The Transformation of Playboy

 Long gone are the days of the Playboy Mansion and Hugh Hefner. Playboy is a new company almost altogether after Hefner’s death, and no longer are there print versions of the magazine—it is online-only now. While the magazine is still inherently about sex, there is so much more. 

Playboy has become fashionable and sexy, and the publication now has an extensive merch store as well as collaborations with other clothing companies. The rabbit-head logo is actually really cute as jewelry, on hoodies, patterned sweatpants, and more. In addition to clothes, the Playboy store sells a line of CBD products—items like condoms and sex toys, lingerie, and even masks. They also release merch with vintage Playboy photographs periodically. 

The magazine now advocates on behalf of sex workers, the pro-choice movement, the LGBTQ+ community, and the legalization of marijuana. The magazine has long been outspoken about societal issues, especially weed and abortion, and in fact, the Playboy website’s article about the history of Playboy’s pro-choice advocacy included this quote of Hugh Hefner’s from 1964: “Abortion remains illegal in all states of the Union, although it is undergone by hundreds of thousands of women annually, under circumstances that seriously endanger not only their health and welfare, but their very lives.” Today, these kinds of issues are an integral part of the publication. They now have articles with titles such as “Sex Ed in America Is White-Washed. Here’s How That Could Change.” Playboy has diversified their models and opened up the magazine in an effort to create a space not just “for men” but for everybody. They now have women working for the magazine and contributing to a publication they previously had no involvement in. This change was needed since Playboy had been losing money and was slowly dying. The rebranding for a new generation was the only thing that could save them.

Hugh and his “Bunnies”

Despite the progress, we should not forget how the magazine was first started. Hugh Hefner bought photographs Marilyn Monroe had posed for before she became famous and published them in the first Playboy. She never received any money for this and most likely didn’t think the pictures would end up in a magazine. After the magazine started reaching commercial success and gaining prominence and even respect due to the cutting edge interviews they would publish, Playboy opened the Playboy Clubs, where women dressed in bodysuits, heels, and bunny ears served men drinks. These clubs were closed in 1986 because they weren’t making enough money and it was in this decade that video porn became popular, which also harmed Playboy’s ability to make money in these years.

Then, in 2005, the reality show “Girls Next Door” aired, featuring Playmate Holly Madison, who has since written a book and gone on podcasts such as Call Her Daddy to recount her horrific experiences as Hef’s girlfriend. This includes sex with the aging Hugh, strict rules in the house such as a curfew, and being offered Quaaludes, also known as “thigh openers” by Hefner. Her claims have been disputed by her former “Girls Next Door” costar, Kendra Wilkinson, in a public feud, as well as Hefner’s widow, Crystal Harris. Whether you believe Holly Madison or not, there is no doubt some shady shit definitely went down in that mansion.

Playboy, for much of its existence, was not thought of as a feminist organization or a publication that especially respected women. Many people still see Playboy as exploitive towards women despite the changes made in recent years. In a way, the symbol does still have that connotation, but it is up to the new generation of women to change it to something that celebrates them instead of using them for the sole reason of male satisfaction and pleasure.