Photo: Elke Kuhlen

Elke Kuhlen and Nicole Rüdiger

E&M: " Porn for Girls" is the motto of your magazine. Porn by definition aims to excite the viewer sexually. Is that what you aim to do?

Elke: No, not at all. Everybody should decide for themselves whether they're excited by it. The main reason we made it wasn't to turn people on, but because we personally wanted to see naked boys, which we normally wouldn't see.

E&M: So, then, you just want to show photos with young, good looking man and that's all?

Elke: We don't want to force anything on anyone. We don't want to say, take that to bed with you and have a nice evening. We noticed that women have lots of very different reactions to our magazine. Maybe they're interested, or maybe it's like, "Ah!"...or "Look at him, he looks really good!" or "He's not that good-looking!" or "He could have shaved his balls!" and so on. Everyone can decide personally what they think- good, bad, sexy, not a turn-on or whatever.

E&M: Then why do you call it a porn magazine? Playboy, for example, defines itself as erotic.

Elke: We have to do this because of German law. If you show an erection on a photo, like we do, you are obliged by law to call yourself a porn magazine.

E&M: How did you come up with the idea of launching this kind of magazine?

Elke: We got the idea while we were on holiday together. We were and are both in a relationship. There was a young, good looking man and we both thought, why don't we have the possibility to see this guy naked. Normally you only get the chance when the guy's already lying beside you. We kept thinking about this for a long time and then one day we just did it, we took photos of naked men - just for fun, really. Our idea was- we make a booklet out of it, we send it to all our friends for them to buy and that's it- but since then it's been one new issue after another.

E&M: Is that what young women need nowadays? I mean a porno magazine than a magazine about "typical" feminine themes like fashion or beauty tips?

Elke: It's different from woman to woman of course. The magazine is our own personal, subjective idea. We were always disappointed by the typical women's magazines, I mean, by the complete rubbish they write - like, how do I take care of my hair, the beauty tips or what's the new eyeliner from Paris like. And at the end of the day we just wanted to see naked guys.

E&M: Last week I went to buy "Jungsheft" and I got the last copy. You're definitely very much in demand! Who are the girls who buy it?

Elke: I would say they are between 18 and 35 years old. You never know for sure who's buying it, but the feedback comes from this age group.

Photo: "Jungsheft" cover no. 6

Hmm.... sexy boys!

E&M: Do you know of any similar porn magazines in Europe?

Elke: No, we don't. There are couple of gay magazines. "Butt Magazine", as example, has got great pictures of men, but it's always in a homosexual context, of course.

E&M: Why do you think there aren't any similar magazines?

Elke: I really don't know. I don't think I'm that innovative, and I do ask myself why nobody's done it before. "Jungsheft" is clearly a niche magazine, we have a small print run, but the market is there.

E&M: Do you plan to release your magazine Europe-wide in the future?

Elke: It would be great to be a European magazine! We thought about it couple of times, whether we should release "Jungsheft" in English, because then more people could read it. However, if we did this, other questions would arise, from "who's going to translate it" to "how can we distribute the magazine in Sweden". Also the expenses would change completely.

E&M: Who are the gorgeous boys in "Jungsheft"?

Elke: Boys from everywhere in Germany who were kind enough to give us permission to photograph them.

E&M: Well, they definitely aren't super-muscular models. If I'm honest, I found most of them a bit too skinny to be sexy. Which criteria do you use to choose the boys?

Elke: No criteria at all. In the end, anyone who's ready to take his clothes off and masturbate for the magazine can be a model for "Jungsheft".

E&M: On your website are tips "How do I get my boyfriend into the magazine?" - does that mean women aren't selfish nowadays and are ready to share pictures of their naked boyfriends with other women?

Elke: Absolutely, yes, that's absolutely right! Well actually, it varies hugely. There have been boys who agreed to do it, but then cancelled it because of their girlfriends.

E&M: And how does it work? I mean, can I take some photographs of my boyfriend or a friend from uni with my small, completely ordinary camera and send them to you?

Elke: Absolutely! Many of our photo galleries are made this way.

E&M: Thanks a lot for the interview! Boys and girls, don't be afraid, the website is www.jungsheft.de

Elke Kuhlen was interviewed by E&M Team