"...it sought to answer a key question: “if you take nudity out, what’s left?”
What's left?
Why, the articles, of course! As every man I've ever asked has said, they are very, very good!
;)
What's left?
Why, the articles, of course! As every man I've ever asked has said, they are very, very good!
;)
3
Frankly, it's to get risk-adverse advertisers, not because the "battle has been fought and won." The magazine loses $3 million a year. Making a major change is the only way they can survive with Hef almost out of the picture.
1
I am shocked, shocked.
And it is shocking.
The announcement that Playboy is to discontinue the centerfold.
I remember reading Playboy as a teenager.
It kept me abreast of the news.
Let me see events as they unfolded.
It had truly great content: The short stories. The incisive interviews. The next exposé.
At a time when most journalism, and journalists, were concerned with placement "above the fold", Playboy got it right by focusing on both sides of the fold.
Playboy gave visual expression to the calendar: January.....April......December. Months you'd like to date.
It represented fun, and most of all hope. The good life. La Dolce Vita.
There was innocence, too. As in the delightful comic strip adventures of "Little Annie Fannie".
And Playboy fought for Freedom and Liberty. To wit:
'If they criminalize naked ladies, then
only criminals will have naked ladies"
It added to our vocabulary: Centerfold, Chauvinism, Neanderthal, Key Club.
It gave the word "staples" a meaning that the current office supplies store chain can never have.
And now we are to be left with words, mere words.
And the sad knowledge that even a thousand words is not worth one picture.
And it is shocking.
The announcement that Playboy is to discontinue the centerfold.
I remember reading Playboy as a teenager.
It kept me abreast of the news.
Let me see events as they unfolded.
It had truly great content: The short stories. The incisive interviews. The next exposé.
At a time when most journalism, and journalists, were concerned with placement "above the fold", Playboy got it right by focusing on both sides of the fold.
Playboy gave visual expression to the calendar: January.....April......December. Months you'd like to date.
It represented fun, and most of all hope. The good life. La Dolce Vita.
There was innocence, too. As in the delightful comic strip adventures of "Little Annie Fannie".
And Playboy fought for Freedom and Liberty. To wit:
'If they criminalize naked ladies, then
only criminals will have naked ladies"
It added to our vocabulary: Centerfold, Chauvinism, Neanderthal, Key Club.
It gave the word "staples" a meaning that the current office supplies store chain can never have.
And now we are to be left with words, mere words.
And the sad knowledge that even a thousand words is not worth one picture.
9
Dear Penthouse Forum,
I can't believe this happened to me. I attend(ed) a large mid-western university. This week Playboy magazine stopped publishing pictures of naked women that I haven't looked at since 1976 when I was 12 years old and discovered Laura Doone in my uncle's porn stash.
I can't believe this happened to me. I attend(ed) a large mid-western university. This week Playboy magazine stopped publishing pictures of naked women that I haven't looked at since 1976 when I was 12 years old and discovered Laura Doone in my uncle's porn stash.
3
How appropriate that the wonderful Alice K. Turner, who was fiction editor at Playboy for 20 years, died in January, having served the magazine and the public great dollops of brilliant fiction over the decades. Go out and buy a used copy of her anthology "Playboy Stories: The Best of Forty Years of Short Fiction" (Dutton, 1994, ISBN 0-525-93735-8) and learn just how good the words, not just the pictures, were in the magazine.
7
I remember subscribing to Playboy when I was a junior in college in 1970. I thought it was rather risky business to have such a provocatively explicit magazine. It was always being borrowed by guys on the floor. It was never returned in quite the same condition as when it went out.
1
In a few years, the doors of Playboy will close.
It's IP will be bought out.
likely by SONY as they turn Playboy into PlayBoy, the next portable hand-held based on the PlayStation 5.
It's IP will be bought out.
likely by SONY as they turn Playboy into PlayBoy, the next portable hand-held based on the PlayStation 5.
I never bought a single copy of Play Boy Magazine. Or any other 'adult' magazine, hetero or homosexual. I may have missed a few nice articles in either of them but I lived. Of course, I am a few years younger than Mr. Heffner and I may now start reading Play Boy when it drops the nudity. I plan to reach Mr. Heffner's age and I hope he will live to the age of 100
1
Say it ain't so, Hef! But it must be admitted that the September issue of "Playboy," which typically and traditionally is the thickest monthly issue for all magazines, is only 126 pages in length. The September issue of "Harper's Bazaar" clocked in at 702 pages, and that included very tasteful photos of a totally nude Sharon Stone. It could be that in breaking through the glass ceiling, women are doing a better job of publishing nude women than men are. Women understand women.
In its best days "Playboy" may have been publishing 300 page issues and that may have been only in its "Gala" Christmas (December) and New Year's (January) issues.
Hopefully in the best of its traditions, "Playboy" may evolve into a "The New Yorker." Perhaps it may have a provenance in the manner of a "The Chicagoan" or "The Los Angelan." The October 6th issue of "The New Yorker" is 94 pages in length, so "Playboy" can fit right into a niche in a market for well-read citizens with essentially the same format. Profiles, interviews, reviews, society, culture, reviews, investigative reporting. . . . Hopefully "Playboy" can carry on with editorship that combines Hef and Harold Ross.
In its best days "Playboy" may have been publishing 300 page issues and that may have been only in its "Gala" Christmas (December) and New Year's (January) issues.
Hopefully in the best of its traditions, "Playboy" may evolve into a "The New Yorker." Perhaps it may have a provenance in the manner of a "The Chicagoan" or "The Los Angelan." The October 6th issue of "The New Yorker" is 94 pages in length, so "Playboy" can fit right into a niche in a market for well-read citizens with essentially the same format. Profiles, interviews, reviews, society, culture, reviews, investigative reporting. . . . Hopefully "Playboy" can carry on with editorship that combines Hef and Harold Ross.
In response to JL from Brooklyn's question - it was Gloria Steinem who went undercover to write and expose the world of the Playboy bunny environment. In 1985, a movie was made, called "A Bunny's Tale" in which Kirstie Alley portrayed Ms. Steinem.
1
Playboy hah? Welcome to the club of fallen businesses thanks to Internet. Now joining rank and file with Newsweek, Yellow Pages, Kodak film, Post office, typewriters, Black Friday shopping day, travel agencies, libraries, traditional news, CD players, Blockbuster, and list too long to list.
If then, playboy is only left with more ultra progressive liberal articles, is doomed as well, since there is plenty apps for that too (MSNBC, Daily Beast, Hufftington Post, Daily Kos...and even, ahem...NYT).
Any business that wants survival today has to offer products that are either eaten, drank, breath or wore... For everything else, there is an app.
If then, playboy is only left with more ultra progressive liberal articles, is doomed as well, since there is plenty apps for that too (MSNBC, Daily Beast, Hufftington Post, Daily Kos...and even, ahem...NYT).
Any business that wants survival today has to offer products that are either eaten, drank, breath or wore... For everything else, there is an app.
2
I will cancel my subscription! That is just a stupid ideal. I think it wl end the magazine.
2
Wait, just so I have this straight... Playboy is becoming Maxim?
It all sounds more like appeasement to feminists which, if true, would be a horrifying mistake. After all, what the core of that movement really wants is the complete emasculation of all men.
2
Hey Pilgrim. Not only Playbaoy was very innocent. It was too much conservative for the nowadays standards. Practically there wasn't great changes since 1980s and that, for the wise, modern and expert media guys involved in the sex business is a real WASTE of money and TIME. ALL the world since 1980s were changing its style of sex life, and despite of to be the "naugthiest" pioneer sex magazine in the 50s and 60s, when the McCarthism and the conservative government and burocracy culture was too heavy that was smeled in the air. Now this "naughty" and "perverted" behavior of playboy is like a kids game for rich boys. I explain: In 1950s, the cost of 10 U$SD worth its value because you had the ONLY magazine that showed nude girls in the whole entire world. But in 2010s, with Internet and sex magazines online like Nubiles that show nudity at 1U$SD per MONTH!! and FTV with 5US$D per month and Amour Angels or WOWGirlz that show it also at 8US$D withouth the conservative "Bunny" western style... I wanted to say Playboy's master: HEY MISTER!!! THIS IS THE 21s centuru, the 21!!! the SEX RULES of the 20 are NO LONGER VALID!!! or evolve, or die.
This reminds me of a cartoon that, I believe, was in Playboy. A couple is watching television, when they hear the announcer say, "Now, the network premier of "Debby Does Dallas." One minute later, the announcer says, "That concludes the network premier of "Debby Does Dallas."
4
Now you'll see if people were truly purchasing this magazine for the articles.
3
Unfortunately if it's not on an Ipad, smart phone or PC screen the 18-30 age group that they are now trying to attract won't be reading it anyway.
3
In the Seventies Playboy articles were top of the glossies. Doughnut heads did not read or appreciate excellence and said so. Surely one enjoyed the pictures. Some stopped subscribing when Playboy ceased paying a long list of great writers, Nabokov, Updike, Mailer. I am not English-professor-high-minded but want good writing, not findable in mass publications, from time to time. Exceptional Playboy replaced the likes of regulars John Updike, Jean Shepherd and Alan Watts with meritless stock trading “articles.” Say no more. After, not before, Playboy gave up on such as me, its pictures substantially changed to requiring fake, repellent physical parts. Heff gave up on female form. Content addressed to millennials may be worth less, but welcome to , millenials’ only concern. Better pictures would have elevated Playboy, as keen female commenters have noted of old Playboy, but Playboy remade itself with dumb contents and inelegant style every which way. Lots of smart people are too young to miss the quality of old Playboy and maybe to their credit are not interested in the absence of quality, if any there be, in the modern Communications era. My guess is they think antique Hemingway is unreadable, same as everything.
I am struggling to find something less relevant today than Playboy Magazine and I am stumped. Perhaps 8-track tape players?
2
Let us never forget that, despite what many think of High Hefner, he was once an icon for civil rights.
When the New Orleans club refused membership to blacks, he threatened to pull their franchise.
His "Playboy After Dark" TV show was the sole outlet for black artists to appear on TV.
Let's not forget Hefner's contributions to civil rights.
When the New Orleans club refused membership to blacks, he threatened to pull their franchise.
His "Playboy After Dark" TV show was the sole outlet for black artists to appear on TV.
Let's not forget Hefner's contributions to civil rights.
7
For a publication that has specialized in pimping unrealistic feminine ideals of beauty, airbrushed and lacking in the normal animal physical condition this is really no improvement. It is almost like the most opportunistic and exploitative hedonistic Don Juan after milking his prey for all they were worth in every conceivable way decides that his quarry is no longer worth mining. What would really be justice served here would be if all the women who were exploited and their lives made phonier and less natural, real and respectful would be able to sue the pimp for all he was worth leaving him destitute. But that justice will have to wait the next life hopefully when all wrongs and frauds will be exposed and punished.
1
“Don’t get me wrong,” Mr. Jones said of the decision to dispense with nudity, “12-year-old me is very disappointed in current me. But it’s the right thing to do.”
Based on what Moral authority?
Based on what Moral authority?
2
It's been a while since I read any news about Playboy. Well, actually only a couple of days ago. Last time was when one of the women who accused Bill Cosby of certain impermissible activities named the place where these occurred-the Playboy Mansion. She stated that she was underage.
That seems to be a forgotten part of the Playboy story.
That seems to be a forgotten part of the Playboy story.
2
"...all the changes have been tested in focus groups with an eye toward attracting millennials — people between the ages of 18 and 30-something, highly coveted by publishers."
In other words, expect another Maxim clone.
In other words, expect another Maxim clone.
3
The pin-up artists in the past like Vargas and Elvgren knew that crass isn't class and a little mystery is more interesting.
6
So Playboy will be like a Maxim Magazine now. That may not be a good thing. But we'll see.
1
Or maybe, a little more like Esquire?
I'm disappointed in this. Playboy has acceded to the same puritanical mores as Instagram?
2
Good. Their nudes were absolutely the worst because the company abused Photoshop to such an extent that it became a cliched parody of itself. Playboy nudes didnt celebrate the nude body, it distorted it to the point that it didnt look lifelike. It seems that their art department was led by people who hated women.
This measure is a desperate last gasp at relevance and how do they do it? By going 180 degrees the other way. There is no need to be nude free. most non sex magazines feature it, the fashion world is awash in it. It can and should exist in the real world, you just dont have to make it a focal point as much. To go to a prudish non-nude stance might sound like a good bit of PR but its cutting your own nose off.
But then again, I go back to what Playboy thinks naked women looked like and maybe its better than we never see their digital excesses again.
This measure is a desperate last gasp at relevance and how do they do it? By going 180 degrees the other way. There is no need to be nude free. most non sex magazines feature it, the fashion world is awash in it. It can and should exist in the real world, you just dont have to make it a focal point as much. To go to a prudish non-nude stance might sound like a good bit of PR but its cutting your own nose off.
But then again, I go back to what Playboy thinks naked women looked like and maybe its better than we never see their digital excesses again.
4
Madonna did not pose for Playboy. Nude photos of her were published by Playboy without her permission.
3
One of my favorite bits on the old TV show, "Married with Children," had the mom, Peg Bundy secretly tossing out a box of old Playboys in the basement. Husband, Al was very upset. It was even funnier when their teenage son, Bud emerged from the basement with a look of horror on his face. "Not the family Playboys!" they both exclaimed to Peg. I thought it was funny because an entire generation of men could probably relate. Now, if they can have photos the likes of Christina Appelgate as she was provocativly dressed in the show playing daughter, Kelly, I'm good with that. Nudes are beautiful as an art form but the magazine can re-energize itself in the world of both men's and women's fashion.
1
I don't think that if they stop putting nude photos in their magazine is going to stop anyone from looking at nude photos they say it is because of the tech. what a joke when I was a young man we didn't have color tv for a while and me and my friends looked at pic with naked women
NOT a good idea at all. The Playboy moguls, especially an aged Hefner himself, continue on a track of decision making that has shown little insight and understanding in recent years how to sell an expensive magazine full of nudity and solid writing in an age much like the 1930s. They don't pay me, so I'll never tell. But altering the visual focus covering the girls up in a men's magazine is definitely not the answer. What's ion that Holmby Hills water these days. Guess Hefner turned out to be an old prude, after all.
Playboy dropping nudity is like The Times dropping news.
1
Cory Jones-"The 12 year old me is very disappointed in the current me" The first time I looked at Playboy I was 14 so I must have been a late bloomer! And when I was 14 in 1964, the news stands would not sell Playboys to 14 year olds, I was even asked to show my draft card to prove I was 18! So, I had to beg 18 year olds to buy Playboy and sell it to me! The cover price in 1964 was 75 cents, I remember paying $1.50 a copy to the 18 year olds who bought it for me. Even 18 year olds are greedy! Those 18 year olds in 1964 are probably millionaires today while I struggle to pay my living expenses!
1
Another nail in the coffin of my prolonged adolescence.
1
How about some nude photos of Hefner?
Sounds like The Onion!
1
Wasn't it Germaine Greer, not Gloria Steinem, who went undercover as a Playboy Bunny? Check your research.
