Dropping the "H-Bomb"

It's impossible to turn a corner or a television channel these days without running smack into some blatant example of teen sexuality. And it's not just Britney Spears' midriff, either. It's the dancing girls in music videos and those who emulate them at high school formals. It's the popular burlesque group "The Pussycat Dolls" and their internet counterparts the Suicide Girls and the Burning Angels. It's in the hooting and hollering that accompanies "Girls Gone Wild" and the ratings jump that happens every time Real World cast members get it on.

Even the New York Times wants in on the action. In a recent Sunday magazine cover article called "Friends, Friends With Benefits and the Benefits of the Local Mall" the author spoke to a number of 14-16-year-olds about their online and in-person sexploits. Thanks to the internet and our fast-paced, sex-saturated culture, the article says, young people are now more likely than ever to have exclusively sexual relationships with their friends. "Hooking up is now more common than dating," the article contends, crediting sites like FacetheJury.com (tagline, "where everyone scores.") with a growing skepticism about starting long-term relationships too early.

But does that mean that youth are really more recklessly sexual than ever before, or are they simply embracing smart sexuality more openly? H-Bomb, a brand new magazine, tends to lean toward the latter – smart and open sexuality. The magazine speaks from a particularly unique place as well – Harvard University.

Launched by Sophomore Katharina Cieplak von Baldegg and Junior Camilla Hrdy, H-Bomb was started as a Harvard student club and earned a $2000 grant from the University to produce their first issue. The magazine blends art, erotica, cultural analysis and literature, concentrating not on raw smut, but rather on the emotion behind intelligent sexuality. The magazine looks to please all readers, especially interested in more than nude photos, although those are definitely part of the overall aesthetic. There are articles about condoms, Craiglist hook-ups, and Harvard courses on human sexuality. If this is porn (and it's not, really), it has definitely a new brand.

Wiretap got a hold of Editor Katharina Cieplak von Baldegg to hear about the launch of H-Bomb, her take on the media coverage, and everything else smart and sexy.

Wiretap: Give me some background info about the founders of H-Bomb, as well as the magazine.

Katharina Cieplak-von Baldegg: I'm 20. I'm majoring in film & video. I grew up in Cambridge, MA. We hope the magazine will come out twice a year, at the end of each semester. We have about 8 staff members. I don't know how many subscribers we have as of now. We deliver 4,000 copies to Harvard undergrads for free though, and sell the rest online or to stores in Harvard square and Boston. All the staff members, with the exception of Camilla who is a junior, are sophomores like me, because they're all friends from way before H-Bomb existed. They were all already interested in editing, layout, or business stuff so they hopped on board.

WT: H-Bomb's been all over the media (Village Voice, Washington Post, Newsweek to name a few). What's up with all this press you've gotten? Where do you think it comes from? Are you pleased with the attention?

KCB: Well, the magazine was always meant to be by and for Harvard students. That is to say, it is a place where Harvard students can discuss sex at Harvard and sex in general with other Harvard students. We didn't ask for all the attention and honestly, we didn't want to make a magazine for nation-wide consumption. The media have been acting like a bunch of third graders – giggling at every mention of the word "sex." The magazine gets positive reviews, though – except for those from people who obviously haven't read it yet and still think it's porn. I write them back and tell them to read it.