In each issue, one of the models is singled out as the "Barely Legal Teen Queen of the Month," whose pictorial includes the centerfold.

Each pictorial is accompanied by what purports to be a profile of or interview with the model, although a disclaimer in the fine print of each issue's indicia clearly states that this text is fiction and likely has little to no basis in reality.

These profiles tend to pander to the readers' fantasies by portraying the models as somewhat naive and sexually inexperienced, but curious and eager to start satisfying their sexual appetites, especially with the older men who make up the main demographic of the magazine, now that they have reached the age of consent.

In addition to the pictorials, most issues feature a letters column with responses (attributed to the models) to readers' comments about the magazine, a few reviews of "legal teen"-themed adult videos, and a sexually explicit short story written in the first person from the point of view of an 18-year-old woman, usually describing her experience of some sort of sexual awakening.

[1][2] The launch of Barely Legal revolutionized the porn industry with at least 22 copycat titles appearing, as well as format changes in established publications and in the video medium.