-oriented lifestyle publications during the early 1990s and the problems of the magazine industry during the middle of the decade led to a sustained decline in circulation that threatened the future of ''Esquire'', which had relied upon an elegant, highly-literate audience (until the late 1970s, it published a "back-to-college" issue each September, and during the second half of the 1980s it published a year-end register featuring leading cultural figures under 40 years of age) but did not appeal to younger men. David M. Granger was named

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...

of the magazine in June 1997, fresh from a six-year stint at '' GQ,'' which he turned around from its fashion-heavy tradition. After his arrival, the magazine received numerous awards, including multiple National Magazine Awards. Its award-winning staff writers include Tom Chiarella, Scott Raab,

Mike Sager Mike Sager (born August 17, 1956) is an American author, journalist, and educator. A former ''Washington Post'' staff writer, ''Rolling Stone'' contributing editor, and writer at large for '' GQ'', Sager has been a contributing writer for ''E ...

, Chris Jones, John H. Richardson,

Cal Fussman Calvin "Cal" Fussman is an American journalist and author. He is a Writer at Large for ''Esquire'' magazine, known for the What I've Learned column, where he interviews leaders in various fields,"How to do a What I've Learned Interview", ''Esqu ...

Lisa Taddeo Lisa Taddeo is an American author and journalist known for her book '' Three Women''. Taddeo's work has appeared in ''The Best American Political Writing'' and ''The Best American Sports Writing'' anthologies. Early life Taddeo was born in Short ...

, and

Tom Junod Tom Junod (born April 9, 1958) is an American journalist. He is the recipient of two National Magazine Awards from the American Society of Magazine Editors. Early life In 1980, Junod graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the S ...

. Famous photographers have also worked for the magazine, among which fashion photographer

Gleb Derujinsky Gleb Derujinsky (March 19, 1925 – June 9, 2011) was an American fashion photographer. He worked for ''Esquire'', '' Look'', ''Life'', '' Glamour'', '' Town and Country'' and ''The New York Times Magazine'', before shooting extensively for '' ...

, and

Richard Avedon Richard Avedon (May 15, 1923 – October 1, 2004) was an American fashion and portrait photographer. He worked for ''Harper's Bazaar'', ''Vogue'' and ''Elle'' specializing in capturing movement in still pictures of fashion, theater and danc ...

. In spite of its success, the magazine under Granger became increasingly criticized for its focus on the so-called metrosexual culture (a criticism he previously had late in his ''GQ'' tenure). David Granger stepped down in 2016, being replaced by Jay Fielden, who revamped the magazine into its more classical up-market style. At the same time, its political coverage became more comprehensive, following a trend among American magazine publications in general. After a series of shake-ups at Hearst's magazine division, Michael Sebastian became editor in mid-2019, reverting to its 2000s-era style. In September 2006, the magazine launched a special style-focused issue entitled ''The Big Black Book'', which beginning in 2009 was published twice a year until the Spring/Summer issue ran for the last time in 2018. In 2010, the June and July issues were merged as were the December and January issues in 2015, and in 2018 the magazine moved to eight issues per year.

Blog

In January 2009, ''Esquire'' launched a new blog—the ''Daily Endorsement Blog''. Each morning the editors of the magazine recommend one thing for readers' immediate enjoyment: "not a political candidate or position or party, but a breakthrough idea or product or Web site." The concept of the "Daily Endorsement Blog" was said to have emerged from ''Esquire''s November 2008 issue called the "Endorsement Issue", in which, after 75 years, ''Esquire'' publicly endorsed a presidential candidate for the first time. The ''Daily Endorsement Blog'' was officially discontinued in April 2011.

Fiction

From 1969 to 1976,

Gordon Lish Gordon Lish (born February 11, 1934 in Hewlett, New York) is an American writer. As a literary editor, he championed many American authors, particularly Raymond Carver, Barry Hannah, Amy Hempel, Rick Bass, and Richard Ford. He is the father of t ...

served as fiction editor for ''Esquire'' and became known as "Captain Fiction" because of the authors whose careers he assisted. Lish helped establish the career of writer

Raymond Carver Raymond Clevie Carver Jr. (May 25, 1938 – August 2, 1988) was an American short story writer and poet. He contributed to the revitalization of the American short story during the 1980s. Early life Carver was born in Clatskanie, Oregon, a mil ...

by publishing his short stories in ''Esquire'', often over the objections of Hayes. Lish is noted for encouraging Carver's minimalism and publishing the short stories of

Richard Ford Richard Ford (born February 16, 1944) is an American novelist and short story writer. His best-known works are the novel ''The Sportswriter'' and its sequels, ''Independence Day'', ''The Lay of the Land'' and ''Let Me Be Frank With You'', and the ...

