a questioner, i think this magazine should fess up to being soft core porn and not try to present itself as some kind of new great asian american media whose goal is to counteract stereotypes. that's what they say they are doing -- counteracting stereotypes of asian women, but how can they claim this when all they are doing is presenting scantily clad women with rabbits sitting on their rears? who cares if the models were educated at top schools? why should a women's level of education matter when it comes to stereotypes? SAM needs to stop pretending they are doing anything different than showing soft core. even maxim has a little more insight in it content and doesn't run such offensive lines as "if she violently snatches her hand away, she's a bitch and you're better off without the ho." (in a story about how to pick up women)If this magazine wants to present scantily clad women, then present scantily cald women, but don't try to make it sound like something it isn't, and say they're doing some great thing to the image of women when they are clearly not.

oh, i see. so the message is, even if she's a doctor or a Stanford graduate, she's still a bitch or a ho who'll bend over for you.nice. nothing fights racism better than misogyny.by the way, that last comment was sarcastic, Thao. shouldn't use it for editorial direction.

SAM was named "Worst Magazine of 2005" by Illstatic.http://www.illstatic.com/bestof2005/index.php

i am looking for modeling work for this mag can u send soem details so i can send u some pics

Maxim may be more interesting than SAM but I am not sure if it's more insightful or less offensive than SAM. Have you seen their past issue where they had pictures of Gandhi being beaten up and totally humiliated him? I believe degrading the father of India is more “offensive” than the article that meant to be funny and not to be taken seriously. You obviously don’t get the joke.SAM magazine is probably helping the image of Asian men more than that of Asian women. Asian women in general are doing much better than Asian men in the mainstream media (i.e. no Asian male anchor, no Asian guy kisses a women in the movie or tv, etc.). So I believe even if SAM does not portray Asian women in the best possible light, I believe they are doing far more goods for ASIAN MEN than any media I have ever seen.

I would like to see more masculine and confident Asian men in Hyphen. I don't know if that naked Asian guy on the cover necessarily counteracts the stereotype that Asian guys are goofy, nerdy, and asexual. At least in SAM, Asian guys are not effeminate, "gay or Asian" nerds.

Let me guess, the guys in SAM are not "effeminate" because they have ladies draped around them. Please! You don't need ladies on your arm to show how confident and masculine you are. Is that what guys really think?I personally find the bathtub guy in Hyphen to be attractive. My girlfriends think he's good lookin' too. Yeah, it's goofy (I think that's because Hyphen doesn't take itself too seriously), but I don't find it nerdy or asexual at all. I also find him approachable-looking, which is also attractive. Typical images of "hot guys" with hella muscles and square jaws are scary.Maybe this difference in perception is based on gender.

Justin, I agree that the Ghandi bit in Maxim was offensive, but that doesn't let SAM off the hook.If that article was supposed to be a joke, the writing was so poor that it did not come across as joking at all. Generally, it seems like a bad idea to call women bitches and ho's in a men's magazine, don't you think? Gee, I wonder why people think that comes across as mysognist.It's true that Asian women have it easier in mainstream media than Asian men. But that's no excuse to portray women in a bad light. If they're putting men up by putting women down, then no progress is being made.

Hmm, the website is blocked by my filters at work as "pornography." (Though Maxim isn't.)

i love it! on the side of their homepage, under "categories" is the following list:

supermodel foxesworld peaceself-improvementsuccesssexrelationshipsfun stuffmiscellaneous

is that a nav bar or a priorities list?

There's a number of magazines targeting Asian American women, such as Jade and Audrey, so it's nice to see something for the guys. I just hope SAM can balance the cleavage with enough real content to be taken seriously. Otherwise, it won't be around long.I don't get that. What do you define as "real content"? I've seen Audrey and SAM's website, and both are fluff at best. However, it would really seem disingenuous to me to have articles about makeup and designer clothes OR a bunch of half naked chicks and then throw in some "conscious" content to make them look more down. I'm fine with these magazines as long as they don't take themselves too seriously and try to represent Asian America...because that just comes off as fake. Sure I won't read them, but they can serve that superficial niche if they want.

I think by real content, I meant stories that just weren't excerpts from books or stories sort of thrown together by taking stuff from other stories. If you've seen their prototype, you'll know what I mean.

ah ok...I see what you mean :)

So, firstly, I have to agree with those who said the mission statement of SAM magazine is contradictory to the content of their magazine. I think they should just focus on 'Asian male entertainment' as their mission.Secondly, SAM is basically like an Asian Maxim, but I don't see the point in that, really. I know Asian guys'll pick up Maxim, and Maxim also has Asian models lately, so SAM is in trouble. I think the mission of AA magazines should be to cater towards all Americans in order to break stereotypes.We have a website called www.SingleAsianMale.com, and I swear we didn't get the name from the magazine. In any case, we made the same mistake of trying to uplift the Asian male image by trying to empower them, often by objectifying women. Readers comments taught me that it's not a good approach. It's contradictory to try to improve the Asian male image by degrading women, you see? Our site is far from PC, but we realized our flaw in our thinking, and are trying to really build up the Asian male image by being proud of our heritage, but meanwhile trying to dissect what it is that is causing these issues. Some of it is our own doing, some of it is the white American media. In any case, it's a slow road, but we don't want to alienate Asian women while walking it. Guys, we have to be smart about all this. Anyway, please check out our site, comment, and voice your opinions! - Ref