It was Steinem
1
Gloria Steinem went undercover (no pun intended). A movie was made in 1985 called "A Bunny's Tale" in which Kirstie Alley played the role of Ms. Steinem.
1
I always bought Playboy Magazine to read the articles. (LOL) Today, with literally three clicks on any search engine, one can see the most detailed level of nudity and filmed acts. Scary. Especially for children who have ready access. Soon we will be recommending Playboy as the better alternative to the internet.
1
Well, it's been in business for well over 50 years, so, even if so, it will have had a tremendous run.
1
Commuting to HS in the 60s, I used to buy Playboy at a newspaper kiosk on the Green Line in Boston and sneak it into the house. I read it cover to cover, and I remember reading Hunter Thompson's "Curse of Lono", the short story "Dual" the basis for Spielberg's first movie, and a really strange but hillarious short story, "Muskrat Love". It never elevated me to wine connoisseur and sophisticated man about town, but it had some merit.
2
For years I subscribed to Playboy because it was the best magazine around for interviews, had excellent new fiction and was on the cutting edge of investigative journalism. Then something happened.... I noticed that the interviews were never with anyone I cared about. Apart from T.C. Boyle, I wasn't impressed with their new fiction. They were too interested in expensive cigars and cars. Then all the nude women had fake breasts. With all the beautiful breasts in this country and you need to photograph fake ones? I dropped Playboy four or fives years ago. There's no bringing it back now.
2
They could do something totally disruptive and radical; bring back the romance and intimacy lost in the 24/7 porn culture.
Imagine the freshness and surprise!
Imagine the freshness and surprise!
5
When I read the article, I thought I would miss viewing the pretty women but then I realized, I haven't bought a copy of Playboy in decades.
When I think of PLAYBOY, I am reminded of the time I was in Jr. High School, my friend and I would sneak into his father's night table, grab a couple of Playboy Magazines and take pictures of the nudes. Then we would go into my darkroom, develop the film and make some prints to sell at the school yard. For the record, our photographic skills were so poor, the pictures looked more like fuzzy blotches.
When I think of PLAYBOY, I am reminded of the time I was in Jr. High School, my friend and I would sneak into his father's night table, grab a couple of Playboy Magazines and take pictures of the nudes. Then we would go into my darkroom, develop the film and make some prints to sell at the school yard. For the record, our photographic skills were so poor, the pictures looked more like fuzzy blotches.
4
This is the end of PlayBoy, the down fall of the good times of PlayBoy!
This is the most depressing thing I've seen in months. It was the perfect magazine for short waits at the barber shop. Playboy was a lone place for tasteful nudes that Helmut Newton would have photographed. The forthcoming shell of a magazine has no hope of filling the void that this editorial mistake will create.
4
Some of the comments here are too funny. Hefner published nude photos of women so he obviously was a terrible person. Would these people make the some comment about Rembrandt, Goya or Titian?
5
The decline of the magazine industry in general is one of the saddest aspects of the digital generation. Although the Internet has been a boon in so many ways, the damage that it has caused to the periodical and music industries, to name just two, is immeasurable. I'm not sure that I would want to live in a world without the Internet, but I sure wish it hadn't come at such a high cost. I hope Playboy survives and prospers. I for one look forward to being able to buy copies in future without feeling like a dirty old man.
3
Tell me about it. I had a subscription to Sports Illustrated from the early 60s to the late 70, and the quality of photography and writing (and even the paper) was many, many times better than the product today.
Those who don't learn from New Coke are condemned to repeat it.
19
I was a young adolescent when bikinis became the go-to swimming suit. At the time, my father said that a one-piece bathing suit was so much sexier because it left something to the imagination. I couldn't agree more. I think many of us have become desensitized sexually because everything part of the body is exposed. I find it rather dull.
4
I know this will sound sexist but I have to get this off my chest (no pun intended):
I'm in mourning!
In any case, I always read Playboy for the articles and interviews - but haven't read the magazine or looked at the photos (yes I admit it) in more than 3 decades. I blame it on golf.
I'm in mourning!
In any case, I always read Playboy for the articles and interviews - but haven't read the magazine or looked at the photos (yes I admit it) in more than 3 decades. I blame it on golf.
3
Bummer!
3
The reporter says: "Pornographic magazines, even those as storied as Playboy, have lost their shock value, their commercial value and their cultural relevance."
I wasn't aware that Playboy was a porn mag. It's been years since I've seen a centerfold. Had those "tasteful" nudes given way to crude closeups of genitalia?
I wasn't aware that Playboy was a porn mag. It's been years since I've seen a centerfold. Had those "tasteful" nudes given way to crude closeups of genitalia?
1
No, they hadn't become crude closeups of genitalia. You're right, it wasn't a pornography magazine. Never was. But that didn't stop 7-11 from trying to court the favor of right-wing Republicans by banning sale of the magazine during the Reagan years.
2
Playboy was always about Hefner. He may have struck a blow for healthy sexuality 60 years ago, but that rapidly descended into run of the mill debauchery, financed by the magazine. We're not better for it. Put a fork in the brand, it's long overdue to be done.
4
When I was a teenager (1980s) pornography was not easy to access. TV of course had no nudity except for late night on Cinemax (which we called "skinemax"), but that was part of pay cable TV. So my yearly glimpse at Playboy or Hustler at sleepaway camp was a big deal. Believe it or not, PB introduced me to several writers whose work I enjoy to this day - Roald Dahl (his annual short story in the December issue was genius), Donald Westlake, Truman Capote, Anson Mount (probably the best sportswriter of all time), Norman Mailer and the finance writer Andrew Tobias. But the few times I've peeked at it in the last decade (in a barber shop), it has come across as a slightly raunchier Maxim or FMV. I won't weep when it folds.
5
Next up, sports illustarted will stop covering sports. This sounds like a last ditch attempt to do something when there is nothing you can do.
1
This is excellent news! Now my collection of vintage PB mags - kept lovingly in my storage space because my wife, oddly, won't let me keep them in the house - is now worth a LOT more money.
This development will make my regular, nostalgic visits to my space that much more thrilling.
This development will make my regular, nostalgic visits to my space that much more thrilling.
2
Now men are really going to read Playboy for the articles. LOL
1
"Asked whether Mr. Hefner’s views on women were the exception to that rule, Mr. Flanders responded that Mr. Hefner had 'always celebrated the beauty of the female figure.'”
Except that Playboy never featured the real female figure (not even the 18-year-old version). The Playboy model most certainly had breast implants, the hair on her head was bleached to oblivion, and hair in other places was waxed off.
No nudity doesn't mean much to me if young men are still looking at scantily clad idealized versions of women.
Except that Playboy never featured the real female figure (not even the 18-year-old version). The Playboy model most certainly had breast implants, the hair on her head was bleached to oblivion, and hair in other places was waxed off.
No nudity doesn't mean much to me if young men are still looking at scantily clad idealized versions of women.
7
NR,
is this not the female form we see at beaches though?
is this not the female form we see at beaches though?
It's so weird, we can see orgies on television and they have become so ordinary we don't pay attention, nudity is being dropped from Playboy and yet, in these societies (Muslim et al.) that make women cover up, we hear about child rape, and underage girl bride purchase. I'd rather have the yawn about sex, than the murder and rape for sex, in societies that don't allow hand holding. Oh wait, who does that remind me of, the Duggars, 19 kids and you can't kiss before marriage. Everything is wrong there, starting with no birth control.
3
On a related note, Auto World has announced that they will no longer show pictures of cars.
3
I don't know that internet porn by it's own pushed Playboy. Free sites like Pornhub or Fapshows.com are there from 20 years but didn't stopped Playboy until now. I think that most of the blaim should be on Tv shows and other magazines that show a lot of adult oriented content.
1
I am genuinely shocked that 800,000 people still subscribe to Playboy. I would have guessed one tenth that number.
2
Clearly that is more than one freshman dorm...
1
I wonder what all those 20-something ladies, made up and airbrushed to absolute perfection and whom I gazed at in my own youth in the 60's, look like today, now that they are in their 70's and even 80's.
PB ought to publish a "then and now" issue to remind us how fleeting beauty, or more accurately, Hefner's version of it, really is.
PB ought to publish a "then and now" issue to remind us how fleeting beauty, or more accurately, Hefner's version of it, really is.
3
The headline reads "Playboy to Drop Nudity as Internet Fills Demand." The second paragraph mentions the suggestion: "[Playboy] should stop publishing images of naked women."
But the third paragraph reads "But they will no longer be fully nude."
Which is it? Why can't the article tell us the point of the story clearly?
But the third paragraph reads "But they will no longer be fully nude."
Which is it? Why can't the article tell us the point of the story clearly?
Ok, Playboy has become a relic and is gasping for air, so what? Nothing lasts forever and "brand" names come and go. To its credit Playboy was the catalyst behind one of the greatest paradigm shifts in human sexuality ever witnessed, and unlike any of its competitors Playboy did it with "style and grace". Unfortunately like so many things the Internet has made inconsequential or passé, sex is just another "mouse click" distraction for today's narcissistic masses. I wish Playboy well with this makeover, but I believe it's "too little, too late" to matter.
What's next? The Wall Street Journal without articles on stocks?
Everything is a cycle. Esquire was more like the Maxim of today and Playboy blew away that competition with bare skin. The trend has reversed in recent years, at least as far as magazines. The internet leveled the playing field and magazines seem quaint by comparison.
I stopped buying newspapers and magazines years ago and now read everything online. Magazines take up too much room and I used to dread seeing stacks of Sunday Times' and knowing I just "had to go through them".
Everything is a cycle. Esquire was more like the Maxim of today and Playboy blew away that competition with bare skin. The trend has reversed in recent years, at least as far as magazines. The internet leveled the playing field and magazines seem quaint by comparison.
I stopped buying newspapers and magazines years ago and now read everything online. Magazines take up too much room and I used to dread seeing stacks of Sunday Times' and knowing I just "had to go through them".
This is a bigger deal than it might appear. It's not all about obsolescence, and this magazine really wasn't/isn't porn, but is also about how open we think as a society in the U.S. The door is closing fast.
1
Hell has frozen over, and pigs are flying!
Now my mother will believe me when I say I read Playboy magazine for the articles.
Now my mother will believe me when I say I read Playboy magazine for the articles.
3
As a young man, I saw more in Playboy than those beautiful women. Playboy had articles of trends in the Hi Fi world and some very good articles covering other subjects. I could not wait to pick up my monthly issue at the Playboy club located near the GM building in Manhattan. Great magazine!
So it really will be about the articles. My (older) male relatives are now vindicated
Playboy is an encyclopedia salesman in the computer age.
"magazines, even those as storied as Playboy, have lost their shock value, their commercial value and their cultural relevance."
Nobody ever read Playboy for its "shock value." The point was its arousal value. (After everyone finished reading the articles, that is.)
Nobody ever read Playboy for its "shock value." The point was its arousal value. (After everyone finished reading the articles, that is.)
1
I dont remember this famous person's name. He did mention that he read Playboy routinely for Stock market advise.
Smart move, pornography and nudity are EVERYWHERE so why treat it as something special. I'll read it.
I for one find photos of partially dressed women to be much more sexy than pictures of naked women.
1
I for one find intelligence, good sense of humour, and the capacity to value people for who they are not how they dress as much more sexy.
I have a Playboy issue from the fifties. The pictures are tame, although risque for the time. Perhaps Playboy is returning to its old ways.
It sounds like Maxim.
Nude women doesn't always need to morph into pornography, so if that's where our tastes have led us, sad indeed. That said, Playboy should do the walk of shame (women know what it is) for being one of the first to solidify women's place as second class. Thanks for their profitable, for them, efforts, women remain -- globally and publicly, even on news stands in the US -- threatened and objectified. The only thing we aren't, collectively, are victims. So take your "good articles" and provocative poses to the trash heap that is much of the internet. Women never needed them.
6
Um...what's left?
Now all they need to do is drop the name, 50s attitude, and their outworn (if not utterly creepy) publisher and they'll be all set. Meanwhile, men over 70 will weep and men under fail to take notice.
Now we're gonna see how many guys really buy Playboy "just to read the articles."
Instead of thinking that by eliminating nudity, the magazine will attract more "millennial" readers, why not focus instead in increasing the quality of the published material? As opposed to dumb down the content and getting closer to magazines like Maxim, FHM or Vice, Playboy should try to emulate the kind of literature and journalism they published from their inception until the 90s. Those were the times when the level of literature published by them was easily comparable to The New Yorker. it is sad that the editorial decision to increase their readership is simply to yield to less cultured content instead of a more cultured one.
This is a PR stunt. When you can no longer shock by exposure, covering up is a jolt. But it won’t work. The magazine will always be associated with nudity, it will not get better newsstands placement, not will it escape the polybag cover.
As for the plummeting circulation, that is not the fault of the nude employees.
Just wait - in a few years, after another management shake-up, the headlines will read "Playboy to return to it's original brand and publish nudes again."
As for the plummeting circulation, that is not the fault of the nude employees.
Just wait - in a few years, after another management shake-up, the headlines will read "Playboy to return to it's original brand and publish nudes again."
1
it will be broke by then.
Think about it. According to Genesis, had Adam and Eve ignored the cunning serpent and delicious red apple nudity wouldn't be noticed, covered up with fig leaves or loin cloths, commercialized, or become something schoolboys (or playboys) snicker at or ogle. (Smile)
1
Phew! Now I won't have to hide the magazines when my grandchildren come for a visit.
Twas ever thus...fins on cars, Polaroid, Kodak, Sony all brought low by the digital behemoth. But before you millennials get too excited think about Lotus, AOL, MySpace and Netscape, early icons of the internet era that have also faded into memories. Time moves on and soon enough Facebook and Amazon will be tales you talk about with your kids.
The difference with Playboy is that it started a whole new product category and was at the forefront of cultural shift that changed this country. If you didn't live through the stifling cultural mores of the late 40's and 50's its hard to appreciate just how dramatically this country has changed.
Playboy was very much a product of its time. And times change.
But Playboy and Hugh Hefner changed the game.
The difference with Playboy is that it started a whole new product category and was at the forefront of cultural shift that changed this country. If you didn't live through the stifling cultural mores of the late 40's and 50's its hard to appreciate just how dramatically this country has changed.
Playboy was very much a product of its time. And times change.
But Playboy and Hugh Hefner changed the game.
1
I dont see why so much complaining about dropping nudity. Yes, we are all used to the Playboy Magazine with the centerfold and the naked women. But that is history. Nobody really cares about that anymore. You can see naked beautiful women everywhere on the internet. It is not a good business practice anymore. The Playboy logo in contrast is still relevant in that is one of the most recognizable in the world. They have to use that right now to revamp the brand before it loses relevance. By eliminating naked pictures, they can take back the Playboy brand to be an icon of lifestyle for males all over the world. I applaud the decision. Hoepfully they will be able to take advantage of it. I for once would be willing to like it on facebook, looking forward for lifestyle content and smart articles.
1
If the articles aren't really good, the magazine's a goner.
7
The articles and interviews have been consistently good for 60 years.
It would be wonderful if the statement were something like: Due to the ubiquity of pornography and therefore the abuse and denigration of women online, we have decided to take a stand for respecting women.
