Scarlet is a monthly women's magazine launched in November 2004 for "women who get it".[1] It is published by Scarlet Publishing Ltd and distributed all around the United Kingdom, and also has a cult following in countries such as the US, Canada and Australia. Its current editor is Sarah Hedley. The publisher is Gavin Griffiths, former owner of the Erotic Review. Griffiths and Emily Dubberley, the magazine's first editor, shared a belief that there was a gap in the UK women's magazine market for a title that didn't patronise its readers, had a sense of humour and promoted a range of body types, as well as talking about sex frankly and openly. Scarlet's originators considered that mainstream magazines like Cosmopolitan, in particular, did women a disservice with their attitudes to both sex and body image. The title focuses on empowering women to lead healthier sex lives by "frank informative features that talk to the readers the way women talk to each other when men aren't around."[2] Its features are much more sexually explicit than other magazines - for example, in one issue a reporter had a plaster cast made of her vulva, and photographs of the process, as well as the end result, were provided.[3] Since launch it has expanded its remit to include more non-sex features to reach a wider audience. The title is now distributed in W H Smith, Tesco, Superdrug and Somerfield. Critics of Scarlet have claimed that it promotes vibrators excessively.[4] It has, however, been given positive reviews by major newspapers in the UK, including The Times and The Guardian.[5]