If Hyphen and SAM want to improve their cashflow then they should seriously consider putting advertising banners on their websites, and improving web-hits.Face it, lots of asians love to get their media on the 'net.It's advisable to monetize it rather than take a big hit from lack of funding.Focusing limited resources on difficult magazine overhead and distribution for a demographic that loves to post and use the internet makes no sense. --Especially the whitewashed asians may be embarrassed by being seen buying or owning an "asian ethnic" magazine -- especially if they have "controversial" topics such as criticisms of white racism.Maybe look into Google ad banners or something...As for SAM magazine website... yeah, it comes off as a little low-brow for me and the production values -- wardrobe, photography, and art design need some more work in order to stand out.But it's a mistake to try and please everyone.Posting photographs of sexy asian women in a non-degrading way is not necessarily bad. Up the production values and improve the artistry of the photography.Asian-americans and Americans in general will hammer asian men with a more scrutinizing, and less forgiving light for any character indescretions than white-men. -- Since asian-men have been routinely villainized and stereotyped as sexist.So asian-men should know that there will be a DOUBLE STANDARD when an asian women is scantily clad and depicted as a sex object on Sports Illustrated or when asian stars such as Yun-jin Kim is depicted as a sex object by white male dominated media (http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200609/200609070011.html).Comparitively, there will be kudos and nearly absent criticism when the white media does these things, but for asian men, there will be racist motivated haranging, and less supportive attitude and mocking criticism from whitewashed asians since asian men trying to break ground are an easy target.

How about magazine like Utne? they reprint a lot of articles from other sources, so does that mean Utne has no real content?

The guys in SAM are not effeminate because they don't look like the guy on Hyphen's cover. May I suggest that you see 007 or other movies and notice how our American male heroes almost always end up with beautiful women. Unfortunately, being cool and masculine can mean being with hot women. Is Hyphen trying to put down Asian men or is it just done subconsciously. How in the world could you be proud of that cover and say that it is not hurting Asian men's image.I don't think SAM is putting down Asian women any less than Hyphen is catering to negative Asian male stereotypes.

correction:I don't think SAM is putting down Asian women any more than what Hypen is doing to Asian men (as evidenced by the naked asian guy on the cover).what were you guys thinking. or should I said you female staff didn't consult with non-gay asian guys.

So one guy in a tub on Hyphen's cover is equal to ALL the half-nekkid women in SAM? Give me a break.If that tub guy was a negative stereotype, then what are all the women in SAm? Progressive?This complaining about the Asian guys in HYPHEN smacks of insecurity. First he's not masculine enough, then he's being objectified... make up your minds. Do you think that tub guy damaged the Asian male's image so much that it can only be erased by dozens of soft core porn shots of Asian women? That's not "progress" at all.Face it, magazines like SAM aim for the "titillation factor" - bunches o' boobs. If guys want to look at that, so what? It's their choice. Hooray for them, but don't compare SAM to Hyphen or Audrey, it ain't even close.

Utne used to be called The Utne Reader which was by conception largely a collection of reprints from other sources akin to Reader's Digest. Makes more sense with 'Reader' in the name, but limiting to the scope of brand and editorial, I imagine.

No complaining and no insecurities. Having goofy Asian guy on the cover is bad for Asian male image.

i cannot believe the degree of debate and the 'depth' of intellectual gnip-gnop on SAM magazine. IT is a soft core mag for men, not unlike Maxim and the others, that is focused on the Asian Male market. Boo-Yah for Asian men!! (??)It is NOT about 'correcting stereotypes' of Asian women. To whatever extent people 'rethink' their opinions of white men or black men or any other kind of man based on mags like Maxim, then i suppose the same could be true for Asian men. Most times the reaction is not good.In my opinion, the 'best' representation 'outcome' for guys that read that stuff is that they are sort of dofus types that drink too much beer and spend too much time talking about tits and too much time applying hair gel. Its a lightweight magazine with a largely lightweight audience. So we have a step towards equality in the great U.S. of A. - asian guys can be seen as boorish jerks too.Ahhh, the wheels of progress turn yet again. Are you happy??

SAM is a lame ass magazine for those bump it rice rocket spiky haired Asian wannabe thugs who can only get hot chicks by agreeing to put them in car shows or photo shoots. I think Hyphen is pretty dope for the Asian American community, but when the hell y'all gonna come out with the next issue? I'm sick and tired of seeing that half naked Asian dude in the bathtub with edamame. Can't y'all mix shit up a little more with the images so people will want to come back? Payce!

just my opinion in all this craziness. I didn't get the first issue of SAM though i did visit their web page and their seems to be a contradiction within the magazine's content and mission. I agree with all said above but i dunno when the cover got a headline such as "field-tested secrets to picking up asian babes", "pets of sam" i dunno it doesn't sit well with me. Its a hard topic and an even harder industry to break into. And another thing about the stuff about the beautiful intellegent women being portrayed most of the images are girls with their breasts and booty showing for a guy this is a plus, for a concience stereo-type breaking piece i dunno yellow fever comes to mind. wheres the part of answering the need for strong and enduring images of asian american males. I suggest either fixing your mission statement or remaking the magazine. Also how can you throw a party for the first issue is this magazine that popular that they have enough advertisers and revenue to do that off the first issue?!