Instead we have this, the big-business reason cited: "Nudity in the magazine risks complaints from shoppers, and diminished distribution."
Instead we have this, the big-business reason cited: "Nudity in the magazine risks complaints from shoppers, and diminished distribution."
24
Due to the ubiquity of pornography and therefore the abuse and denigration of women online, we have decided to take a stand for respecting women.
I went to the beach a few weeks ago. As far as I can tell no one was forcing women to show so much flesh via their beach attire (and there was plenty of cheek showing). Are you blaming men and porno for this? Is it not women who dress this way? Is anyone forcing them too (you know, like forcing them to twerk)?
Feminists really need to start to look at how women degrade THEMSELVES. Yet they refuse. Instead they celebrate it (while naturally blaming and condemning the internet and "men").
I went to the beach a few weeks ago. As far as I can tell no one was forcing women to show so much flesh via their beach attire (and there was plenty of cheek showing). Are you blaming men and porno for this? Is it not women who dress this way? Is anyone forcing them too (you know, like forcing them to twerk)?
Feminists really need to start to look at how women degrade THEMSELVES. Yet they refuse. Instead they celebrate it (while naturally blaming and condemning the internet and "men").
I agree that it would be nice if the reality of the situation were as you say, but I actually found it refreshing that they were actually honest about it. I wouldn't have believed their lip service and I doubt you would have.
Pitty. Anyway, when the main stockholder is a petrol company it seems more like auto censorship than clever market decision. I wonder if anybody regarded Playboy as a pornography and not lifestyle journal. What is wrong with a naked body? Everybody has one. And in Playboy they were beautiful ones. Shell we cover the naked bodies painted by the famous painter in the museum just because we can see porn in internet? And if we just don't like porn?
4
I recently looked at a copy of Playboy after maybe a 30-year gap: This is a magazine for puerile teenagers. Even the vaunted interview was childish.
4
It has been nearly a half century since I bought a copy, probably 40 years since I have seen it. It is hard to see how the Playboy that I remember could hold the interest of anyone over the age of 20; aside from the nudes it was little more than a guide for rubes trying to fake some sort of cultural sophistication. I'm a bit surprised that it's still around.
1
Yep.....there goes the hidden Playboys in teenagers bedrooms.....and in many "man's caves"....end of an era. Amen
GQ Magazine has been going the sleazy route as well, for a couple of years now. Totally going for the Maxim crowd. What a sad decline.
1
My oldest brother used to hide his Playboy magazines under his bed (like our Mother never knew they were there – yeah right). I always wanted to know what the hubbub was all about when he and his friends would scurry up to his bedroom and lock the door. I was amazed at the array of photos in each issue and wondered who those dames were because I NEVER knew anyone who looked like that. I always thought Playboy brought elegance, style and class with each issue – completely unlike the cheap and tasteless Hustler magazine that came out in the same time period (my brother bought those too). I never thought Playboy nor Hugh Heffner were sexist or chauvinistic – they were merely a product of the time. Mr. Heffner’s Playboy Clubs were equally as successful and high end. I frankly thought the magazine would fold once his clubs closed because the tide was changing and so was his audience. Playboy is another reminder of a time that many people thought would never end and a time where young boys got their first exposure of the opposite sex in a more innocent and private way.
6
Playboy is another reminder of a time that many people thought would never end and a time where young boys got their first exposure of the opposite sex in a more innocent and private way.
the internet is so much more non-innocent. What one can see there is beyond imagination when compared to the pornograpy of playboy.
the internet is so much more non-innocent. What one can see there is beyond imagination when compared to the pornograpy of playboy.
What the changes in Playboy really demonstrate is that salaciousness is still alive and well, but the new pornography is money.
4
Save those vintage, mint condition copies, folks. They just became a lot more valuable.
9
Hip Parts of the country Where Womans LIb Was Respected Playboy HAs been dead since around 1975. I mean If you lived IN SAn Francisco or New York iT WAS ONLY GOOD FOR LOCKER ROOMS.
IF
IF
2
Were there naked women in Playboy? I always read the magazine for the interesting articles.
11
I don't give a hoot what anyone says, the magazine was amazing for its time. The cartoons were the best.
7
That magazine already exists. It's called Esquire.
10
Or Maxim.
I still think there’s a market for a magazine that combines quality writing with cheesecake. Maybe some of our more serious journals could step in and fill the gap. How do we feel, for example, about the New York Review of Books with a centerfold?
2
Yeah, like a belated naked photo of Ayn Rand.
You can dress up a pig, but it doesn't mean it's still not a pig...
Scott Flanders, Playboy's chief executive, states “if you take nudity out, what’s left?” Uh...dignity, self-respect, pride, self-worth for starters. Just another example of how men see no value in women unless they are nude. So, no, Mr. Flanders, the battle has not been fought and won, at least not for women.
Scott Flanders, Playboy's chief executive, states “if you take nudity out, what’s left?” Uh...dignity, self-respect, pride, self-worth for starters. Just another example of how men see no value in women unless they are nude. So, no, Mr. Flanders, the battle has not been fought and won, at least not for women.
16
Dignity, self respect, pride and self worth don't sell magazines, especially when the target audience is dudes looking for a bit of skin.
Cyndi, are you saying that women dressing practically naked on the beach or street have no "dignity, self-respect, pride, self-worth ". That is definitely what you are implying.
“We enjoy mixing up cocktails and an hors d’oeuvre or two, putting a little mood music on the phonograph, and inviting in a female acquaintance for a quiet discussion on Picasso, Nietzsche, jazz, sex ...”
I don't know whether the described evenings ever existed in the 1950s but I know they don't exist today. Do Millennials even know who Picasso and Nietzsche were? Does anyone under the age of 50 listen to jazz? Sex has become hookups and even rape according to some women. Maybe articles-only is the way to go now. Will the Playboy Mansion and its infamous grotto close down?
I don't know whether the described evenings ever existed in the 1950s but I know they don't exist today. Do Millennials even know who Picasso and Nietzsche were? Does anyone under the age of 50 listen to jazz? Sex has become hookups and even rape according to some women. Maybe articles-only is the way to go now. Will the Playboy Mansion and its infamous grotto close down?
1
Chapter 11 to follow...
2
Before too long, the only thing any woman in any magazine will be wearing is a Burka.
6
You don't have to go from one extreme to the other. A lot is possible between these two women degrading sides.
unless it is a Victoria Secret catalogue. You know, it is OK for women't periodicals to feature nude (or de facto nude) women but not OK anywhere else.
Playboy without beautiful nude girls? What's the point?
5
As Alfred Hitchcock taught us, what you don't show is often more powerful than what you do show.
7
Absolutely. Today women show everything. Look at how women dress for award shows...everything is shown, just about Not being a man, I don't know if that is tantalizing or erotic, but I think one would become desensitized by seeing so many breasts and butts on display.
How about just save some forests and eliminate the print version of the magazine altogether? Most millennials don't buy and read magazines anyway.
Playboy should quickly pivot it's online presence to delivering well-produced soft porn using VR, where someone can "interact" with the bunnies in a virtual world (and hopefully learning about sophisticated topics as well); this is the direction the whole industry is bound to go..... it's certainly the one in which I'd take the company if future success is the goal.
Playboy should quickly pivot it's online presence to delivering well-produced soft porn using VR, where someone can "interact" with the bunnies in a virtual world (and hopefully learning about sophisticated topics as well); this is the direction the whole industry is bound to go..... it's certainly the one in which I'd take the company if future success is the goal.
1
Unlikely to make any difference. Foolish to think it will improve circulation.
But I only read it for the articles
But I only read it for the articles
1
This is another example of an old, tired company that "owned" a category but failed to keep up with technology and/or it's customer.
Together Penthouse, Playboy's nastier rival, and Playboy were the moon and the north star, marks other porn used to navigate and measure themselves. The internet came along and Penthouse fell immediately. It's taken Playboy a bit longer.
Ironically, porn is bigger now than ever. More people view it, look at it and digest it now than they ever had. Playboy had every opportunity to change with the times, develop a digital presence and continue their rule... they failed.
And this isn't just porn. People in general read more news, and broader categories of news. People send and receive more "mail" and other written communications. Yet old media news papers, magazines, and the US Postal service have failed, losing market share to electronic competitors.
Together Penthouse, Playboy's nastier rival, and Playboy were the moon and the north star, marks other porn used to navigate and measure themselves. The internet came along and Penthouse fell immediately. It's taken Playboy a bit longer.
Ironically, porn is bigger now than ever. More people view it, look at it and digest it now than they ever had. Playboy had every opportunity to change with the times, develop a digital presence and continue their rule... they failed.
And this isn't just porn. People in general read more news, and broader categories of news. People send and receive more "mail" and other written communications. Yet old media news papers, magazines, and the US Postal service have failed, losing market share to electronic competitors.
But do most porn companies make money? At the end of the day playboy is a business, and if you follow the industry, pornhub the largest online porn site, is struggling to gain a financial foothold. They just introduced a subscription model, but why subscribe when you get it for free?
Playboy's transformation is impressive. I read it for the first time a few years ago when I applied for a job there, and as an avid consumer of news and media, I was impressed. In fact, I think that their food writer is one of the best in the business and I actually tore out his article on oysters!
Playboy's transformation is impressive. I read it for the first time a few years ago when I applied for a job there, and as an avid consumer of news and media, I was impressed. In fact, I think that their food writer is one of the best in the business and I actually tore out his article on oysters!
Playboy's days are numbered. They're attempting to change the secret sauce which will hurt the brand. There are already other publications that are doing what Playboy is attempting to change into. It's hard to see what they will be bringing to the table that is unique now.
4
Now about that name...Playboy.
2
Somaiya equates Playboy with porn? What about Titian's Venus of Urbino? Porn? This sort of remark is philistinism and nothing more.
1
This is the death knell for the iconic Playboy. All things come to an end, ever Icons. Too bad.
2
Egads! What has become of this country?
1
If Hef wants to be cutting edge again, devote half of each issue to conservative values. They are sexy, too.
Ironically, for all its exploitation of women as sex objects, what Playboy did was champion a completely different standard of beauty. Many commenters have said Playboy without the nudes is Vogue. But I would say that while there's truth to that, there is (or was) another essential difference. Playboy glorified and objectified women who were sexy and had curves and were ideals for men and boys. Vogue glorified and objectified the over-tall beanpole anorexic model with a chiseled (read: "bony") face who looked far less like real women than Playboy models did. They were and are treated as nothing more than clothes hangers.
So I ask: Who objectified women more and in a more damaging fashion, Playboy or Vogue?
And, while it's a joke to mention the articles, some of the interviews were stunning, like John Lennon's prior to his death, or Jimmy Carter's. But the one that out-did them all was Alex Haley's interview with George Lincoln Rockwell in 1966. How a Black journalist managed an interview with the founder of the American Nazi Party was a story in itself. No magazine but Playboy could have pulled that off in the 1960's.
So I ask: Who objectified women more and in a more damaging fashion, Playboy or Vogue?
And, while it's a joke to mention the articles, some of the interviews were stunning, like John Lennon's prior to his death, or Jimmy Carter's. But the one that out-did them all was Alex Haley's interview with George Lincoln Rockwell in 1966. How a Black journalist managed an interview with the founder of the American Nazi Party was a story in itself. No magazine but Playboy could have pulled that off in the 1960's.
48
how 'bout the Dylan interview ( '66 ? ) - nowhere had he the chance for so much chat !
I always thought that Playboy's photos of gadgets, electronics, and cars informed by the same exquisite sensibility as the nudity--loving, longing, and eros. Gadget obsession seems to me to have become pervasive enough that it is not unusual to see, in films or television, one partner to turn immediately to a smart phone while he or she is still damp with sweat and breathing heavily. So I think, once again, Playboy is prescient in its understanding of the passions of its readers.
1
Playboy without nudes; Paul Ryan too liberal? Did I wake up this morning in Wonderland?
8
No MGM....not "Wonderland" BUT "Delusionaland"
I don't think Playboy was ever about pornography, and I don't think the idea that men often enjoy pictures of healthy, young, attractive and apparently happy women, naked or not, who appear comfortable and welcoming sexually is anything particularly puzzling or embarrassing. It was true before any of us were born, and in 1953 and in 2015, and will be true I imagine, pretty much forever.
5
Another male grown up on Playboy with fond memories...
But as a profitable business and relevant in any way, it lost that years ago. At its peak in the 70s, it was a true cultural force across dozens of fields -- but that was also a reflection of the moral and sexual decadence of that decade.
Once the 90s came around and then into the 2000s, the moral decadence was so much more ubiquitous than vapid than the 70s, Playboy and Hefner just couldn't compete. And they can't compete now, no matter how much skin is removed. Once they went to completely airbrushed, bottle blonds with parts of their bodies looking like 5 year old girls, it ceased to be about the nudity of the "girl next door."
Playboy is in the history books, for better or worse, as is Hugh Hefner. But as a brand and a company, it's on its deathbed.
It deserves a well thought out eulogy from a man with fond memories.
But as a profitable business and relevant in any way, it lost that years ago. At its peak in the 70s, it was a true cultural force across dozens of fields -- but that was also a reflection of the moral and sexual decadence of that decade.
Once the 90s came around and then into the 2000s, the moral decadence was so much more ubiquitous than vapid than the 70s, Playboy and Hefner just couldn't compete. And they can't compete now, no matter how much skin is removed. Once they went to completely airbrushed, bottle blonds with parts of their bodies looking like 5 year old girls, it ceased to be about the nudity of the "girl next door."
Playboy is in the history books, for better or worse, as is Hugh Hefner. But as a brand and a company, it's on its deathbed.
It deserves a well thought out eulogy from a man with fond memories.
2
As a kid I saw my first nudes in Playboy when I took a peek in a corner candy store before being kicked out by the proprietor.
Now when people buy it it really will be for the articles.
Now when people buy it it really will be for the articles.
3
I guess now we will see if men really do get Playboy for the articles.
1
This couldn't have anything to do with the shortage of attractive models who are tattoo-free, could it? I mean who wants to look at a naked lady that resembles the side wall of a Brooklyn warehouse? Classy porn is a thing of the past. The time has come to say goodbye.
3
By now, male curiosity about the female form should be well satiated by the plethora of naked, or almost naked, female bodies on view everywhere. No wonder there is no longer a market for Playboy's female anatomy lesson; the Victoria's Secret catalog should suffice.
5
Anne, you fogot to mention the way women dress. And I don't mean just at the beach (where plenty of cheek is clearly visible). There is so much flesh visible it is amazing. No wonder pornography cannot make money. It is readily available in abundant qualities on the street.
The over-fetishization of women's bodies has led us to a place where Males are not satisfied with the bodies of the real women they love (in the same way that folks raised on high-fructose corn syrup can never appreciate the deliciousness of an organic apple), and women, even the most lovely, never feel they measure up. It was a sad day for Sex and Love when Hugh Heffer opened up shop, and things have only gotten worse. Back away from your laptops, gentlemen, and love the one you're with.
67
Mary, If that's your objection to Playboy, then the fashion industry is even MORE deserving of your scorn, portraying starved anorexic beanpoles as their ideal of feminine beauty. At least the Playboy models looked like healthy, if idealized, women (especially before cosmetic surgery became common).
