At the close of the twentieth century, "sexploitation" magazine publishing had evolved into a $1-billion-a-year business. Leading the field was Hustler magazine. Unlike Playboy (see entry under 1950s—Print Culture in volume 3), its chief rival during the century's last decades and a publication whose sexual imagery was far less degrading by contemporary standards, Hustler printed photographs that are raw, graphic, and sexually explicit. Many sex magazines were available only in shops specializing in XXX-rated material. In comparison, Hustler could be found on the magazine racks in all types of bookstores. For better or worse, its initial success in the mid-1970s helped to lift pornography into the mainstream of popular culture. For this reason alone, Hustler is one of the most controversial magazines ever published.

Hustler was the brainchild of Larry Flynt (1942–), its publisher and founder. In 1972, Flynt, who owned a chain of bars that featured strippers and...