. Using the influential publication as a vehicle to introduce new fiction by emerging authors, he promoted the work of such writers as T. Coraghessan Boyle,

Barry Hannah Barry Hannah (April 23, 1942 – March 1, 2010) was an American novelist and short story writer from Mississippi.Kellogg, Carolyn (March 2, 2010)"Author Barry Hannah, 67, has died" ''Los Angeles Times''. Retrieved May 18, 2013. Hannah was born in ...

Cynthia Ozick Cynthia Ozick (born April 17, 1928) is an American short story writer, novelist, and essayist. Biography Cynthia Ozick was born in New York City, the second of two children. She moved to the Bronx with her Belarusian-Jewish parents from Hlusk, ...

Reynolds Price Edward Reynolds Price (February 1, 1933 – January 20, 2011) was an American poet, novelist, dramatist, essayist and James B. Duke Professor of English at Duke University. Apart from English literature, Price had a lifelong interest in Biblical ...

and William Harrison. In February 1977, ''Esquire'' published "For Rupert – with no promises" as an unsigned work of fiction: this was the first time it had published a work without identifying the author. Readers speculated that it was the work of

J. D. Salinger Jerome David Salinger (; January 1, 1919 January 27, 2010) was an American author best known for his 1951 novel ''The Catcher in the Rye''. Salinger got his start in 1940, before serving in World War II, by publishing several short stories in '' ...

, the reclusive author best known for ''

The Catcher in the Rye ''The Catcher in the Rye'' is an American novel by J. D. Salinger that was partially published in serial form from 1945–46 before being novelized in 1951. Originally intended for adults, it is often read by adolescents for its themes of angs ...

''. Told in first-person, the story features events and Glass family names from the story " For Esmé – with Love and Squalor".

is quoted as saying, "I tried to borrow Salinger's voice and the psychological circumstances of his life, as I imagine them to be now. And I tried to use those things to elaborate on certain circumstances and events in his fiction to deepen them and add complexity." Other authors appearing in ''Esquire'' at that time included

William F. Buckley William Frank Buckley Jr. (born William Francis Buckley; November 24, 1925 – February 27, 2008) was an American public intellectual, conservative author and political commentator. In 1955, he founded ''National Review'', the magazine that stim ...

Truman Capote Truman Garcia Capote ( ; born Truman Streckfus Persons; September 30, 1924 – August 25, 1984) was an American novelist, screenwriter, playwright and actor. Several of his short stories, novels, and plays have been praised as literary classics, ...

, Murray Kempton,

Malcolm Muggeridge Thomas Malcolm Muggeridge (24 March 1903 – 14 November 1990) was an English journalist and satirist. His father, H. T. Muggeridge, was a socialist politician and one of the early Labour Party Members of Parliament (for Romford, in Essex). In ...

Ron Rosenbaum Ronald Rosenbaum (born November 27, 1946) is an American literary journalist, literary critic, and novelist. Life and career Rosenbaum was born into a Jewish family in New York City, New York and grew up in Bay Shore, New York. He graduated fr ...

Andrew Vachss Andrew Henry Vachss ( ; October 19, 1942 – November 23, 2021) was an American crime fiction author, child protection consultant, and attorney exclusively representing children and youths. Early life and career Vachss grew up in Manhattan o ...

and

Garry Wills Garry Wills (born May 22, 1934) is an American author, journalist, political philosopher, and historian, specializing in American history, politics, and religion, especially the history of the Catholic Church. He won a Pulitzer Prize for Genera ...

