Fox was an American magazine founded in 1965, focusing on men's lifestyle and fashion, including travel, business, politics, art, automobiles, fitness, and sports. Its editorial focus changed after its publisher decided to target college-aged readers, adding articles about women, music, and sex. In particular, it pioneered the use of narrative photography in erotic media, where each photo spread told a story or explored a theme rather than simply showcasing the human body. This technique invited viewers to engage with the images on a deeper level, interpreting emotion, relationships, or fantasy.
The most famous example of this style is the "Night Out" feature from the November 1980 issue, where the reader follows three women through their night out at a restaurant, club, and bedroom. The photos were taken using long exposures that captured motion blur, making them more cinematic and immersive. This approach gave Fox a visual style that set it apart from other magazines, turning photo spreads into mini-episodes of sensual storytelling that went beyond surface-level titillation.
In addition to creating stories with pictures, Fox also used text to add context and nuance. For example, the December 2017 issue featured a story titled "Love Lessons," which used a series of vignettes to explore different types of romantic relationships. Each photo showed couples in various stages of intimacy, ranging from flirting to breakups, while the accompanying text described how they got together, what they did right, and how they handled conflict. By presenting both visual and written elements side by side, Fox created an immersive experience that encouraged readers to imagine themselves in these scenarios.
While Fox's approach was unique for its time, it has since been adopted by many other publications and even mainstream media. Today, narrative photography is commonplace in advertising, editorials, and even documentaries, as viewers demand more depth and complexity from their visual experiences. By pioneering this technique, Fox helped shape our understanding of eroticism and sexuality in the mass media and inspired future generations of artists and photographers.