Press

If you’re a journalist or blogger preparing a piece about Filament, and you’d like to ask some questions or get access to some images you can use, get in touch. We’ll be happy to help you out.

Folks have said all sorts of lovely things about Filament. Here’s some of them.

TELEVISION

• UK ITV’s Loose Women
• Five’s The Wright Stuff
• Close Up, New Zealand
• France 24

TWITTER

Filament has been tweeted about by Stephen Fry, Girl with a one track mind writer Abby Lee (aka Zoe Margolis), sex educator Violet Blue, best-selling novelist Laurell K. Hamilton, singer/songwriter Amanda Palmer and comic writer Warren Ellis.

RADIO

• BBC World service
• BBC Radio One
• BBC Radio Essex
• BBC Radio West Midlands
• National Radio Ireland
• Radio Independent Ireland
• English Breakfast Radio Netherlands:

‘I didn’t know if I’m the kind of women who needs to look at this in a magazine, but you know, I’m not going to lie, I’ve been looking through it this morning and I really have been turned on… and your articles are so interesting!’

• Radio New Zealand:
‘A new erotic magazine for intelligent women’
• Sex is Fun (USA):
‘It’s everything I’ve heard women complain about not being available in magazines. It’s amazing. It’s truly amazing… There are a lot of really good articles in here… The photography spreads are gorgeous… It’s so different.’

NEWSPAPERS & MAGAZINES

The Guardian
‘While some questioned whether women would even buy visual erotica, Filament’s readers soon put them straight. Not only were women buying it, they were asking for more explicit pictures.’

The Independent

• Can an ex-civil servant finally persuade women to buy erotica?

• Hit & Run: Seen but not hard – the big penis debate

The London Paper:
‘If you’re sick of the cliché that is men’s mags (soft porn) and women’s (dieting tips and sob stories), … Filament, which puts brainy articles alongside half-naked pictures of pretty, brooding fellas, might be for you.’

Evening Standard:

• Londoners love getting naked
• ‘An intelligently written magazine’

Sunday Herald Magazine

GQ Italia

Time Out London:
‘This quarterly is for women who like hot men and intelligent thought – not always an oxymoron – and includes artistic, if WH Smith-scaring, portraits of naked men, features and interviews.’

The Skinny:
‘As a consumer, I’m already convinced by the sneak preview on the website.’

Bizarre Magazine:
‘Let’s drink to Filament – and make it a stiff one.’

Bitch Magazine:
‘I’ve got a serious crush on the makers of Filament… Filament offers up arty photos of naked men with nary a Playgirl-issue bearskin rug in sight, and on top of that features smart, well-edited articles.’

Devolution Magazine:
• ‘A wonderful mix’
• ‘The well-written articles are fantastic and the content extremely varied’
• ‘A niche mag that has thankfully appeared out of nowhere to grab the hearts and minds of female readers worldwide.’

Vanity magazine:
‘An erotic magazine for female with lots and lots of pictures of naked men!’

TNT Magazine

The Metro:

‘Oscar Wilde used to talk about shades of meaning – that life wasn’t just black or white but grey – and that in this greyness we would find intelligence… Filament sits in this grey place. It doesn’t generalise. It doesn’t imagine all women want to read about going shopping.’

Stuff.co.nz: Kiwi’s erotic ambition provokes debate

New Zealand Herald:

‘Strangely philosophical territory for a nudey mag. Then again, a lot of philosophising went into its making… Her concept was similar to Playboy’s early blend of challenging reading – the latest issue features a story looking at the idea of using food rationing for population control – and artfully revealing picture spreads.’

The Punch (Australia):
‘There really is something delightful about seeing male bodies presented as objects of erotic beauty.’

BLOGS AND WEBSITES

Em & Lo, Sundance Channel:
‘The brand new Filament magazine in the UK calls bullshit on the so-called common knowledge that women don’t like to look.’

Jezebel: Celebrity, Sex, Fashion for women:
‘Is Filament a strong contender for regular reading rotation? Absolutely. The articles are well written, and the photography is gorgeous.’

Alternet:
‘After it’s first issue, showing erotic images geared to women, readers told them they wanted more explicit material. Filament decided to show a man with an erection but their timid printers refused the job. The magazine launched an online campaign to raise money for a pricier printing service. They got it. The issue sold out.’

WarrenEllis.com:
‘Beautifully produced.’

The F-Word:
‘Filament makes it okay to forget about being the sexy object and encourages women to reclaim the active sexual gaze for ourselves: that’s something I can really get on board with.’
‘the articles, interviews, short fiction and poetry pages are top notch.’

Exoskeleton Cabaret:
‘A highly-researched, beautifully bound publication chock full of both saucy males posing for the camera and intelligent articles.’

