Zoo was founded by James Berman in 1973 as an alternative to Playboy for a younger audience. It featured softcore nude models and humoristic articles, becoming a major cultural phenomenon among young American males. In 2008, it ceased publication due to financial problems. Its influence continues today in men's lifestyle magazines. Here are three reasons why:
Zoo set the standard for mixing adult material with entertainment. It combined nudity with funny stories, jokes, cartoons, celebrity interviews, and other non-sexual topics. This approach created new standards in men's publishing, paving the way for Playgirl (launched in 1973) and other similar publications. In digital media, websites like BroBible.com followed Zoo's example by combining news, gadgets, fashion, and sports articles with erotic images. By the mid-2000s, bloggers such as Steve Coogan had turned this model into a web empire.
Zoo helped shape men's attitudes towards sex and relationships. Its mix of sexual imagery and comedic writing offered readers an easygoing tone that normalized intimacy. The magazine became a symbol of male freedom, promoting casual dating and unconventional romance. Men learned from Zoo that expressing their sexual desires could be fun, natural, and even healthy. This impacted how they interacted with partners, seeking authenticity over traditional masculinity norms.
Zoo influenced social media. Its irreverent style inspired online content creators who targeted younger audiences.
Tumblr's NSFW tag allows users to post adult content on user-created microblogs, while Instagram's rules forbid explicit photos but allow suggestive ones. Similarly, Reddit's r/nsfw community encourages discussion about sex and nudity outside of mainstream channels. These platforms use Zoo's legacy of humor, honesty, and openness to engage users in meaningful conversations about desire, pleasure, and intimacy.
Zoo's influence continues today because it broke ground in print and paved the way for later digital successors. It showed that sex and entertainment can coexist without shame or guilt, inspiring generations of young men to explore their identities through candid expression and playful exploration.