What's the difference or harm in admiring something you'll never get, be it Ferrari or Playboy model?
That's like saying I can't enjoy playing tennis in the park anymore now that I've watched Federer and Djokovic do battle at Wimbledon. In fact, my enthusiasm for watching the pros and my love of playing the game reinforce one another. Comparison is not the point.
I subscribed when I was in college years ago but I honestly did not know that magazine still published. .
1
I have no objection to PB's long history of publishing outstanding nude images. That said, I believe that the magazine is improved by leaving a little bit to the imagination. Whether this is evidence of a slow migration of American standards, or simply a function of my own advancing age, I am not sure. With a , when I do still read PB, I do so for the articles... How many times have we heard that over the last fifty years? PB will adapt and I suspect that the publication and their entire house, still have a few good years ahead of them.
4
Nothing as tittilating as furtively unfolding the centerfold with teenage eyes bulging out of my head. It is as American as apple pie and vanilla shakes to look at beautiful naked women in Playboy. Throw another piece of nostalgia on the pile!
1
Times sure have changed. I wonder how many mature men today recall relegating themselves to their hide-outs, tree-houses and bathrooms to scan through Playboy mags when they were approaching manhood. I'm thinking hormonal young boys today won't have that same luxury sitting in front of a computer. As a mom, I've found a couple issues under my young son's bed back in the day, and used a modicum of restraint so as to not get freaked out about it. Somehow, he kept forgetting that I'm the one who had to dust under the bed.
13
I have not seen a hard-copy version of Playboy in years, and don't much care whether or not it contains nude or clothed women. In today's world, however, one can't help but suspect that the change Playboy is making is somehow a manifestation of our new closed-minded, politically correct society, with its constant victim-posturing. With social media and the ability of every disaffected malcontent to form a dot-org of kindred spirits, virtually every societal action is some form of unfair discrimination, shaming or exclusion. We all laugh when we read about the latest outrage of this nature, but then we find out that some regulatory agency has just passed a 1000-page rule to address the problem or that some court has determined that it affects some heretofore undisclosed Constitutional right. We are doomed!
Did you read the article? They are dropping nudes because you can find all the nude pictures you want of women, girls, boys and men on the internet For Free. Why would any right thinking man pay for it when he can get it For Free?? Political regulations have nothing to do with it.
I have a better idea. Playboy is going through hard times now like most print media and can no longer afford to pay photographers and models and movie stars to pose nude. Their circulation is low and advertisers pay accordingly. But why stop publishing nude photos cold turkey--when there's such a cache in the archives--all paid for already! Just bring back women who posed for Playboy--and pay us to keep our clothes on--while being interviewed about what we've been up to the last 40, 50, 60 years!
26
This is a great idea! We all have our favorites from those early days, but we no longer have the old issues. In fact, they could just re-print the whole thing: the Bob Dylan interview, etc.
For the people with the comments like "if you take out the nudes, what's left?" obviously, you never actually READ Playboy.
2
I have not seen an issue of Playboy in decades, but used to buy it as a teenager in the 1960's. At the time, it not only contained pictures of semi-nude women, but was a source of literature. Some of the best short story writers were published in Playboy. Playboy interviews included world leaders, great actors, great authors and cultural icons.
Hefner may have put waitresses in silly suits, but he was an early advocate of women's rights and gay rights. His articles exposed and condemned acts of discrimination and persecution against women and gay men. Such positions were radical at the time.
And yes, I did read the articles.
Hefner may have put waitresses in silly suits, but he was an early advocate of women's rights and gay rights. His articles exposed and condemned acts of discrimination and persecution against women and gay men. Such positions were radical at the time.
And yes, I did read the articles.
4
I agree about the interviews. They were quite good (and are sorely missed).
Hef is partly responsible for the acceptance and ideology of the clean-cut, all-American. neighbor-next-door center spreads of naked women that has helped produce the latest statistics of one out of three teenage girls becoming pregnant.
Ex-Playboy harem-mate, Holly Madison described Hefner (who personally interviews all girls) in her book, “Down The Rabbit Hole” as a “controlling megalomaniac” who enforced strict 9 p.m. curfew for his harem of “girlfriends” and forbade from fraternizing with mansion staffers.
She said his biweekly bedroom routine involved blondes in flannel pajamas smoking marijuana and watching pornography., among other things.”
Same thing in the movies.
They make a great film but put in parts that deal with the prurient interests for the viewing public. That is how they destroy morals and decency.
Take a look around you at the low-level of American "culture." Now even opera singers go on stage naked for their supposedly sophisticated and tony audience.
Do the men who view these Playboy photos or videos separate them from the real women or do they see all women as a bimbo plaything and featherbrain girls who pose or work for the magazine?
Ex-Playboy harem-mate, Holly Madison described Hefner (who personally interviews all girls) in her book, “Down The Rabbit Hole” as a “controlling megalomaniac” who enforced strict 9 p.m. curfew for his harem of “girlfriends” and forbade from fraternizing with mansion staffers.
She said his biweekly bedroom routine involved blondes in flannel pajamas smoking marijuana and watching pornography., among other things.”
Same thing in the movies.
They make a great film but put in parts that deal with the prurient interests for the viewing public. That is how they destroy morals and decency.
Take a look around you at the low-level of American "culture." Now even opera singers go on stage naked for their supposedly sophisticated and tony audience.
Do the men who view these Playboy photos or videos separate them from the real women or do they see all women as a bimbo plaything and featherbrain girls who pose or work for the magazine?
1
That we felt (and sometimes still feel) that revealing the beauty of the human female form is pornographic says much about our collective lack of maturity and sophistication.
Yes, sometimes what Playboy pretended to was laughable, but He and they did it, and that remains both important and courageous.
Many women are beautiful and alluring.... can be all agree on that? Thanks, Playboy, for taking the wraps off!
Yes, sometimes what Playboy pretended to was laughable, but He and they did it, and that remains both important and courageous.
Many women are beautiful and alluring.... can be all agree on that? Thanks, Playboy, for taking the wraps off!
2
So basically Playboy will be like Maxim magazine? I am not sure this will work out well for Playboy.
If Playboy wants to sells lots of magazines they should show lots of vintage photos of 1950 and 60s pinups in full page. The best of those photos stand up over the test of time.
If Playboy wants to sells lots of magazines they should show lots of vintage photos of 1950 and 60s pinups in full page. The best of those photos stand up over the test of time.
1
This article completely overlooks the essential misogyny of Playboy which does not appear to have changed very much during the magazine's 62-year history. A single line is devoted by the reporter to Playboy's feminist detractors. Nor did Playboy "take sex in America from furtive to ubiquitous" - it took pornography from furtive to ubiquitous. There's a difference, and our society and culture are not better for it. Pornography is not sex, and it is not sex-positive. It is the opposite.
The underlying philosophy of Playboy is that women exist primarily if not solely to please men and that commodifying their bodies for male entertainment is something to celebrate and to do openly. (The articles and interviews merely provided a gloss of legitimacy.) Playboy did not create this philosophy but precisely because of its success Playboy has been in the vanguard of normalizing this philosophy.
It was not so much the nudity of the women in Playboy that was so offensive but rather the suffocatingly patronizing attitude toward women that oozes from the magazine, from calling the women "playmates" and "bunnies," to the ubiquitous wide-eyed, voluptuous ingenue who is easily manipulated into sex: a trope that appears again and again in this magazine, both in its highly stylized cartoons and in the way the models are frequently represented in photographs. Playboy is thus essentially propaganda for male privilege. Eliminating the nudity will do nothing to alter that philosophy.
The underlying philosophy of Playboy is that women exist primarily if not solely to please men and that commodifying their bodies for male entertainment is something to celebrate and to do openly. (The articles and interviews merely provided a gloss of legitimacy.) Playboy did not create this philosophy but precisely because of its success Playboy has been in the vanguard of normalizing this philosophy.
It was not so much the nudity of the women in Playboy that was so offensive but rather the suffocatingly patronizing attitude toward women that oozes from the magazine, from calling the women "playmates" and "bunnies," to the ubiquitous wide-eyed, voluptuous ingenue who is easily manipulated into sex: a trope that appears again and again in this magazine, both in its highly stylized cartoons and in the way the models are frequently represented in photographs. Playboy is thus essentially propaganda for male privilege. Eliminating the nudity will do nothing to alter that philosophy.
12
And?
Looks like Hef's come back to Esquire.
This article reads a bit like an obituary, which is what it might turn out to be. On the other hand, I can see how this might boost sales and readership. Imagine how many more magazines might be sold if instead of being hidden behind the counter at convenience stores, the magazine was featured at the grocery check-out? More people will feel comfortable reading the magazine on the subway, the plane, or in the doctor's office. Playboy may never be the magazine it once was, but it might be around for a lot longer thanks to this strategy. Only time will tell.
"social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, vital sources of web traffic" So Playboy wanted to be on social media? Social media is "vital"? Give it a rest. In 25 or 30 years "social" media will be forgotten has-beens just like everything that doesn't fit the capitalist model of use-it-up and spit-it-out. If it's not making money then throw it away and come up with something new before the competition does!
Who wants to stare into a cellphone let alone a TV? Give it a rest. Use the thing between your ears. It's called a brain. And besides which, what did people do for the last 2,000 years? Besides kill each other and have kings.
Who wants to stare into a cellphone let alone a TV? Give it a rest. Use the thing between your ears. It's called a brain. And besides which, what did people do for the last 2,000 years? Besides kill each other and have kings.
Well, it's probably time. But it is a little funny. From Ravi Somaiya's earth-shaking article:
"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,"
We're going back to the 1940's? But the signs were there many years ago. I can well remember being in the Marines, opening a Playboy in the barracks, sifting through its pages to turn to an article... by Harvey Cox. The upscale approach to this rag began when we were all a lot younger. At that time, as I looked around the barracks, I wondered who else was reading Harvey Cox in Playboy.
Right, this was a magazine that was shifted furtively amongst pre-adolescents who couldn't spell "modern theology" let alone know what it was. But the import of Playboy was so sensitive in the society at that time that even adults possessed the magazine with a certain illicitness: Married men held it closely, and it was the truly liberated family that had it on the coffee table along with "Good Housekeeping".
And we all knew the stars that were featured in the centerfold. I well remember a prized issue with Kim Novak that my father obtained from a relative in the news distribution business, thus absolving him of any guilt from actually purchasing such a controversial publication. It could have been the "Evergreen Review", for god's sake.
Now, if we could just bring back all the great big band music from the 1940's...
"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,"
We're going back to the 1940's? But the signs were there many years ago. I can well remember being in the Marines, opening a Playboy in the barracks, sifting through its pages to turn to an article... by Harvey Cox. The upscale approach to this rag began when we were all a lot younger. At that time, as I looked around the barracks, I wondered who else was reading Harvey Cox in Playboy.
Right, this was a magazine that was shifted furtively amongst pre-adolescents who couldn't spell "modern theology" let alone know what it was. But the import of Playboy was so sensitive in the society at that time that even adults possessed the magazine with a certain illicitness: Married men held it closely, and it was the truly liberated family that had it on the coffee table along with "Good Housekeeping".
And we all knew the stars that were featured in the centerfold. I well remember a prized issue with Kim Novak that my father obtained from a relative in the news distribution business, thus absolving him of any guilt from actually purchasing such a controversial publication. It could have been the "Evergreen Review", for god's sake.
Now, if we could just bring back all the great big band music from the 1940's...
1
We're going back to the 1940's?
just look at way women dress at the beach or on the streets. That will answer your question.
just look at way women dress at the beach or on the streets. That will answer your question.
The photo feature which I remember with the greatest fondness would have to be "Torrid Italian Beauty". The de Tomaso Ford Pantera.
I really was reading the articles.
I really was reading the articles.
I stole magazinese like Hustler and Playboy a long time ago when I was a 12 to 14 years old or so. Still can't remember a single time in my life I ever paid for porn except the occasional rental from the video store. Nowadays it's all free, anyway, no one needs to buy.
BRILLIANT! I believe heff is not the man he portrays and both he and his son have done and will continue to do God's work. Lol meaning enlightening people and casting light on darkness.
This is brilliant but what i think they should do is make it a MEN'S MAGAZINE. Real, honest articles about what men TRULY care about and yes that means a lot of sex, but also enlightening subjects ranging from higher consciousness and art to science and media. But with emphasis on sexuality. A place men can go to hear THE TRUTH. Not a sugarcoated dream or what women wish. Real truth. Plus bands, interviews...and a tasteful erotic spread in each article that may sometimes show breasts or more, but not always. Erotic, not pornography. Thats what i would do. And i would develop an exclusive playboy website with streaming videos of the highest quality that is truly inexpensive. Like netflix but with playboy exclusive actors.
That is what i suggest as a businessperson. ;D
This is brilliant but what i think they should do is make it a MEN'S MAGAZINE. Real, honest articles about what men TRULY care about and yes that means a lot of sex, but also enlightening subjects ranging from higher consciousness and art to science and media. But with emphasis on sexuality. A place men can go to hear THE TRUTH. Not a sugarcoated dream or what women wish. Real truth. Plus bands, interviews...and a tasteful erotic spread in each article that may sometimes show breasts or more, but not always. Erotic, not pornography. Thats what i would do. And i would develop an exclusive playboy website with streaming videos of the highest quality that is truly inexpensive. Like netflix but with playboy exclusive actors.
That is what i suggest as a businessperson. ;D
1
The end of a childhoods rite of passage. Sneaking a look at dads playboys when he was at work and hoping mom wouldn't catch you.
1
Yes. Quaint times those were. Now boys are consuming hard-core Internet porn videos daily by fourth grade. And the girls start to see it also, either accidentally or because the boys direct them to it. I'll never forget my oldest daughter coming home from school during her fourth grade year and asking me, "Mommy, what's doggy style? Tim was talking about it. He saw it on the computer." Strange days indeed.
John Milton's 'Areopagetica' prevails again. By not suppressing free expression, in whatever form, the world has decided that Playboy's nudies are no longer that big a deal as evidenced by the precipitous drop in circulation.
Got to say, as a young male of the internet generation, Playboy has been completely irrelevant to my growing up or sexual development, and I cannot think of any of my friends for whom it has been.
The internet had killed the idea of porn mags a long time ago, just like the rest of the media playboy is finally realising that reality.
The internet had killed the idea of porn mags a long time ago, just like the rest of the media playboy is finally realising that reality.
1
I hope Hef would get this, I have been a subscriber since age of 14 & read articles. I was member of Boston Playboy club late 60's after my uncle took me there as a graduation present from High school. I remember on that night that I was going to start my own business & I still own. The Boston Playboy Club would be one of my customers & that DID happen. Started w/no money, but because of Playboy membership, I had met businessmen & millionaires. At 23 years old & the way these people treated me I became business success. I stayed member until playboy closed clubs, Boston closed, but I continued membership, went to Clubs other states, NY, London & more. I still have my card, expired in 1986. The people I met did not give me money, they gave me business. I started Friday Dec. 14, 1972 & was successful from my 1st service call @ Paul's Mall/Jazz workshop, Boston #1 night club that night & my 2nd call next day @ "Boston Half Shell Rest. @ 12 noon next day. I was on my way. These people owned Night Clubs, Liquor stores, Blocks of office building + others. 2 millionaires treated as a nephew & I call them UNCLE. By age of 28 , with partners, I had my 1st business, 4 night clubs, 1 car wash/gas station, produced a record album, 1st ever International Beer, Wine & cheese festival @ Commonwealth Pier in Boston, 5 other small businesses. This true story. hef it's time to reopen Playboy Clubs.
