A term given to primarily British magazines directed at young American men (and I guess middle-aged American men who still want to be "lads" despite a noticeable wedding ring ... you know the type... he's probably messaging you right now on MSN).
Maxim magazine is the best known of the periodicals in the lad category. Others include FHM, Stuff, Gear, and Details. Lad magazines are noted for their scantly dressed "barely legal" cover models and light hearted, jokey articles about beer/sex/babes.
They've found a ready, growing market because a) sex sells b) nudity doesn't at 7-11. Lad magazines are overtaking softcore spank rags like Playboy and Penthouse as young men's glossy gawk 'n' drool material because of their high visibility on magazines shelves. Conservative politics have driven most magazine retailers to place Playboy and Penthouse onto special covered racks behind the counter, buried behind the expired dairy products, right next to the You're-Never-Gonna-Get-Any brand condoms. In contrast, lad magazines, because they feature everything else but bare nipples and airbrushed genitals that don't resemble real human vaginas, get prime shelf space in the so-called men's section.
Their popularity has, of course, lead to something of a glut of imitators in recent years. Many are now specializing. For example, King and Smooth target young black males while Stun! tries to take misogyny to new levels.
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