. During the mid-late 1980s, the magazine's June "Summer Reading" issues featured a full-length fiction story accompanied by shorter pieces, all written for the magazine. Although the magazine greatly reduced its fiction content during the 1990s in line with most other magazines, it has nevertheless continued to publish fiction in occasion. Writer

Elizabeth Gilbert Elizabeth Gilbert (born July 18, 1969) is an American journalist and author. She is best known for her 2006 memoir, '' Eat, Pray, Love'', which has sold over 12 million copies and has been translated into over 30 languages. The book was also ma ...

debuted in ''Esquire'' in 1993, while Chris Adrian,

Nathan Englander Nathan Englander (born 1970) is an American short story writer and novelist. His debut short story collection, ''For the Relief of Unbearable Urges,'' was published by Alfred A. Knopf, in 1999. His second collection, ''What We Talk About When We ...

, Benjamin Percy, and Patrick Somerville among others have also contributed to the magazine. Other writers who have recently appeared in ''Esquire'' include Ralph Lombreglia,

James Lee Burke James Lee Burke (born December 5, 1936) is an American author, best known for his Dave Robicheaux series. He has won Edgar Awards for ''Black Cherry Blues'' (1990) and ''Cimarron Rose'' (1998), and has also been presented with the Grand Master ...

, and Stephen King.

The Napkin Fiction Project

In 2007, ''Esquire'' launched the Napkin Fiction Project, in which 250 cocktail napkins were mailed to writers all over the country by the incoming fiction editor, in a playful attempt to revive short fiction—"some with a half dozen books to their name, others just finishing their first." In return, the magazine received nearly a hundred stories.

Rick Moody Hiram Frederick Moody III (born October 18, 1961) is an American novelist and short story writer best known for the 1994 novel ''The Ice Storm'', a chronicle of the dissolution of two suburban Connecticut families over Thanksgiving weekend in 19 ...

Jonathan Ames Jonathan Ames (; born March 23, 1964) is an American author who has written a number of novels and comic memoirs, and is the creator of two television series, '' Bored to Death'' ( HBO) and ''Blunt Talk'' ( STARZ). In the late '90s and early ...

Bret Anthony Johnston Bret Anthony Johnston is an American author. He wrote the novel ''Remember Me Like This'' and the story collection, ''Corpus Christi: Stories''. He is also the editor of the non-fiction work, ''Naming the World and Other Exercises for the Creat ...

Joshua Ferris Joshua Ferris (born 1974) is an American author best known for his debut 2007 novel ''Then We Came to the End''. The book is a comedy about the American workplace, told in the first-person plural. It takes place in a fictitious Chicago ad agency ...

Yiyun Li Yiyun Li (born November 4, 1972) is a Chinese-born writer and professor in the United States. Her short stories and novels have won several awards, including the PEN/Hemingway Award and Guardian First Book Award for ''A Thousand Years of Good Pra ...

Aimee Bender Aimee Bender (born June 28, 1969) is an American novelist and short story writer, known for her surreal stories and characters. She is a 2011 recipient of the Alex Awards. Biography Born to a Jewish family, Bender received her undergraduate de ...

, and

ZZ Packer Zuwena "ZZ" Packer (b. January 12, 1973) is an American writer. She is primarily known for her works of short fiction. Early life and education Born in Chicago, Illinois, Packer grew up in Atlanta, Georgia, and Louisville, Kentucky. "ZZ" was a ...

are among the notable writers included.

Dubious Achievement Awards

For many years, ''Esquire'' has published its annual ''Dubious Achievement Awards'', lampooning events of the preceding year. As a

running gag A running gag, or running joke, is a literary device that takes the form of an amusing joke or a comical reference and appears repeatedly throughout a work of literature or other form of storytelling. Though they are similar, catchphrases are no ...

, the annual article almost always displayed an old photo of

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

laughing, with the caption, "Why is this man laughing?" However, the February 2006 "Dubious Achievement Awards" used the caption under a photo of

W. Mark Felt William Mark Felt Sr. (August 17, 1913 – December 18, 2008) was an American law enforcement officer who worked for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) from 1942 to 1973 and was known for his role in the Watergate scandal. Felt wa ...