When I was younger I bought Playboyfor the interviews. Haha. But it eventually became passe. I haven't looked at an issue in years. General interest magazines have all but disappeared and I'm a little surprised Playboy is still being published.
Think about it, hasn't Playboy's centerfold been even seen in American movies - from those nasty teenage boy shows to supporting our military in their barracks?
No more nude centerfolds? They were almost as all American as waiving the American flag on the 4th of July. Guess Gloria Steinem was onto something long, long ago. No one listened until now.
No more nude centerfolds? They were almost as all American as waiving the American flag on the 4th of July. Guess Gloria Steinem was onto something long, long ago. No one listened until now.
1
Does this mean I don't have to hide them under my mattress anymore?
“You’re now one click away from every sex act imaginable for free. And so it’s just passé at this juncture.”
Or, to adapt the elder ... Bush (talk about your nominative determinism), it "wouldn't be prurient at this juncture."
"Pornographic magazines, even those as storied as Playboy, have lost their shock value, their commercial value and their cultural relevance."
And I can only assume that my old copies with the faded centerfolds just have to be collectors' items, hard as they are now to come by.
"Penthouse, perhaps the most famous Playboy competitor, responded to the threat from digital pornography by turning even more explicit. It never recovered."
Was that before or after Penthouse founder Bob Guccione named his horse Incitatus editor of its racing pages?
"Previous efforts to revamp Playboy, as recently as three years ago, have never quite stuck."
Oh, for the old days, when the magazine's she-vamps saw to it that every issue tended to stick world without end.
"A judge once ruled that denying blind people a Braille version of it violated their First Amendment rights."
And to think that I as a mere *sighted* subscrber got blisters with each issue.
"When Mr. Hefner created the magazine, which featured Marilyn Monroe on its debut cover in 1953, he did so to please himself."
The same reason, it would seem and as it were, that we in our millions bought it. Though the same motive that cost him two million set us back all of two.
Or, to adapt the elder ... Bush (talk about your nominative determinism), it "wouldn't be prurient at this juncture."
"Pornographic magazines, even those as storied as Playboy, have lost their shock value, their commercial value and their cultural relevance."
And I can only assume that my old copies with the faded centerfolds just have to be collectors' items, hard as they are now to come by.
"Penthouse, perhaps the most famous Playboy competitor, responded to the threat from digital pornography by turning even more explicit. It never recovered."
Was that before or after Penthouse founder Bob Guccione named his horse Incitatus editor of its racing pages?
"Previous efforts to revamp Playboy, as recently as three years ago, have never quite stuck."
Oh, for the old days, when the magazine's she-vamps saw to it that every issue tended to stick world without end.
"A judge once ruled that denying blind people a Braille version of it violated their First Amendment rights."
And to think that I as a mere *sighted* subscrber got blisters with each issue.
"When Mr. Hefner created the magazine, which featured Marilyn Monroe on its debut cover in 1953, he did so to please himself."
The same reason, it would seem and as it were, that we in our millions bought it. Though the same motive that cost him two million set us back all of two.
2
Edwin Meese, attorney general under Ronnie Reagan, did a lot to kill of Playboy in the pre-Internet days. He went on a campaign to get ordinary stores, like 7-11, to stop carrying the magazine and it virtually disappeared from anything other than liquor stores and other places that attracted a largely male and more mature clientele. Before that, it was common to see Playboy and similar magazines in most book stores and newsstands across America.
The "ladie" magazines, modeled after similar ones in the UK, found a clever way around the near ban of Playboy and similar magazines from grocery store and other news racks. They published, and still do, photos of nearly nude women but no fully exposed breasts, etc. Those kinds of cleaner young men's magazines are now said to be in serious decline in the UK and in danger of going extinct, but they have had a good 10 to 20 yr. run here and over there.
Playboy could have started its own version of a lad's mag, but they were busy "innovating" in the other direction, trying to keep up with the increasingly pornographic video business. The capacity of the public to accept frankness, complete visual revelation, exceeded their ability to change quickly enough. They were reluctant to become out and out pornographers.
The era of Playboy now seems like some long ago vision of near innocence. In truth, Playboy was passe before the Internet came along and gave them the news. VHS tape was the earlier death knell.
The "ladie" magazines, modeled after similar ones in the UK, found a clever way around the near ban of Playboy and similar magazines from grocery store and other news racks. They published, and still do, photos of nearly nude women but no fully exposed breasts, etc. Those kinds of cleaner young men's magazines are now said to be in serious decline in the UK and in danger of going extinct, but they have had a good 10 to 20 yr. run here and over there.
Playboy could have started its own version of a lad's mag, but they were busy "innovating" in the other direction, trying to keep up with the increasingly pornographic video business. The capacity of the public to accept frankness, complete visual revelation, exceeded their ability to change quickly enough. They were reluctant to become out and out pornographers.
The era of Playboy now seems like some long ago vision of near innocence. In truth, Playboy was passe before the Internet came along and gave them the news. VHS tape was the earlier death knell.
1
today Meese would have to close down Victoria Secret or the beaches!
It sounds like they're basically turning into Esquire magazine.
I remember seeing the Playboy club in New York as a child, they had a spiral staircase near the window, and you could see the bunnies walking up and down.
Where are all the bunnies today....they're grandmothers... and great-grandmothers!
I remember seeing the Playboy club in New York as a child, they had a spiral staircase near the window, and you could see the bunnies walking up and down.
Where are all the bunnies today....they're grandmothers... and great-grandmothers!
1
There used to be a joke where, when a guy let slip that he read Playboy to someone judgmental, he would hasten to add, "for the articles of course."
The non pictorial content of the new Playboy better be darn good as pictures of gorgeous scantily clad women will still be unable to compete with on-line pornography, which, unlike pornography of old, more often than not, features gorgeous women doing things other than posing.
The non pictorial content of the new Playboy better be darn good as pictures of gorgeous scantily clad women will still be unable to compete with on-line pornography, which, unlike pornography of old, more often than not, features gorgeous women doing things other than posing.
If you ask me, Scott Flanders should be taking his cue from his great-aunt Moll -- rather than his cousin Ned.
2
How will it be different from a GQ? Are we talking about a gender-specific Vanity Fair?
2
Apparently the reporter does not know the difference between erotica and pornography. A nude photograph by its very nature is NOT pornographic. PLAYBOY has always straddled the delicate balance between the two. Would The New York Times consider every nude in The Met and the Louvre pornographic?
5
I think Playboy magazine has had its moment in the sun. Like all the other men's magazines that featured nude women in provocative positions its no longer necessary because our society doesn't frown on it anymore. You can go to any club or watch any movie in the privacy of your home. We're no longer in the sexually repressed 1950's where sexuality is taboo. Any one who wants to view nude pictures of just about anyone can do so anonymously on their computer.
2
Playboy introduced the confounding reality of why a nice girl like "her" would pose naked for the world to see (and admire). What must her mom and dad think? Of course, I purchased the magazine (all those years) just for the articles.
1
It's been a few years since I looked at.......ahem...read my last Playboy. For me, Playboy was more about the celebrity photo shoots. The exclusive stuff. So while I can see them canning the whole centerfold thing, I'm surprised they are doing away with all nudity.
1
I was 13 in 1978 and, believe me, Playboy was like traveling to an exotic land back then. I was entranced not only by the women, obviously, but by the lifestyles of men who were probably 20 year older than me and seemingly had the whole "macho lifestyle" thing down to a science. I could only guess why men would wear certain clothes, or live with giant ferns in their bachelor pads, or drink white rum with tonic, but wow, was I hooked. Such innocence.
16
Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue = Playboy now?
Bring back Marilyn. So many decades after her death, any magazine with Marilyn Monroe on the cover still sells.
Ok if this is not the sign of the Apocalypse what else could be? My other thought was wasn't Maxim sorta Playboy with half naked, instead of fully naked girls? Maybe they should just go to their original policy of showing naked women, but always covering their pubic area?
Teenage boys don't build tree forts anymore, either. Perhaps the decline of these two American institutions is somehow related.
3
Hefner's real, and historical, accomplishment was to put a finger on (and profit from) the puritanical sickness in our society. That sickness, of course, has continued to fester, albeit in different forms; indeed, it is now manifested by efforts to suppress other provocative forms of expression—efforts, for example, transparent in America's leading criminal satire case, documented at:
http://raphaelgolbtrial.wordpress.com/
It is thus ironically fitting that Playboy should put the clothes back on. Class and discretion are what this country needs, not so? We must certainly not see what is really going on beneath the genteel surface of our newly gentrified cities.
http://raphaelgolbtrial.wordpress.com/
It is thus ironically fitting that Playboy should put the clothes back on. Class and discretion are what this country needs, not so? We must certainly not see what is really going on beneath the genteel surface of our newly gentrified cities.
1
Aw, c'mon, leave us at least a Page 3 girl.
There's definitely a market space for classy, suggestive pictures of semi-clad women. Pictures celebrating female beauty, not female genitalia.
As a lesbian, I'd buy.
As a lesbian, I'd buy.
3
Bring the clubs back and put men and women in bunny ears. I'd rather close a deal over a 3 martini lunch at The Playboy Club complete with grilled meat and raucous laughter than via email signed documents drinking wheatgrass, eating tempeh at my desk.
6
In a world where breasts are no longer real, MSNBC runs top ten porn star listicles, high schoolers and Congressmen are sexting superstars, and YouPorn.com has the ability to make any desperate soul with a strong enough jaw the flavor du jour (or is it de l'heure?) Playboy's problems as a middle man are as voluminous as Hefner's wrinkles.
Yes, the geezers are right: they won. And here we are now, in our tawdry and ego-fluffing Internet half-lives, as marketplace technologies compete to help us unfurl the centerfold within ourselves. These days, Hefner's fabled Girl Next Door is only an IPO-backed social media download away.
If it feels, sometimes, that something has been lost -- not innocence, surely, but maybe a shady idealism that once kept the barricades warm -- well, what revolution doesn't end with regrets?
Yes, the geezers are right: they won. And here we are now, in our tawdry and ego-fluffing Internet half-lives, as marketplace technologies compete to help us unfurl the centerfold within ourselves. These days, Hefner's fabled Girl Next Door is only an IPO-backed social media download away.
If it feels, sometimes, that something has been lost -- not innocence, surely, but maybe a shady idealism that once kept the barricades warm -- well, what revolution doesn't end with regrets?
2
I found my father's when I was 12. I couldn't put the magazine down. I especially liked the article that folded out.
13
Speaking as a 47 year old man, this is just another in a long line of passages from what was to what is. Pan Am, humility, religion, cigarette machines, department stores, common sense, have all been superseded by changing mores and values - for better or worse. Magazines, catalogs, newpapers and print media in general at this point are passé. As another commenter put it, "...everything is digital today." But even the digital version of content oriented publications hold little interest these days. In my opinion, the next great leap will be VR and it will be pioneered by the video game and porn industries. Again. The one thing that never seems to go out of style is instant gratification. The only things that have changed about it is its potency, availability, velocity, and cost. The sugar we craved as children just gets keeps getting stronger, more prevalent, purer and cheaper. That's progress for you.
2
I agree with much of what you say, but I regret having read your comment because it has left me quite down. I wish I could have a virtual reality experience right now to get my good mood back.
This is another instance where something is deemed dead just prior to it's new renaissance. Well maybe not, but this won't save the magazine, it will only hasten it's demise.
1
There is much more to this than nudity, and this typifies our culture's march to bland mediocrity . Whether you agree with it or not, Hefner had a vision, agree with the vision or not, and pursued it. Now it is all circulation, focus groups and the almighty dollar in subscriptions. Should the The Nation, The Atlantic, the New Yorker change their formats to compete with People Magazine (albeit, Playboy may not fit in this analogy). Should Scorsese imitate DePalma? Should Joyce Carol Oats mimic Danielle Steele? Why not scale down, give up worshiping the almighty dollar and keep a loyal readership happy instead of courting a new readership who want some titillation but doesn't want to go on the internet?
4
As a woman growing up in the 60's I was told that the three biggest lies were:
The check is in the mail.
I only read "Playboy" for the articles.
Yes, I'll still love you in the morning.
Now there will be no nude women in "Playboy", checks are becoming rarer, and the hook-up culture isn't worrying about the next morning. I suggest the great (American) lie is now a Republican presidential candidate saying:
"Don't worry, I have your best interests at heart" - except of course if you're a Koch.
The check is in the mail.
I only read "Playboy" for the articles.
Yes, I'll still love you in the morning.
Now there will be no nude women in "Playboy", checks are becoming rarer, and the hook-up culture isn't worrying about the next morning. I suggest the great (American) lie is now a Republican presidential candidate saying:
"Don't worry, I have your best interests at heart" - except of course if you're a Koch.
12
I can tell you as someone from this generation that the "hook up" culture is less than you think. It seems like many men are satisfied settling for porn until they find a wife. Porn is way less expensive and accessible than some women :D.
The fact that more naked pictures are appearing at every second means that there must be a demand for more naked pictures appearing as often as possible. It's what the people want. It's exactly what the people want. Withhold naked pictures at your risk.
7
Replace the word 'naked pictures' with 'oil'. Re-read your comment. Then take a look at how many profitable fracking rigs are in the US today. The only reason there are that many is that every single major oil refinery is an extremely diversified company, able to take the hit from lower profits in just one admittedly large sector.
I doubt playboy magazine is as diversified. And yeah, the people want naked pictures of women. The people can get naked pictures of women instantly, for free. Why would they EVER pay for them?
I doubt playboy magazine is as diversified. And yeah, the people want naked pictures of women. The people can get naked pictures of women instantly, for free. Why would they EVER pay for them?
Is there room for another Esquire? Good luck with that.
Like most healthy American males coming of age in the 1960's and 70's, we didn't buy Playboy for the articles.
See Ya.
Like most healthy American males coming of age in the 1960's and 70's, we didn't buy Playboy for the articles.
See Ya.
When supply is essentially unlimited for something and the market-clearing price for such content is $0, demand becomes irrelevant. People want air, but good luck making a business out of selling it.
Going the MTV route I see. Keep the brand recognition but abandon what made you great for that ever desired demographic appeal.
2
This is a move born from desperation. Playboy's circulation is in freefall and they are hemorrhaging money. Their circulation dropped 20% in the last twelve months alone. Less than ten years ago is was several million. Now It is only 800,000. A few years ago, they cut the number of annual issues from 12 to 10, in order to save printing costs. Don't be surprised to see further cuts.
Hefner took the company private because he was on the verge of being delisted from the NYSE and his ego couldn't handle the requirement to make public the huge losses the company was suffering. The nightclubs are gone and the video/DVD/back issue sales are basically non-existent.