Squidge Magazine:
‘I applaud them for realising that women do like to look at pictures of beautiful men.’

Whack! Magazine:
‘Filament (tagline “The Thinking Woman’s Crumpet”) is, for lack of a better term, smart porn for women. In amongst thought-provoking articles on everything from women and gaming to atheist parenting are sensual, nay erotic photos of men, taken solely for the purposes of getting hetero and bisexual women off. Imagine, a magazine for women that specifically refuses to publish anything about fashion, makeup, or dieting. A woman that… treats women like people instead of Barbie dolls? It can’t be!’

Curiously Persistent:
‘Filament has made a strong start, and I hope it does succeed. One potential criticism of the title could be that … it takes itself too seriously. But I can attest from the launch party – with burlesque, chinese pole, life-drawing and a sense of fun – that this certainly isn’t the case.’

Swimsuit Issue:
‘A publication that acknowledges female desire and caters for it, as well as promoting positive body images and providing intelligent comment, should be applauded.’

Friskbiskit:
‘It’s so refreshing to find someone who is aware of the fact that women like to look too, if you give us something worth looking at.’

Annabelle’s Manifesto:
‘What’s especially refreshing about Filament (and little other pornography I’ve found on the internet or newsstands) is that it also presumes its readers’ intellect.’

Carnal Nation:
‘From the name right down to the design, everything about Filament is tasteful and elegant. It is feminine without being frilly and explicit without being tawdry. Most importantly it is intelligent.’

BlogHer:
‘I loved, loved, loved the idea behind Filament — hot discussion about a range of topics and hot pictures of men in various states of undress! Finally, a real Playboy for the ladies.’

Naked men, happy women:
‘When it comes to erotic magazines for women, it is easy: we want good and clever articles – about various topics. We want erotic fiction that is hot, direct and stimulates our lustful fantasies. We want images of natural, authentic-looking men, men who make us curious, men we want to touch, men we can meet in real life… This is exactly what you get with Filament.’

Malefeminity.com:
‘Confirms much of what we find here as well, that women’s taste in erotic photography is quite different from what you might find in a gay magazine.’

Janine Ashbless:
‘I’m dancing up and down with delight… I really hope readers and everyone in the erotica community gives the publication their support.’

Pamflet Magazine:
‘Successful magazines need editorial leadership from strong personalities with a clear vision and concept, and that’s exactly what Filament has, from Suraya Sidhu Singh’s welcome letter and coolly confident portrait to the powerful mission statement on the final page.’

Erotica Cover Watch:
‘It actually looks like they might really be offering something sexy and different and working hard to be appealing… Filament, I like your style already.’

Fig leaf (Best Male Sex Blogger, 2006):
‘Bottom line? It’s the sort of magazine I’d enjoy reading in bed. With a partner. Not so much one-handed reading as three-handed.’

Emma Hart – Newsflash: Women Have Eyes:
‘Allowing women to be honest about expressing their sexuality – and having a society that admits and encompasses female desire – can only be positive.’

Love Honey:
‘Unlike female-friendly print-porn of the past, which seems to target the gay male market, or giggling girls out on their hen night, Filament showcases the kind of attractive males you’d see at a Faith No More concert or grabbing a cup of java from your local fair-trade coffee shop.’

Madame Fancy Pants:
‘Featuring nudie men in lovely surroundings, articles about sex, modern thinking, music and a few erotic short stories to boot!’

Valerie Strangiato:
‘I enjoyed this issue just as much as the last. The men were just as lovely, the articles interesting and the erect penis very, very nice… If you haven’t already picked up your copies, I urge you to do so.’

A-rouse:
‘Filament is a very good read and left me thinking as opposed to being consumered-out in the way that all the ads for shoes, fragrances and makeup in other magazines do.’

Quiet Riot Girl:
‘Filament is The quarterly women’s magazine inspired by the rocket science that women have brains and eyes. It includes articles, photography, stories. And pictures of naked men! … I think I am in love.’

20 minutes ago:
‘Finally a magazine that for once [...] lets us forget about the cultural obsession with our lovely lady lumps. No women’s fashion, diets, or celebrity gossip here. Now, when will it become widely available in the U.S? I’m ready.’

All that Chas:
‘I loved the issue of Filament I bought’

Geeka Chicas:
‘What it does offer is a slick, smart read for women who think more about the way we relate to the world than simply what makeup or clothing we need in order to snag a man… Do I sound smitten? I am.’

Meter Mouse:
‘It’s a nudey mag for women, but also so much more! They have great articles, sexytime movie reviews, interviews, on and on, and the magazine is GORGEOUS!‘

Cherry Sweets:

‘Finally, I have found a magazine with images of men that appeal to women.’