, the former FBI official revealed in 2005 to be " Deep Throat", the source for

Bob Woodward Robert Upshur Woodward (born March 26, 1943) is an American investigative journalist. He started working for '' The Washington Post'' as a reporter in 1971 and now holds the title of associate editor. While a young reporter for ''The Washingt ...

and

Carl Bernstein Carl Milton Bernstein ( ; born February 14, 1944) is an American investigative journalist and author. While a young reporter for ''The Washington Post'' in 1972, Bernstein was teamed up with Bob Woodward, and the two did much of the original n ...

to uncover the

Watergate scandal The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in the United States involving the administration of President Richard Nixon from 1972 to 1974 that led to Nixon's resignation. The scandal stemmed from the Nixon administration's contin ...

. The magazine discontinued the Nixon photo in February 2007, referring to a poll stating that

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

had surpassed Nixon as the "worst president ever". A popular running gag featured in the "Dubious Achievements of 1990" edition involved especially egregious achievements headlined with "And then they went to

Elaine's Elaine's was a bar and restaurant in New York City that existed from 1963 to 2011. It was frequented by many celebrities, especially actors and authors. It was established, owned by and named after Elaine Kaufman, who was indelibly associated wi ...

.", referring to a popular restaurant in New York City that closed in May 2011. ''Esquire'' did not publish "Dubious Achievement Awards" for 2001, but resumed them with the 2002 awards, published in the February 2003 issue. "Dubious Achievement Awards" were discontinued in 2008, according to an editor's note in the January 2008 issue, considering that the overabundance of imitators had made the feature superfluous. However, after a nine-year hiatus, the feature was revived in the January 2017 issue with a skewering of 2016 events.

Sexiest Woman Alive

The annual Sexiest Woman Alive feature ran between 2003 and 2015, billed as a benchmark of female attractiveness. Originally, it was a part of the "Women We Love" issue that had appeared yearly since 1988 (after being a section of "The Passions of Men" issue, June 1987), being initially titled "Woman of the Year". To build interest, the magazine would do a tease, releasing partial images of the woman in the issues preceding the November issue. By 2007, it had become the dominating story of the issue and to create an element of surprise the hints were abandoned.

Criticism

The Sexiest Woman Alive feature consists of a photoshoot of the woman selected alongside a profile about her. Over the years, the profile in particular has been criticized for being perceived as objectifying and heavily

male gaze In feminist theory, the male gaze is the act of depicting women and the world in the visual arts and in literature from a masculine, heterosexual perspective that presents and represents women as sexual objects for the pleasure of the heteros ...

-centric. Following

Penélope Cruz Penélope Cruz Sánchez (; ; born 28 April 1974) is a Spanish actress. Known for her roles in films of several genres, particularly those in the Spanish language, she has received various accolades, including an Academy Award and a British ...

being selected as the 2014 choice, Katy Waldman ran an article on '' Slate'' titled "Is It Impossible to Write a Decent Sexiest Woman Alive Profile?", writing that the profile is the "latest icky entry in the icky genre", and describing it as using "rapt, creepy, overheated language to say practically nothing about his subject, except that she is 'impossibly beautiful,' 'has no physical flaws,' 'looks like a thousand different women,' and 'can be whatever we want her to be.' (So, nothing.)". Waldman in particular criticizes profile author Chris Jones' use of a metaphor comparing Cruz eating a steak with bullfighting, saying that "The whole thing is pretentious, overwritten, and too satisfied with itself ��. Waldman is also critical of previous Sexiest Woman Alive profiles, saying "''Esquire''s Sexiest Woman Alive profiles are generally terrible.", writing, "They traffic in weirdo pious metaphors and exaggerations that aim to winkingly indicate how overcome a guy gets in the face of a gorgeous lady. But they just make men seem like drooling louts." She cites two examples: 2005's choice

Jessica Biel Jessica Claire Timberlake ( née Biel ; born March 3, 1982) is an American actress and model. She has received various accolades, including a Young Artist Award, and nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award and two Golden Globe Awards. Bie ...