Hefner took the company private because he was on the verge of being delisted from the NYSE and his ego couldn't handle the requirement to make public the huge losses the company was suffering. The nightclubs are gone and the video/DVD/back issue sales are basically non-existent.
2
Print Media is dying. Period. Not just Playboy.
1
I will miss the photos of these beautiful women nude. Sneaking to the grocery store sneaking a peak at the magazine as a kid in the 50's. But you left wingers must be in shock with all the culture changes you have installed since 2008. Sorry.
Playboy--an idea whose time has went. So last century to dress women as bunnies, live in a mansion with young women who don't give a hoot about this man, and to deliver pronoucements on sex that nobody needs to hear because they know all that stuff already. The country has grown up. I almost feel sorry for Mr. Hefner, but almost ain't is.
2
The pendulum has swung.
If the goal is to increase revenue, then I do not think moving to a non nude magazine will make much of a difference. In fact, the reason the magazine is failing is because of the competition. This is not 1970 anymore.
Playboy was revered because it bought something new to the market. That is what wins today- the innovation, be it content or a gadget or an app. As to moving to articles and eliminating nudes, there are ton of magazines that already have those and so why would one read Playboy is something I am unable to answer.
When I think of playboy, I think of all those centerfolds that I used to collect as a young boy. For me that is what a playboy is and that is how I like to remember it. I can't, nor I want to, see it in any other form.
Playboy was revered because it bought something new to the market. That is what wins today- the innovation, be it content or a gadget or an app. As to moving to articles and eliminating nudes, there are ton of magazines that already have those and so why would one read Playboy is something I am unable to answer.
When I think of playboy, I think of all those centerfolds that I used to collect as a young boy. For me that is what a playboy is and that is how I like to remember it. I can't, nor I want to, see it in any other form.
1
I have been buying Playboy the past 60 years for the fiction. But after reading "Nudes Are Old News...", I was stunned to discover during a recent search that as the article reports, there were many, many pictures of nude women in the magazines I had been reading over the decades. I'm stunned at my hoary oversight!
1
Was the pun in your last sentence intended? I kind of hope so.
In 7th grade in the deep south I had a (presumed at the time) lesbian biology teacher tell me she read Playboy "for the articles". Amazing how more forthright she can be today.
1
Today's pornography is strictly political. What a mess our "leaders" have made of the world!
Playboy has existed in a strange cultural place folowing the rise of feminism and political correctness. To read a Playboy at work can be construed as sexual harassment ("nudity is offensive"), yet just out your office window dozens of topless desnuda's are praised for being "body positive" (because breasts are natural, inherently non-sexual, and nothing to be ashamed of).
I like the move, but if they want a paying audience they need to increase their long-form journalism (in the style of The New Yorker or Texas Monthly). Have fashion and style sections/advice columns, but not as pretentious (or $$$) as GQ or Esquire. Definitely keep the fiction tradition. The "Vice" model puzzles me - They definitely have a robust multimedia platform that is compelling but their political advocacy can be overwhelming. As a former journalist myself I hope Playboy can continue for a long time.
I like the move, but if they want a paying audience they need to increase their long-form journalism (in the style of The New Yorker or Texas Monthly). Have fashion and style sections/advice columns, but not as pretentious (or $$$) as GQ or Esquire. Definitely keep the fiction tradition. The "Vice" model puzzles me - They definitely have a robust multimedia platform that is compelling but their political advocacy can be overwhelming. As a former journalist myself I hope Playboy can continue for a long time.
2
Wow, you mean someone over at the Bunny Ranch is figuring out that objectifying women as sex objects doesn't "empower" them?
Fancy that.
Fancy that.
5
I read it too, but only for the articles.
I think the magazine they are describing is called Esquire.
Playboy might end up being a wonderful fashion and style magazine for men. It will need a really smart editor and publisher to pull it off.
Playboy might end up being a wonderful fashion and style magazine for men. It will need a really smart editor and publisher to pull it off.
4
When I first saw the picture of Mr. Hefner on the NYTimes front page, I thought the sly old flesh peddler and master of sophistry and crass "philosophy" had finally died.
3
Reports of Hugh Hefner's death have been greatly exaggerated.
(With apologies to Mark Twain.)
(With apologies to Mark Twain.)
this is the smartest move they've made since their "conception" (pun intended). Playboy has always been known for their outstanding writing.
Playboy was about sexuality, but it was definitely not about conception!
Please one last nude photo shoot of Caitlin Jenner. Let Playboy go out with a bang.
6
It's amazing that they still have 800,000 subscribers. When I was a boy and a young man I used to read the magazine as well as look at the pictures. They paid top dollar for pieces by the leading writers of the time, and the interview was almost always fascinating. That changed about 1980, when the non-pictorial content was dumbed-down a bit, and they started interviewing celebrities and athletes instead of people who were interesting intellectually. Then of course one eventually realized that the succession of air-brushed blondes were simply cookie-cutter beauties, a monthly projection of Hefner's ideal female.
It's a tired old rag today, but it was a lot more than a girlie magazine in the 1960s and '70s.
It's a tired old rag today, but it was a lot more than a girlie magazine in the 1960s and '70s.
26
Your "dumbed-down' comment resonates in describing MOST media nowadays. There is such a lot of media--print, broadcast, and electronic--and ALL of it wants to be seen/read/heard, even if it doesn't present any original work or even proper journalism but repeats what other media say without any critical analysis.
The idea of people being famous for being famous (or infamous) is nothing new. Lily Langtry had some talents, and she was a 19th-century figure. There were the grandes horizontales, the Belle Epoque courtesans. In the mid-20th Century, there was the fantastic Judy Holiday comedy, "It Should Happen to You," scripted by Garson Kanin and Ruth Gordon, about a woman who puts her name on a billboard--and its repercussions.
The best lament for lost quality is the song "Liaisons," from Sondheim's "A Little Night Music." It rings truer now than when originally on the boards in 1973.
The idea of people being famous for being famous (or infamous) is nothing new. Lily Langtry had some talents, and she was a 19th-century figure. There were the grandes horizontales, the Belle Epoque courtesans. In the mid-20th Century, there was the fantastic Judy Holiday comedy, "It Should Happen to You," scripted by Garson Kanin and Ruth Gordon, about a woman who puts her name on a billboard--and its repercussions.
The best lament for lost quality is the song "Liaisons," from Sondheim's "A Little Night Music." It rings truer now than when originally on the boards in 1973.
800 000 subscriptors for only ONE magazine??? It's very LITTLE!! In the Net there are porn or sex videos with 1'200 000 viewers, and only one video!!!
The fact is that in its prime, there really weren't all that many pages of nudes in each issue. Probably under 20 pages of a 200 to 300 page magazine. Playboy primarily sold lifestyle. And it featured a lot of great writing. Go back to all those old issues and take out the nudes and the cartoons and it will look like a literary and political journal with a sprinkling of articles about music, clothes, food and drink. If Millennials were as informed as Playboy once sought to make them, we'd actually be better off.
While I haven't looked at a copy in decades, I remember Playboy as being quite in favor of women's liberation. Playboy was largely responsible for women getting credit cards in their own names, instead of the names of their fathers or husbands.
As for turning women into objects, we don't need Playboy for that - many women (and fashion magazines) already do that for themselves.
Regardless of how Playboy changes, I don't think the magazine can be saved. In a world where grown men dress in baseball caps and baggy shorts from Wal-Mart, where there isn't a single commercial jazz radio station left on the air, where a potential reader considers Shake Shack to be an esoteric meal, where romance seems to have disappeared, where young men don't really want to read excerpts from novels by good writers and where most "lad" magazines are mostly comprised of photos with captions, there's no place for a Playboy.
And Hefner himself as become a sad joke.
While I haven't looked at a copy in decades, I remember Playboy as being quite in favor of women's liberation. Playboy was largely responsible for women getting credit cards in their own names, instead of the names of their fathers or husbands.
As for turning women into objects, we don't need Playboy for that - many women (and fashion magazines) already do that for themselves.
Regardless of how Playboy changes, I don't think the magazine can be saved. In a world where grown men dress in baseball caps and baggy shorts from Wal-Mart, where there isn't a single commercial jazz radio station left on the air, where a potential reader considers Shake Shack to be an esoteric meal, where romance seems to have disappeared, where young men don't really want to read excerpts from novels by good writers and where most "lad" magazines are mostly comprised of photos with captions, there's no place for a Playboy.
And Hefner himself as become a sad joke.
61
Hefner is no joke. He is and was a successful businessman, and created a great brand. The viability of the brand will depend on the skill, insight and marketing skills of the new team. This will give the magazine the opportunity to innovate, present new talent in areas of interest to its normal demographic (architecture, home furnishing for the modern, single man's apartment, etc.). The brand is a vehicle for a coherent life style, which, if intelligently formulated and presented, can become an icon similar to Porsche or Cadillac for cars, LaCoste for clothing, and similar brands which reflect the changing tastes of its consumers, within a Platboy theme. Generate a great theme and Playboy will go on to indefinite success.
Why has Hefner become a sad joke? Your first two paragraphs would belie that. How is he now different?
Your last paragraph unwittingly contradicts the point it's intended to make. If you indeed bemoan all the conditions you listed, it's reasonable to assume that hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of other men feel the same way. That's the audience a creative editor can and should target. Just as LinkedIn is "Facebook for grownups", Playboy can easily market itself as "VICE for grownups".
Plenty of men still value a well-assembled wardrobe, and those of us who truly "listen" to music, of any genre, abandoned commercial radio for Sirius and iTunes years ago. With the emphasis in SPIN and Rolling Stone of performers' personal lives over style and craft, Playboy could and should cultivate a roster of serious writers who focus on the latter and fill that much-desired niche (Think Whitney Balliett or Nat Hentoff).
As to young men not wanting to read novel excerpts: Most Vanity Fair readers don't give two squirrel nuts about some 60-year-old scandal involving the Duke and Duchess of Whateversville, but they'll still buy the magazine to read a substantive story by Sebastian Junger or Roger Cohen. If Playboy establishes a similar roster of writers who can tell engrossing stories (e.g., as mentioned elsewhere in these comments, about veterans affairs), the "guy with a job" will buy the magazine, read those articles, and just ignore the novel excerpts if he so chooses.
Most print-media failures are really just failures of imagination. None need be inevitable.
Plenty of men still value a well-assembled wardrobe, and those of us who truly "listen" to music, of any genre, abandoned commercial radio for Sirius and iTunes years ago. With the emphasis in SPIN and Rolling Stone of performers' personal lives over style and craft, Playboy could and should cultivate a roster of serious writers who focus on the latter and fill that much-desired niche (Think Whitney Balliett or Nat Hentoff).
As to young men not wanting to read novel excerpts: Most Vanity Fair readers don't give two squirrel nuts about some 60-year-old scandal involving the Duke and Duchess of Whateversville, but they'll still buy the magazine to read a substantive story by Sebastian Junger or Roger Cohen. If Playboy establishes a similar roster of writers who can tell engrossing stories (e.g., as mentioned elsewhere in these comments, about veterans affairs), the "guy with a job" will buy the magazine, read those articles, and just ignore the novel excerpts if he so chooses.
Most print-media failures are really just failures of imagination. None need be inevitable.
I think people here who are bemoaning the loss of nudes are also underestimating the power of the "provocative poses" that they "will still feature". As every man knows -- and some women probably know better -- a hot woman in the right clothing and positioning can be much more stimulating -- well, pornographic, really -- than a nude. So it *could* still be the very titillating, if not thrilling, magazine it always was.
13
Thousands of "provocative poses" are posted to instagram... every hour. Why would anybody go to a monthly magazine for that?
How about put down the mags and love your woman?
1
Hef, you sly dog, you. Never one for being stagnant, Playboy is making a smart move, and the right one for the moment. Porn is frighteningly easy to get - I've been part and parcel of peeling it off of computers in school computer labs where it often pops up uninvited. But there is this aspect to it as well - it objectifies women. If women want that experience (as if you weren't subjected to it daily) there's plenty of ways to get it it now - sex tapes, breaking the internet, whatever. But for the culture at large? We need less objectification. Collectively we must move towards a vision of humanism that takes into account the humans themselves and treats them with respect. Clothing, even a little bit of it, is a step in the right direction. Use your imagination.....it's more enticing anyway.
20
Objectify, shmobjectify. It is what it is.
I am young enough that I was never the target audience for Playboy, although now I suppose I will be. That said, as a writer, I always aspired to one day place a story there, because it is an iconic, prestigious brand that holds a lot of weight in the broader cultural landscape, even if the assumption is that its glory days are behind it. Most magazines' glory days are behind them— the industry is a shell of itself.
I don't know, however, if targeting a Vice-centric audience is going to get them anywhere (full disclosure: I have written for Vice), mostly because Vice's audience, in print, is already significantly smaller than Playboy's, and a lot of those readers, by virtue of legacy subscriptions and mags that go out as comps, are not paying for it. It just seems like kind of a ridiculous premise.
Doing away with nudity, I suppose, isn't exactly the death knell that many commenters suggest it will be, but the assumption that young men in big cities want to actually read anything— that they want to be, as some might call them, sophisticates— now that is an ambitious summation. Playboy was always able to rope readers in with the nudity. Come for the nudes, stay for the articles. Now, I just don't know what is going to get that reader to open the pages. As in all things, there has to be hook. I hope Playboy can find it. The sophisticated bunch, that is a small group of people, hardly one you can build a real business around.
I don't know, however, if targeting a Vice-centric audience is going to get them anywhere (full disclosure: I have written for Vice), mostly because Vice's audience, in print, is already significantly smaller than Playboy's, and a lot of those readers, by virtue of legacy subscriptions and mags that go out as comps, are not paying for it. It just seems like kind of a ridiculous premise.
Doing away with nudity, I suppose, isn't exactly the death knell that many commenters suggest it will be, but the assumption that young men in big cities want to actually read anything— that they want to be, as some might call them, sophisticates— now that is an ambitious summation. Playboy was always able to rope readers in with the nudity. Come for the nudes, stay for the articles. Now, I just don't know what is going to get that reader to open the pages. As in all things, there has to be hook. I hope Playboy can find it. The sophisticated bunch, that is a small group of people, hardly one you can build a real business around.
33
...the hook....imagination, too much sleaze doesn't lead to much pleasure when all things are considered. It's also called foreplay in sexual terms.
"because it is an iconic, prestigious brand that holds a lot of weight in the broader cultural landscape"
Um, no. Playboy's only weight is to present flesh. I'm a writer. I can out wright you with my keyboard tied behind my back. I never aspired to write something that appears in Playboy.
Um, no. Playboy's only weight is to present flesh. I'm a writer. I can out wright you with my keyboard tied behind my back. I never aspired to write something that appears in Playboy.
1
The Pendulum is slowly swinging back.
Now that pornography is ubiquitous and cheap, it's losing it's ability to shock, excite, and generate profit. Right now it's blase and accepted. In another century, it'll be taboo again.
Now that pornography is ubiquitous and cheap, it's losing it's ability to shock, excite, and generate profit. Right now it's blase and accepted. In another century, it'll be taboo again.
