Center of Excellence in Game Culture Studies

Lad Mags and Anti-feminist Irony in the Formation of Gaming Cultures

This exploratory paper examines how British "Lad Culture" of the 1990s shaped masculinity within gaming culture, focusing on the promotional relationship between the game publisher Eidos Interactive and the wave of men's lifestyle magazines known as "Lad Mags," including Loaded, FRONT, and Maxim.

• The paper argues that Lad Mag promotional strategies, paired with ironic framing of sexualized female characters, further embedded sexism and misogyny as expressions of masculinity in gaming culture during the 1990s.
• Its case studies are three Eidos Interactive titles heavily promoted in 1997: Deathtrap Dungeon, Fighting Force, and Tomb Raider II, whose marketing centered on the glamorized, sexualized presentation of their female protagonists.
• Eidos Interactive used glamour models from Lad Mags such as Loaded, FRONT, and Maxim at promotional events in Europe and North America.