Last month, Cory Jones, a top editor at Playboy, went to see its founder Hugh Hefner at the Playboy Mansion.
In a wood-paneled dining room, with Picasso and de Kooning prints on the walls, Mr. Jones nervously presented a radical suggestion: the magazine, a leader of the revolution that helped take sex in America from furtive to ubiquitous, should stop publishing images of naked women.
Mr. Hefner, now 89, but still listed as editor in chief, agreed. As part of a redesign that will be unveiled next March, the print edition of Playboy will still feature women in provocative poses. But they will no longer be fully nude.
Its executives admit that Playboy has been overtaken by the changes it pioneered. “That battle has been fought and won,” said Scott Flanders, the company’s chief executive. “You’re now one click away from every sex act imaginable for free. And so it’s just passé at this juncture.”
For a generation of American men, reading Playboy was a cultural rite, an illicit thrill consumed by flashlight. Now every teenage boy has an Internet-connected phone instead. Pornographic magazines, even those as storied as Playboy, have lost their shock value, their commercial value and their cultural relevance.
In other news:
Architectural Digest will only publish photos of the outsides of houses Christian Century will only carry articles about atheism. Food & Wine will photograph the dishes they prepare inside closed food storage containers.
"Hang on while I log in to the James Webb telescope to search the known universe for who the fuck asked you." -- James Fell
I was four years old when Playboy first hit the newsstands and mailboxes. I am now almost 67 and I have yet to purchase one issue of this "magazine for that certain discerning gentleman."
That said, I had so many friends whose dads subscribed to Playboy that I could easily find a well read and/or used copy within days after its distribution date. Years later, after so much "immersion therapy," plus the creation of porn on the internet, Playboy mag held little interest for me. I bet I haven't read even one issue for over 15 years now.
Yes, as a lad I did read it for its humor and Unabashed Dictionary but it was the well endowed, nude women that were most stimulating -- sometimes more than Father Hughes at St. Andrew's needed to hear in the confessional.
Bless me Father for I have sinned...
“In a world whose absurdity appears to be so impenetrable, we simply must reach a greater degree of understanding among us, a greater sincerity.”
I never heard guys bought it for the articles. It was always "I buy it for the interviews"
For Christianity, by identifying truth with faith, must teach-and, properly understood, does teach-that any interference with the truth is immoral. A Christian with faith has nothing to fear from the facts
My brother was given a subscription to Playboy at his 16th birthday, and I was given one to Playgirl when I turned 16. (My mother was weirdly progressive in that way.)
I wonder if they'll also be taking the naked boys out of Playgirl?
For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.
~ Carl Sagan
I didn't even realize Playgirl was still being published.
As for Playboy, are they now shooting for the Esquire crowd?
The interesting point about Playboy is that it spawned an entire empire related to idea of the swinging male playboy (like the guys in Love American Style); one that probably never (or rarely) existed in reality but one that was attractive to young men after the repressive 50s. From it's magazines, to its clubs, to its advice books and other assorted merchandise, I think it eventually ran its course (are there even any Playboy clubs left? I recall having key in the 70s/80s and going to them in NYC, Chicago, Atlantic City, and Great Gorge ski area, and I think all of them are gone now as the novelty wore off). Playboy didn't fit even the softcore porn of Penthouse (although they tried with the failed magazine Oui), let alone Hustler et al, and when its brand became seen as old fashioned and out of date, its empire began to fall apart. After Hugh is gone, I'd be surprised if much remains.
Playboy branded products sold $1.5 billion last year in China. I don't know what percentage of that went back to PB in license fees but the American magazine lost $5M last year so ...
I think the company understood that its financial power was no longer in naked pictures and more in the "Playboy" brand.
For Christianity, by identifying truth with faith, must teach-and, properly understood, does teach-that any interference with the truth is immoral. A Christian with faith has nothing to fear from the facts