61
"In another century, it'll be taboo again."
In the USA? Unlikely unless one and only one religion 100% takes over the USA. I am struggling why you think everything that happens on the planet swings on a pendulum back and forth forever. Not everything happens that way. You might be using it to justify your own apathy?
In the USA? Unlikely unless one and only one religion 100% takes over the USA. I am struggling why you think everything that happens on the planet swings on a pendulum back and forth forever. Not everything happens that way. You might be using it to justify your own apathy?
1
I don't think so. It's like to say that "The television was witchcraft or magic in the 12th century and in 1980s was the most viwed mass media. And in the 2200AD the world will return to the time of the theathre and puppets to entertain itself, just like in the 12th century". Well... that's too unlikely, because the world moves over many things TOO fast. We are very sorry , but it is the truth :,(. I really miss Playboy, but what can we do? Now I admit that if I get to choose between reading Playboy for $ 10 or subscribe to Wowgirlz or FTV or Amour Angels for $ 5, I choose the Rusian or Czech nude Porn magazines. Too bad, Mr. Heffner ... You are a pionner and a genius, but as the classic music of Chopin and Beethoven was overtaken by Michael Jackson and Madonna, you have now a place in history, but sadly also in the past. But i say the truth. My dad's generation miss Playboy more than me because that was like the arcade games for them. A Nostalgia item. But for me and my generation, that grown up with center european and russian nude magazines online, maybe not beacuse I never read Playboy, although I would have liked a lot.
What pendulum? By your math, hardcore pornography would have been ubiquitous in 1815.
Things can only be taboo if access to them can be controlled. No such social power is ascendant today -- indeed, those that do such as organized religion are becoming weaker each year -- and information seems only to be getting more and more free.
Things can only be taboo if access to them can be controlled. No such social power is ascendant today -- indeed, those that do such as organized religion are becoming weaker each year -- and information seems only to be getting more and more free.
1
Wow, never thought we'd see this day. If this can happen, anything's possible. Let's go for world peace next... Airbrush that!
11
From the perspective of living here in SE Asia I don't think Playboy is going away anytime soon. Here there is no association with the magazine. Playboy is a clothing and hip lifestyle brand. It is a huge brand and highly regarded
11
Who cares if it's "hip"? Perhaps others do. That's their problem.
1
EVERYTHING is digital today. I remember as a very young boy sneaking a peek at photos in Playboy and thinking how "pretty" the photography was. Didn't stop me from being gay BUT STILL I admired the quality of the photo spread. Technology can't be stopped, it is what it is, but it does seem a shame that any semblance of artistry is totally gone from anything pornographic and now it's all there for free on the web in all it's gory glory.
7
I agree with your thoughts. Men are always going to love looking at any erotic images available to them. In prehistoric days, they were scratching such images onto cave walls. Sadly, when such images (now including moving images, of course) became available for free at the click of a mouse, quality inevitably sank to the lowest level possible. No tease, no ambiguity, no beauty. Just lots of brightly lit close-ups of straining organs belonging to people who often look either very unhappy or very stupid. And the focus is of course on live action – – artfully composed still shots just don't get the job done any more given today's blunted sensibilities. That reality alone was a death knell for the Playboy style of highly curated erotic photography.
Even as a middle-aged straight woman who's never been especially visual, it's obvious to me that something has been lost. I feel kind of bad for my 19-year-old son. I feel even worse for his girlfriend, who, in all likelihood, has lots of "reeducating" to do.
Even as a middle-aged straight woman who's never been especially visual, it's obvious to me that something has been lost. I feel kind of bad for my 19-year-old son. I feel even worse for his girlfriend, who, in all likelihood, has lots of "reeducating" to do.
1
This move was somewhat expected by the aficionados of the magazine, considering the current state of the photography being accepted and published. The overall level and quality has fallen unbelievably over the past several years. An almost complete lack of an eye for beauty (within the frame, not the models), abysmal lighting and no desire to edit bad shots AT ALL. If they were returning to the non-nude state of some of the '50s gatefolds, that COULD work with better photogs. Will there still be Playmates? Time will tell....
Am I the only person who considers the ubiquity of porn, which Playboy helped to inaugurate, a net loss for women as beauty standards have become ever more unrealistic and depictions of women ever more degrading and violent. Thanks for nothing Playboy.
114
Playboy may have started it, but "Sex and the City" got us to the degraded place we are today.
2
Pornographic images and stag films are much older than Playboy. Next to Larry Flynt, Hugh Hefner was a lamb.
At least now when men say they buy it for the stories they'll be telling the truth.
22
Hugh Hefner is a genius of the modern age which he helped invent. I revered that magazine in the late 50's. It was a breath of fresh air for it's championing of jazz, advantgard comedy, fashion, politics and great looking women. Yes, I did read it for the articles, as well as for the great looking women. Going to the Mansion for a fundraiser a number of years ago was one of the highlights of my life. The Playboy Jazz Party at the Hollywood Bowel, is the best party in the world.
9
Highlights of your life?!?! Why would you let anyone print that? LOL
1
The Hollywood Bowel? What kind of jazz party was that?
I am a 62 year old women who grew up in the 60s sneaking peaks at my uncles hidden Playboy magazines....such an illicit thrill for my sister and I! And then through college with boyfriends, then a husband with a suscription neatly delivered every month, reading the fantastic interviews through the 70s, 80s, and always comparing my body to the playmate of the month, never measuring up to her perfect 38-26-36 measurements.....
But I never thought I would live to see the day that Hugh Hefner put clothes back on naked women! A playboy magazine with pictures of pretty women in clothes is called Vogue! Ugh, Hugh, please, keep the naked ladies and dump this "top editor" guy, or at least send him over to Cosmo or Vogue. How can you be a top editor at Playboy and want to dump naked ladies? Next, People magazine will dump its celebrity news and photos. Oh well, at least I have Pinterest..Ha!
But I never thought I would live to see the day that Hugh Hefner put clothes back on naked women! A playboy magazine with pictures of pretty women in clothes is called Vogue! Ugh, Hugh, please, keep the naked ladies and dump this "top editor" guy, or at least send him over to Cosmo or Vogue. How can you be a top editor at Playboy and want to dump naked ladies? Next, People magazine will dump its celebrity news and photos. Oh well, at least I have Pinterest..Ha!
18
In the mid 60's I went with my dad to his office....straight out of MadMen...but it was a CPA firm. He employed about 20 people. The place was always buzzing. I walked into his office and there on the credenza was a Playboy....couldn't believe. My straight arrow dad had a Playboy. I asked, "what's that?". And he replied...without missing a beat, " oh yeah..there are some great diets in there".
12
Terrible idea. Playboy will fold.
3
Playboy will definitely fold if it DOESN'T change. Through rebranding, it might have a fighting chance.
And in related news, "Popular Mechanics" will no longer feature photos of cars.
In all seriousness, what pains me as a journalist is realizing how antiquated many of the business models I came of age with now are. I sort of resent the idea that we must continually cater to Millenials (aren't they too focused on their iPhones/Snapchat/Instagram, etc. to care?)
It would be sad if Hefner, at his advanced age, would have to see the demise of Playboy in his lifetime. I just don't think this is going to work, sort of like New Coke. They'll either have to go back to publishing nudes or just hang it up.
In all seriousness, what pains me as a journalist is realizing how antiquated many of the business models I came of age with now are. I sort of resent the idea that we must continually cater to Millenials (aren't they too focused on their iPhones/Snapchat/Instagram, etc. to care?)
It would be sad if Hefner, at his advanced age, would have to see the demise of Playboy in his lifetime. I just don't think this is going to work, sort of like New Coke. They'll either have to go back to publishing nudes or just hang it up.
77
Nude women used to be one of the biggest selling points of Playboy, because you had access to gorgeous women on the page. Now most people carry the entirety of the Internet in their pockets, so pictures and videos of naked women are even more accessible. No one wants to buy a magazine for nude pictures that they can just see online for free.
4
I have two sons, and a son in law -- between the ages of 26 and 35. I can't imagine them being interested in Playboy. That's so "old school". It actually makes me think of "Mad Men" and that generation of men (Don Draper would be precisely the same age Hugh Hefner -- 89! -- if he were alive).
Young men have grown up with access to vast amounts of porn -- much more explicit than Playboy -- and on the internet, where a lot of it is FREE.
I think the association of porn and "classy articles" must be something belonging to a generation of males who are either elderly or on their way there. Heck, the magazine business is dying....period.
Like a few other posters here, when I saw Mr. Hefner at the top of the page today, I immediately thought it was an obituary.
Young men have grown up with access to vast amounts of porn -- much more explicit than Playboy -- and on the internet, where a lot of it is FREE.
I think the association of porn and "classy articles" must be something belonging to a generation of males who are either elderly or on their way there. Heck, the magazine business is dying....period.
Like a few other posters here, when I saw Mr. Hefner at the top of the page today, I immediately thought it was an obituary.
1
I think the concept of resenting millenials is, in many ways, what brought the business models to this place. It's an ignorance of changing times and concepts and old guard publishers are paying dearly - as they should.
I don't think any generation is better or worse than the next or really changes what they care about deep down - just the way they interpret it. But companies need to remain fluid and young in order to keep capturing the next demographic.
Playboy is competing in a world it created. In a way, I'm heartened that they're going to push a focus towards information - let the kids find their nude fix anywhere else online.
I don't think any generation is better or worse than the next or really changes what they care about deep down - just the way they interpret it. But companies need to remain fluid and young in order to keep capturing the next demographic.
Playboy is competing in a world it created. In a way, I'm heartened that they're going to push a focus towards information - let the kids find their nude fix anywhere else online.
Uh huh. Like that's going to work. Sorry dinosaur.
7
Don't forget: you'll get old and die, too. Everyone does! Dinosaur. Indeed.
Times change and nostalgia only exists for those things that disappear from our lives. I guess sometime in my later life I will mention Playboy to a young man and he will say - "what?" I give Hefner credit for courage, creativity and taste. It was not only revolutionary and iconic, it was the classiest magazine of its type ever. I honestly don't know if I will ever bother to look at one again, but in middle age, I probably would prefer some clothes.
38
'Mag will no longer feature fully naked women'
In other words, Playboy doesn't feel the need to sell magazines anymore....
In other words, Playboy doesn't feel the need to sell magazines anymore....
2
I think you've missed the idea here. There's no point in selling a magazine with pictures of naked women anymore. People can get those pictures and much more at will for free. Nude women is no longer a valid selling point when most people have the entire internet in their pockets.
3
After all these years I finally broke down and bought a subscription and now this, oh well, it's still a good magazine.
2
I'd like to announce the start of my new magazine, it will feature no words, just pictures of real naked women with no airbrushing or fakery. Thanks Hugh!
16
Wish them luck, but I think they should have kept the nudes but made them photos of women's natural beauty without the Photoshop and cosmetic surgery. Hope they don't bother with spreads like Maxim and Stuff, that's more tasteless than simple au naturel photos of feminine beauty.
12
Haven't read it in years, but I do remember the writing used to be good.
6
Yeah. How 'bout that writing? We once found a boatload of '70s Playboys stashed away in my uncle's attic when we were about 11 or 12. Spent a bunch of time "reading" them. Terrific writing. First-rate.
. . . . . . .
"A judge once ruled that denying blind people a Braille version of it violated their First Amendment rights." This reminds me of "Robin Hood: Men in Tights" when Blinkin is sitting there reading that Braille Playboy after they've repossessed the castle.
Robin: "They've taken the castle!"
Blinkin: "I thought it felt a bit drafty."
. . . . . . .
"A judge once ruled that denying blind people a Braille version of it violated their First Amendment rights." This reminds me of "Robin Hood: Men in Tights" when Blinkin is sitting there reading that Braille Playboy after they've repossessed the castle.
Robin: "They've taken the castle!"
Blinkin: "I thought it felt a bit drafty."
Loved the Playboy Adviser. Sadly, the advice didn't often apply to me.
1
I'm surprised the magazine hasn't stopped publication ten or more years ago after the internet really picked up where you can find just about every kind of adult entertainment pictures and videos. I guess if you buy it after they stop the nude pictures, you really will be buying it for the articles.
3
What articles? There were articles?
6
Without the nude pics, they are just another Maxim. No way they can compete with Vice. Just retire the magazine. They had a good run.
3
I have a brilliant idea; why not re-craft the publication to appeal to an older, sophisticated audience? Perhaps focus on appealing to both commonly recognized genders. Those boys with flashlights are now senior citizens with Lear jets and antique car collections. The women of that era are now CEOs, and top executives of giant corporations - two are actually presidential candidates. Forget the focus on T&A and show us some genuinely sophisticate lifestyle.
1
And what do you call a woman in Silicon Valley who didn't get to be CEO of some company? A real estate agent.
Shouldn't make a big difference, since everyone reads it for the articles... right?
1
It has been said that the photos will be PG-13. In PG-13 movies the MPAA will allow some completely bare breasts. Take a look at the PG-13 movies "National Lampoon's European Vacation" and "Titanic". Both had scenes with women who were showing their breasts.
This sounds like the magazine is going all the way down to a PG rating with just bare backsides.
This sounds like the magazine is going all the way down to a PG rating with just bare backsides.
1
I know it's a cliche, but...
I've always liked the articles and interviews in Playboy. They've always had top-flight writers and girls, so if they are reimagining themselves in order to be relevant and viable, and if the girls have to show a little less skin, then, well... I am surprisingly okay with that.
I might even subscribe.
I've always liked the articles and interviews in Playboy. They've always had top-flight writers and girls, so if they are reimagining themselves in order to be relevant and viable, and if the girls have to show a little less skin, then, well... I am surprisingly okay with that.
I might even subscribe.
2
They will still occasionally publish nudes of celebs, would be my guess.
2
So, a magazine that began becoming irrelevant decades ago plans to become even more irrelevant? Hefner got an undeserved pass all of these years. Now, aspiring celebrities become celebrities by posting hardcore sex on the web. Ironical, that the death throes of PLAYBOY really began with the Pamela Anderson-Tommy Lee sex tape; since Pamela Anderson was one of PLAYBOY's favorite centerfolds.
6
This news is pretty insulting to the previous models of Playboy. The CEO basically said in the article that all the nude models post internet age were subpar masturbation fodder. If I were one of the women who had posed, I would be very upset knowing the legacy of my participation had been reduced to such status. For years Playboy had been trying to shake the "porn" stigma, and Scott Flanders undoes it in one fell swoop while insulting hundreds of women in the process. This is truly a New Coke level decision.
10
I almost thought when they quoted Mr. Flanders - I was thinking of Ned Flanders from the Simpsons!!!!!!!!
Ted, in this day and age, you might just have been one of those "women", and I think you use the term very loosely.
The "models" of Playboy surely had enough self-awareness and intellect to know, up front, that they were absolutely nothing more than sex objects for masturbating males across the continent. How could anyone with an IQ slightly larger than their bra size come to any other conclusion? Esp. with a check in hand and a free pass to the Playboy Manson.
You sir are delusional.
The "models" of Playboy surely had enough self-awareness and intellect to know, up front, that they were absolutely nothing more than sex objects for masturbating males across the continent. How could anyone with an IQ slightly larger than their bra size come to any other conclusion? Esp. with a check in hand and a free pass to the Playboy Manson.
