Barely Legal is an American pornographic magazine featuring young women aged between 18 and 23 who appear to be just under the legal age limit for appearing in hardcore pornography. It was launched in 1996 by Hustler Publishing's Larry Flynt Publications division, which also published men's magazines such as Hustler, Chic, Dirty Bob's Xcellent Adventures, and Bizarre Sex. Its cover price was $6.95, but readers could receive it free if they subscribed to Hustler. The magazine had two regular issues per month until August 2004 when it became a quarterly publication. In June 2005, it became a bimonthly title again, before becoming a monthly publication from September 2006 until its closure in July 2008.
The idea behind creating Barely Legal was to tap into a new market segment that was interested in youthful models but wanted more than what traditional mainstream publications offered. The magazine was created to appeal to young adults who were eager to explore their sexuality without being limited by taboos or censorship. This meant featuring models with natural bodies rather than surgically enhanced ones, who often appeared nude instead of fully clothed like their peers did. While most other publications focused on established porn stars with years of experience, Barely Legal featured fresh faces whose careers were just starting out.
Hustler Magazine Inc., founded by publisher Larry Flynt, first released a soft-core version of Barely Legal in October 1978. However, the original run ended after only three issues due to lackluster sales. A few years later, in 1989, Hustler revived Barely Legal as a hardcore magazine under the same name. It ran for five issues before folding once again in January 1993 due to financial difficulties caused by rising printing costs and distribution problems. The company also produced several spin-off titles such as Barely Legal College Girls and Barely Legal Latinas between 1994 and 1996. These magazines featured models who were either still attending college or had recently graduated.
When it relaunched in 1996, Barely Legal was designed to appeal to men between 25 and 40 who enjoyed watching younger women perform sexually explicit acts. Its content consisted mainly of solo masturbation scenes where girls played with themselves using various props such as dildos or vibrators while wearing lingerie or stripped down completely. There were also some girl-on-girl action scenes featuring two friends fooling around behind closed doors at home or in school bathrooms.
The magazine's success can be attributed to its ability to capture an audience that felt overlooked by other publications which focused on more experienced porn stars. This allowed them to offer something different from what was already available on the market without alienating existing fans of traditional pornography. Furthermore, since all models featured were within legal age limits, they could avoid any potential legal troubles associated with featuring minors on camera. This also helped protect both Hustler Publishing and LFP from lawsuits related to child pornography laws.