Designed as a homage to the era of selfies and snap-chat the iconic girly magazine premiered the cover of its new-look issue on Facebook today:
Scott Flanders, the CEO of Playboy Enterprises, Inc. announced the news in an interview with in October last year, saying: “You’re now one click away from every sex act imaginable for free. And so it’s just passé at this juncture.”
The magazine’s flamboyant founder Hugh Hefner, who at 89 is still listed as editor in chief, reportedly signed off on the decision but it seems the decision may have been a wrench.
Even the chief content officer of the magazine, Cory Jones, admitted in the NYT article: “Twelve-year-old me is very disappointed in current me. But it’s the right thing to do.”
So what else has Playboy done to over the years in the name of doing the “right thing”…while still basically objectifying women for men’s enjoyment?
2. When they celebrated the Women of Wall Street
The 1989 Women of Wall Street cover Source: Playboy
In August 1989 it was all about women in the boardroom, and Playboy thought it would be a good idea to celebrate this by asking nine female financiers to strip off for a special Gordon Gekko inspired shoot.
The mag then revived the idea 20 years later amid the global financial crisis of 2008, when it decided that a charitable move would be to offer female bankers facing unemployment amid the crisis, the opportunity to strip off in a special Wall Street shoot to make some extra moolah.
"Given the current economic climate, we thought that Wall Street could use something to smile about right now,” Gary Cole, Playboy's Senior Vice President and Photo Director, said at the time.
3. When Darine Stern featured on the cover
October 1971 issue featuring Darine Stern, the first black cover girl. Source: Playboy
The October 1971 issue featuring Darine Stern was considered progressive at the time as it was the first issue to feature an African American woman solo on the cover. It was a good 18 years since the mag’s original debut, but still caused quite the ruckus at the time.
4. When they featured India’s first Playboy model
Bollywood actress Sherlyn Chopra became the mag's first Indian cover star Source: Playboy
Bollywood actress Sherlyn Chopra set tongues wagging in her more conservative and modest homeland when she stripped bare to become the first-ever Indian bunny to pose for the mag, whose release coincided with Indian Independence day.
"The experience of having shot for Playboy has been one of the most liberating ones that I've had so far," Chopra said in a statement at the time.
5. When they launched a SFW website and an App
Playboy's now-defunct SFW web offering, 'The Smoking Jacket' Source: Playboy
6. When they put Marge Simpson on the cover
Blue haired cartoon housewife Marge Simpson features on the November 2009 issue Source: Playboy
The November 2009 issue was a first for the mag – keeping ahead of the internet’s predilection for toon porn perhaps?
7. When they published the fiction of feminist writer Margaret Atwood
Margaret Atwood Source: Getty Images
“I read it for the articles” is the famous claim of many a Playboy consumer keen to prove they’re not just in it for the porn. Actually though they have published many progressive piece of writing, including short story The Bog Man by feminist author Margaret Atwood in 1991, followed by two others in 2006 and 2008. Feminist writer Cynthia Heimel has previously said that she felt far less suppressed in her writing for the men’s mag than in other work for fashion title Vogue.
Other famous and noteworthy writers whose work has featured included Joseph Heller, Roald Dahl, Ian Fleming, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Margaret Atwood, Haruki Murakami, Normal Mailer, Ray Bradbury, Jack Kerouac, and Kurt Vonnegut.
When Playboy announced its decision to scrap the nudes last year, a thousand quickly popped up examining why magazines have to keep up the times in order to survive. Australian bloke-mag Zoo Weekly wasn’t able to do so and so it in September last year.
Playboy has strived to prove that it’s agile over the years though, which is what has helped keep it afloat in the constantly evolving media landscape. Judging by initial feedback in the comments thread though, its audience might not quite so keen for the latest change as the mag’s management is…
Time will tell whether Playboy’s new look proves to be a success or a failure!
Comments on Playboy's Facebook feed Source: Facebook