You sir are delusional.
Jeeeez. Does this mean that we'll really have to READ the articles that we so admired for so many years?
7
A magazine of great educational value back in the day.
6
Some plastic surgeons in Beverly Hills are going to be unhappy with this decision. I hope all of you guys understand that it was all fake, lights and mirrors.
4
And that is a bad thing? I have not seen a Playboy or similar magazine for decades, but it was a wonderful thing when I was a teenager and young man. It would not have mattered at all if I knew the photos were enhanced.
"Enhanced" is an understatement.
I once had a patient who had been his monthly model. Little or no resemblance to her reality. Even she said so. But of course it is presented as "real" and "next door"—ha.
But the old shyster readily dispensed jewelry to anyone who balked.
I once had a patient who had been his monthly model. Little or no resemblance to her reality. Even she said so. But of course it is presented as "real" and "next door"—ha.
But the old shyster readily dispensed jewelry to anyone who balked.
Not in the "olden days". If you actually go back and look at the pre-1980s stuff (I believe there is a Golden Anniversary commemorative book), the woman look surprisingly natural. They were not augmented. They have pubic hair. They are not Photoshopped (it didn't exist prior to the very late 80s). The models do not appear to have had any plastic surgery at all.
There was probably a bit of old-fashioned "air brushing" -- to take out the odd mole or scar -- but it was nothing like what they do today with Photoshop.
There was probably a bit of old-fashioned "air brushing" -- to take out the odd mole or scar -- but it was nothing like what they do today with Photoshop.
3
I look forward to the day when there is a magazine with "tasteful" nudes of every gender.
2
Every, lol ? There's only two. you know.
Good move Scott!
I don't understand their logic. They might be getting more web traffic by attracting millennials, but they're never going to sell more magazines with this. They're only going to alienate their existing subscribers.
3
Well, as an artist who's body sculptures were featured in Playboy June 1977, Beautiful Bod, it was a thrill. The magazine for my generation was a vehicle of not just gorgeous females in sexy attire but more of a sounding board for deeper political, artistic, fashion oriented and yes, technological gadgets (see my non-electronic breast work and digital thigh band). What's interesting is that Playboy's photo editor saw the works they invited me to Chicago. Later my works were shown to Spielberg's group prior to Princess Lelia's debut but the designs were not chosen for the film. None the less I acknowledged Playboy as an artistic publication and laud them for their new ideas presenting artist's with a format for discovery. Thank you and much future success on your new endeavor! I have a complete collection of original oils I'd like to show you with body sculptures I've designed and created!
In other news, Ford Motor Company has suspended production of its popular Model T.
3
How many young guys saw their first naked hottie, photographed artfully on these pages? It was a nearly religious experience. Yeah, the magazine is intelligent and well-written, but Playboy set the standard for nude female beauty for decades. Another venerable American institution is lost to posterity.
1
Venerable, really! I think not.
How many women began hating their own bodies when they saw, or found their man with, a copy of Playboy? Good riddance.
How many women began hating their own bodies when they saw, or found their man with, a copy of Playboy? Good riddance.
1
To all of those sounding the death knell for Playboy, might I hazard a guess that you are "of a certain age"? Frankly, Playboy doesn't want you anymore. It can't survive with your readership anymore. Its only choice is to target to the younger male, one to whom Playboy in its current incarnation is a quaint anachronism. It is an open question if they will be able to pull it off.
2
I'm a highly educated millenial male urbanite and I think this is a spectacularly bad decision. It shows a complete disconnect with their core brand and audience while also doing away with convention out of patent desperation. They will not gain and long term readership or brand engagement, but they will manage to lose an important segment of their customer base.
What's that you say? Do you really mean to suggest that Playboy Magazine is still in print?
Who knew?
Who knew?
2
Incisive articles and a good layout are necessary for any hope of success on the internet. The current Playboy website doesn't cut it (it's all bubble gum). If Playboy doesn't pull things together they will go the way of RadioShack (where we all bought our first tape recorders).
1
So finally, all of the protestations that "I buy it for the articles," become true.
1
Playboy had nude females!? Who knew!? I'll have to dig out some of my old stock and have a look.
2
How dumb can they get? It's what started them. As kid in the 1960s, the first time I ever saw ladies without any clothes on was in Playboy. My brother bought it and put his old copies in the attic. Lucky me. What's next, Coca Cola will stop selling Coke?
4
Another one bites the bust!
2
funny and good post.
Pheww. When I first saw the picture of Hef, I thought it was an obituary.
42
It pretty much is...
1
So did I!
So does this mean my December 1953 issue will be worth More than 6,500 ?
2
That will make them a clone of Esquire magazine. Good luck with that.
12
In all seriousness, Playboy should improve its sports pre-season previews. There was a time when we all read those previews, but over time they became progressively poorer. Even after I had stopped buying the magazine, I always bought the issue with the football preview. Unfortunately -- as sports radio inadvertently made clear -- the pre-season previews were often superficial and filled with mis-information.
13
Come on, Bill.
You bought the annual Pigskin Preseason issue because it also contained "Girls of the ACC," "Girls of the Pac 12," etc.
You bought the annual Pigskin Preseason issue because it also contained "Girls of the ACC," "Girls of the Pac 12," etc.
1
I cannot stop laughing. At the article, the people in it, the story itself, and the reactions. This is hilarious.
2
I understand the rationale for the change and wish Playboy well. Interesting how changing norms, feminism and the Web have affected this venerable magazine.
But a Playboy without nudes seems so... staid. And possibly pointless. What will distinguish it from Esquire, GQ and similar magazines?
But a Playboy without nudes seems so... staid. And possibly pointless. What will distinguish it from Esquire, GQ and similar magazines?
17
Esquire is going to show even more nude women as a response.
If GQ or Esquire is a similar magazine then there's no hope for Playboy.
It may not just be about changing norms, feminism, the Web, etc. I'm thinking of all the stories coming out about sexual assaults and other sleazy stuff going on at the Playboy Mansion, including the Bill Cosby scandal. Playboy is associated in the public mind with dirty old men. "Venerable"? I don't think so. Good riddance.
3
Hefner's silly but highly profitable hypocrisy has had its day! Hard to care!
3
This will be the end of Playboy, which started its downhill slide when airbrushing and breast implants took over in the early 1990s. As a collector, this is sad news. I suppose we all saw this coming when they started combining two months into one issue. I will miss the tasteful, classy showcasing of what was the most beautiful women in the country. Save the magazine, bring back the "girl next door" that connoisseurs cherish.
33
"Connoisseurs"?? Connoisseurs are appreciators of objects - like wine, or cigars, or vintage cars. Not people. Women are people.
10
WoW! It seems like the right move, sounds like it will become a more upscale version of the standard "mens magazines" like GQ or Maxim, perhaps a lot like Esquire Magazine. Nudity is no longer shocking and is just a "click" away on the internet... or in Times Square!... Well, it always was in Times Square.
A lot of Playboy's models where pretty "fake looking", but they have also had a lot of nice natural looking young ladies of various types, and the posing was never too explicit, often more "playful" or "alluring" then standard pornography, like the classic pinup art of the mid-20th Century.
Interesting that in the end the "bunny logo" on the cover sells more than the nudity within the pages. In the end perhaps it really will be about the articles.
A lot of Playboy's models where pretty "fake looking", but they have also had a lot of nice natural looking young ladies of various types, and the posing was never too explicit, often more "playful" or "alluring" then standard pornography, like the classic pinup art of the mid-20th Century.
Interesting that in the end the "bunny logo" on the cover sells more than the nudity within the pages. In the end perhaps it really will be about the articles.
6
That's okay. I only bought it for the articles, anyway....
28
In other words, Playboy just announced its imminent demise. Oh well, it's been on life support anyway. One advantage Playboy had over porn is that their models were more attractive, but the beauty of women in porn has been improving while those in Playboy have been declining.
4
They'll bring it back
1
I'm pretty sure that Playboy will not outlive Mr. Hefner.
23
Good luck, Playboy! For writers and artists (and cartoonists, one can hope), it'll be great to have another big market for their work. For readers and art fans, it'll be great to have another big venue, with its own slant. I'm another woman who never had a problem with Playboy, and who enjoyed the fiction, interviews, art, and yes, more frank approach to sex.
A magazine for young urban males who have jobs? These days, that will include food, new tech, fiction, cars and alternative transportation, music, movies, stream-only shows, political and economic discussions--what else? All with hopefully, that frank approach to sex. Sounds like a magazine I'd enjoy.
Only, don't lose the centerfold! Put a Ferrari in it, or a sexy tech gadget. But Playboy must have a centerfold.
A magazine for young urban males who have jobs? These days, that will include food, new tech, fiction, cars and alternative transportation, music, movies, stream-only shows, political and economic discussions--what else? All with hopefully, that frank approach to sex. Sounds like a magazine I'd enjoy.
Only, don't lose the centerfold! Put a Ferrari in it, or a sexy tech gadget. But Playboy must have a centerfold.
20
Men from past generations told their wife "I read it for the articles"...and it was a running joke. Today's PC, limp-wristed generation of males would actually prefer to read the articles, or even look at dot-art, rather than see nude women. Men aren't men anymore, and this country is a mere shadow of its former self in so many ways. Very sad.
22
The abundance of internet porn would suggest you're mistaken.
11
Huh? I do not believe you are living in reality. As far as I've read, porn websites are by far the most frequently visited and have proliferated greatly. And are presumably visited by men (and boys) who are most definitely interested in seeing nude women.
Maybe your comment was meant to be ironic.
Maybe your comment was meant to be ironic.
7
You sound too old to judge men of today. Because they're not interested in Playboy magazine, they're not real men? Seriously? And what is "dot-art?"
8
I'll stop buying it, simple as that.
5
me too
2
Playboy without nudity. Isn't that Maxim magazine.
37
Esquire.
Playboy has had a strong voice about non-sexual matters for decades that I haven't seen consistently in other magazines. Veterans issues, for example. If getting rid of nudes will get that voice to a younger audience, great.
81
I always read it for the articles.
5
Sad that Playboy couldn't celebrate the beauty of the female form by going with even more artistic photography rather than eliminating it. Even the Greco-Roman sculptors understood the body as art. What are we left with now, tattoos?
2
tattoos are so ugly!!!
1
Somebody tell Hugh we were only kidding about reading the articles.
145
Tim, you made me laugh out loud this morning. Thank you for that.
1
Playboy still publishes? Who knew?
11
My first edition of Playboy was the final interview of John Lennon in December 1981, as a 17 year old learning english as a foreign language I enjoyed the open style of Playboy, full of contractions, slangs, swear words, real American life. My other comparison was the National Geographic, all pictures too, a gracious poetic writing but with a different appeal to me, far away from the vibrant modern American reality in Playboy. Over time I read Eliah Wisel stories and Garcia Marquez, science fiction, the movie reviews with the rabbit ratings, only watched 3 and above. Playboy adds changed with time as well, from the Marlboro cowboy adds to the Vodka Absolute, bringing a new generation of advertisements. About the Playmates and other nudity in the magazine what can we say? we can try to cover the sixtine chapel and proclaim that we never watched those images or recognize that at the same level those women were an unreachable superhero that could exist only in the fantasy of the readers.
57
Isn't it the "sistene chapel", or is there an issue I missed with a sixteen year old named "Chapel". No, that would not be legal and Hef would never have done that.
Elie Wiesel wrote for playboy?? That's just odd, the past was very odd
The problem is, your eyes and psyche were trained on the fantasy, and then the real Women in your life pale by comparison. And yes, we feel your comparisons, and they hurt (and, more importantly: they turn us off)
5
In many ways, Playboy was quite innocent, even long ago.
Our society lost its innocence long since, although not its naivete' and its arrogance, too.
I wish the magazine well, in fact. Putting some class, and, indeed, that innocence back into sex is, ironically, a return to its roots.
Our society lost its innocence long since, although not its naivete' and its arrogance, too.
I wish the magazine well, in fact. Putting some class, and, indeed, that innocence back into sex is, ironically, a return to its roots.
128
So now you can actually read it for the articles.
126
You always could...were you not allowed to do that, maybe?
You stole my punchline!
Adapt or die. Who knows if it will be successful but it's their only choice at this point.
5
Gee whiz. At last people can really read it just for the articles.
59
I think loosing the centerfold will be the death of playboy.
2
Like most other guys, I used to buy Playboy for its interviews and literary content. Not surprised that they are now finally getting rid of those fully nude photos of the stunning all American girl who lived next store. Always a distraction for this reader...
15
"Like most other guys, I used to buy Playboy for its interviews and literary content."
Yeah right.
Your wife is standing behind you as you type, isn't she? ;)
Yeah right.
Your wife is standing behind you as you type, isn't she? ;)
20
Was Playboy really considered pornographic? Penthouse...yes and Hustler...most definitely. But as a heterosexual woman, I never considered Playboy to be a "dirty, porno magazine." Quite the opposite...I enjoyed reading Playboy. The interviews were fascinating and I thought the photos were very classy. Mr. Hefner obviously has always loved the female body and I don't believe he ever exploited women through those photos: he celebrated their beauty, unlike rags like Hustler, which made one think they were reading an instructional manual for guys who wanted to train to be gynecologists at home. Hustler, and usually Penthouse were absurd but Playboy was art.
157
Yes, Playboy is pornographic. It is, at least in part, designed to stimulate me sexually. Other porn mags carry that stimulation to the disgusting and frequently disturbing. But all in all, it's still porn.
5
No, Playboy is NOT pornographic. Nothing "graphic" about it at all. Simple and tasteful. The author oddly doesn't understand that. This is sad news, and ultimately the nail in the coffin for the company.
1
wish you were around when my mom caught me with a copy, in India, I might add.
2
I bought my first Playboy in 1969. The Claudia Jennings issue. Now you're telling me nudity is out? I'm living in the Twilight Zone.
27
I think now might be a good time to switch to Hustler.
Nudity is not out. Artistic nudity is out in a world saturated by Internet porn. Sad.
4
Shocking, shocking … western civilization is doomed, doomed. Maybe Donald Trump will save us and preserve bad taste.
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In other news McDonald's are trying a burger-free menu, and Pan Am plan to switch from jet service to rickshaws.
41
Ironic that you bring up Pan Am, considering they folded decades ago. Maybe they should have switched to the rickshaw business.
15
Pan Am folded like a cheap porno mag!
3
whats a 'pan am?'
4
Cancel my subscription. Oh wait I don't have one because Playboy has been irrelevant for over 20 years.
43
They could and should make it an art magazine that celebrates the beauty of women in photography. Maxim just put their first man on a cover. It was taken well. I would love to see a beautiful art magazine that people would love to show on their coffee table...with Playboy's name and legacy, that could be amazing.
3
Snarky and dead on. Bill, you should be commenting on gawker
2
...but, even in my college days I subscribed to PLAYBOY for the range of brilliant and well written articles, interviews, and... not for the "cheesecake." Even WFB offered his commentary and Jean Shepherd used this fine quality magazine to write pieces for it.
HUSTLER of course had just one purpose: titillation for the average man.