Well, if any of us here at Hyphen got paid, then maybe we could put out the mag more frequently. Seeing as how we all have to hold down day jobs, it's hard for us to publish as often as we'd like to. How can we get the revenue to hire full-time staff so that we can put out a better (and timelier) mag? If people would buy more subscriptions and advertising from us. That said, the next issue (#8) is already on its way.

NO MORE DUDES IN BATHTUBS PLEASE! I HAVE TO TURN OVER THE COVER EVERYTIME I READ THAT ISSUE. PROPS TO ISSUE #6 AND I LOOK FORWARD TO ISSUE #8. SPANKS-ALOT

of course, what do you expect them to say in their mission statement? "we at SAM are looking to generate some serious eyeball traffic and the occassional wood by showing hot Asian chicks, tricked-out cars and pointless tech gadgetry to sell ad space so that big companies will give us money."candor has its limits.SAM's party? don't believe the hype. this is a sequel. you have seen this movie.

junkDawg,If you're open to any logic and reason, let me educate you on SAM magazine since i have interned for it over a year and know the people who work there.First of all, they don't accept any car models period. most of their models are highly intelligent and professionals (i.e. models from top universities, lawyers, doctors, business owners, graduate students,etc.). They have a very serious mission so don't underestimate what appears to be a just simple entertaining magazine with beautiful models. you wouldn't find more loyal and dedicated people than those at SAM magazine.

Thao, that's cool, man ... I'm open to some logic and reason. I think it would be cool if SAM could somehow state that, though, since a lot of people who just see images of hot asian chicks might draw similar, uneducated opinions as I have. I think the magazine would benefit from highlighting the articles on Cung Le and Dat Nguyen so people visiting the site would be impressed just as much by content as by pics of hot ass asian chicks. Not like there's anything wrong with hot ass asian chicks (or pretty asian ladies, to be more p fucking c).

junkDawg, the cover model of the first issue graduated from Stanford U in less 4 years. the other models share similarities in intelligence or talent. their models are not your typical bimbos. SAM is trying to counteract the stereotype that Asian girls are portrayed in the media as being either pornographic/degrading/easy or too conservative. They are saying asian women can be both beautiful, smart, AND sexy--- not dirty or slutty although there is a fine line between what is sexy and slutty and the issue will probably be debated. Again, as far as i know SAM magazine is trying to make them look sexy but not cheap or dirty. just thnk of SAM models as Victoria secret or sports illustrated models, NOT car or nude asian models. they are not quite there yet but I think that's where they ae headed.Cung Le and Dat Nguyen were featured in their pilot or test issue already. SAM magazine's main focus is not the website so they know it's somewhat fluffy or superficial at the moment.

So, you're saying that if the women modeling are educated and professional, then it's ok to objectify them?I'm not sure if the reader understands that these models are "not your typical bimbos." The reader of course is going to see the image first, not the text saying so-and-so is a doctor.Yes, Asian women can be both smart and sexy, but I'm not sure that's what the photos (and interviews) are conveying.

that's why the issue of portraying women in sexy way will almost always be debated in term of what is acceptable (even here what is acceptable to men is quite different from women's standard, to speak in generalities). So where do you draw the line as far as "objectifying" anyone. are sports illustrated or victoria secret models less objectified than car or pinup models because they are in a more expensive outfit at better shooting locations working with better photographers? was JLo objectifying her sexuality when she wore that green versace dress that was so low cut that she had to use tape to make sure her breasts didn't pop out?the bottom line is what matters to each indivisual's taste, belief system, life's philosophy, etc.

I understand your reasoning thao, and I like your intent. But its kind of hard to see intelligent models, when one of the pages shows a girl bent over with a rabbit on her rear. On the same page it shows a woman, petting her "kitty" and another women with a large boa. Just my initial observation.

sex sells and it is used to sell everything. women are used to sell sex to men. why would you expect some different standard for asian women in the selling of a product to (theoretically) asian men? you're overthinking this. it's a 'soft core' magazine for asian men. don't try to make it something more.

Posted by: thao at January 2, 2006 04:50 PM"SAM is trying to counteract the stereotype that Asian girls are portrayed in the media as being either pornographic/degrading/easy or too conservative. They are saying asian women can be both beautiful, smart, AND sexy--- not dirty or slutty although there is a fine line between what is sexy and slutty and the issue will probably be debated. Again, as far as i know SAM magazine is trying to make them look sexy but not cheap or dirty."

Hahaha."Nobody oppresses a minority like another minority."