Love, sex and tenderness – the name of the pioneering column in Bravo magazine, which was published in the Czech Republic for 24 years and in 2007 was the most read magazine for youth. Popular among teenagers, the fortnightly had its origins in Germany – there there were even censorship interventions due to “controversial” passages about masturbation. Watch the new episode of the show Back.
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Bravo magazine in Germany faced censorship because of its section on sex. | Video: Aktuálně.cz
“Hello, I have a bit of a stupid question… Where can I have sex this winter when I can’t do it at home and I don’t want to do it somewhere in the toilets?” – Such questions also appeared in one passage of “Bravíčka”, where sexologists Pavel Zemek, Pavla Zemková and Hana Fifková advised teenagers with relationship and sexual problems that were previously taboo.
The most read column Love, sex and tenderness (later Love, sex and suffering) was something of a pioneer in the Czech environment between the 1990s and 2000s. It had never appeared before in youth magazines in such a liberal form. Bravo was also the first magazine to openly discuss important social issues related to sex, such as AIDS.
Sexologists did not approach teenagers as children, they did not moralize them, and their main criterion was mental and physical health. According to a study by the Institute of Sociology of the Academy of Sciences, which examined the portrayal of inequalities and value messages in magazines for children and youth using the Bravo magazine as an example, the fact that experts answered their questions and the style of their answers was empathetic also made young people feel trustworthy.
According to the graphic artist Klára, who worked in the Czech Brav, journalists did not invent questions and sometimes quite bizarre questions were actually sent to “Bravíček” by the readers themselves. “Everyone thinks we made it up, but it’s not true. In the beginning, there were really ten or twenty letters going to the editor’s office every day. The problem was more with the Once Upon a First Time section, where we sometimes really had to make up stories,” said Klára in an interview for Radio Wave.
In Germany, Bravo ran into trouble
The passage in Bravo about sexual problems was made famous in the original German version of the magazine by sexologist Martin Goldstein, appearing under the pseudonym Doktor Sommer, already in the 1970s. At that time, he received up to four thousand letters a week – later the entire “Doctor Sommer team” was created, which answered the questions. In 1972, in Germany, there were even censorship interventions in the magazine. At the time, two issues of Brava could only be sold to people over 18 because of articles about masturbation.
Bravo magazine was founded in Germany by Peter Boenisch, who was named by The Times as one of the most successful post-war journalists. For example, he edited the newspaper Die Welt and also raised the tabloid newspaper Bild. While Bravo was first released in Germany in 1969, it reached the Czech Republic several decades later.
The new generation of teenagers did not like the magazine
The Czech “Bravíčko” appeared on newsstands for the first time on October 26, 1991 and was one of the very first titles to enter the Czech market under the license of a foreign publisher. The fortnightly originally focused on film and television production. He later switched to popular music. It was popular not only because of the already mentioned section about sex, but also because of posters, autographs of foreign stars, colorful photo novels and “gossip” from the world of celebrities. Photo novels in particular were often the target of ridicule due to the naivety and awkwardness of young non-actors.
In 2007, it was the most read magazine for children and youth. During its heyday, an average of 62,000 Bravo units were sold. After 2010, however, sales began to decline, and before its end, only 16,000 people bought it on average. Even though the editors tried to adapt to modern trends – they founded the Bravo website and Bravo TV was broadcast on Óčko, the new generation did not like the magazine anymore, most likely due to the development of the Internet. The publishing house Bauer Media ended its sale in 2015 after 24 years.
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