("Those liquid lips, those pearly ankles, those Boulder shoulders—Jessica Biel is a woman of many parts. … Now, at last, she is whole. Behold.") and 2011's choice Rihanna ("She grabs her own radiant ass—she handles it, offers it—like it's a rump roast."). Waldman highlights Ross McCammon's profile on 2012 choice

Mila Kunis Milena Markovna "Mila" Kunis (born August 14, 1983) is an American actress. Born in Chernivtsi and raised in Los Angeles, she began playing Jackie Burkhart on the Fox television series ''That '70s Show'' (1998–2006) at the age of 14. Since ...

as one of the "less objectionable instances" for "Instead of fogging up the page with lurid masturbatory descriptions, they create space for the subject's voice by ''asking questions and quoting answers.''", but adds that even "the McCammon solution—don't talk about looks!—feels like a bit of a runaround", since the theme of the Sexiest Woman Alive feature "is, straight up, the carnal allure of a female celebrity." Waldman ultimately ends asking, "Do we want to declare that theme unacceptable, at least in the hands of a male journalist? Or is there a way for men to write about ladies' physical appeal without sounding like obnoxious creeps?" ''Esquire''s style of writing about the women selected as Sexiest Woman Alive has been brought up when discussing other articles criticized for their language towards women described in them. Following a 2016 '' Vanity Fair'' article on

Margot Robbie Margot Elise Robbie (; born 2 July 1990) is an Australian actress and producer. Known for her work in both blockbuster and independent films, she has received several accolades, including nominations for two Academy Awards, four Golden Glob ...

that received such criticism,

Anne Helen Petersen Anne Helen Petersen is an American writer and journalist. She worked as a Senior Culture Writer for BuzzFeed until August 2020, when she began writing full-time for her newsletter "Culture Study" on Substack. Petersen has also been published in ...

at BuzzFeed compared "this sort of language – and the imposition of a (male) writer's gaze onto the image of a burgeoning (woman) star", directly comparing it with the Penélope Cruz article, describing it as the author "watching Penélope Cruz eat steak against the backdrop of a forced matador metaphor"; while a ''Lainey Gossip'' article said of the ''Vanity Fair'' article on Robbie, which is described as having "so much derisive, condescending, misogynistic language", "One paragraph in and we've already been treated to some Esquire-level bullshit."

Awards and honors

2000–present

National Magazine Awards The National Magazine Awards, also known as the Ellie Awards, honor print and digital publications that consistently demonstrate superior execution of editorial objectives, innovative techniques, noteworthy enterprise and imaginative design. Or ...

International editions

* Bulgaria (since 2014) * China '' Shishang xiansheng'' (时尚先生) (since 1999) * Colombia (2012–2019) * Czech Republic * Greece * Germany (1987–1992) * El Salvador (since 2009) * Hong Kong (published by

SCMP Group The ''South China Morning Post'' (''SCMP''), with its Sunday edition, the ''Sunday Morning Post'', is a Hong Kong-based English-language newspaper owned by Alibaba Group. Founded in 1903 by Tse Tsan-tai and Alfred Cunningham, it has remained ...

) * Indonesia (launched 2007, published by MRA Group) * Italy (2018) * Japan (launched 1987, published by Esquire Magazine Japan Co., Ltd.) * Kazakhstan * Korea * Malaysia (launched April 2011) * Mexico * The Middle East (launched November 2009) * Netherlands – nl, Esquire (Nederland) (from 1990) – , * Philippines (launched October 2011, published by

Summit Media Summit Publishing Co., Inc., trading as Summit Media, is a Filipino digital lifestyle network in the Philippines. It has 15 media brands attracting around 20 million monthly unique visitors and approximately 33 million social media follower ...

) * Poland (2015–2019) * Republic of China (Taiwan) * Romania * Russia * Serbia (launched October 2013, published by Attica Media Serbia) * Singapore (launched September 2012) * South Korea (launched November 2007, published by Kaya Media) * Spain (from 2007) – , * Taiwan * Thailand * Turkey * Ukraine (launched in March 2012, closed in 2014) *

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

(from 1991) – , * Vietnam (launched April 2013)

References

External links

* (US)
Official website
(UK)
Official website
(Hong Kong)

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Esquire (Magazine) Magazines established in 1933 Monthly magazines published in the United States Hearst Communications publications Men's magazines published in the United States Men's fashion magazines Lifestyle magazines published in the United States Literary magazines published in the United States Political magazines published in the United States Magazines published in Chicago Magazines published in New York City

History

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Fiction

The Napkin Fiction Project

Dubious Achievement Awards

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Criticism

Awards and honors

2000–present

International editions

See also

References

External links