When the infamous Hugh Hefner produced the very first playboy in 1953 the world would never be the same. On the cover of the very first edition of Playboy was the very famous actress Marilyn Monroe, and after the release of the very first issue Playboy magazine skyrocketed to being one of the most talked about magazines in the world.
“If you’re a man between the ages of 18 and 80, Playboy is meant for you,” he said in his first editor’s letter. “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 ...” Interestingly enough, on the very first issue of Playboy Hefner did not include the volume number or date of issue in case another one was never printed. I think Mr. Hefner knew exactly how scandalous his new adventure was going to be.
The announcement came when Playboys chief editor Cory Jones advised Hefner that the magazine that was known for bringing sexualization into the modern world had essentially become obsolete due to the increase in internet pornography.
“You’re now one click away from every sex act imaginable for free. And so it’s just passé at this juncture.” said Scott Flanders the Company’s chief executive in an NYTimes interview.
Essentially he’s right, with the increase in the amount of internet smut that is peddled at nearly 100x the rate of a playboy issue, the mere concept of “nudie mags” has in itself, become obsolete. Playboy has also caught flak from several groups in the past…..
Unfortunately, even though Playboy will always have a reputation for being that magazine that you never wanted your mother to catch you with; one can’t help but think through their own lives and realize the impact of Playboy and the subtle innuendos that Playboy is responsible for throughout the last half century.
Everything from song lyrics to movie references and those snickering and pointing twelve year old boys at the convenient store counter, the knowledge that Playboy is what it is, has set us all on a certain mindset and to think negative things whenever you hear “Playboy.”
I know this because I was one of these people, I never really wanted to waste money on a Playboy for various reasons, one being how much my mother would’ve whooped my rear end if she had caught me with one and the other being...I never really had a desire to own one.
The very first time I ever had a Playboy in my hand I was 21 years old and it was at my fraternity’s Christmas party gift exchange, a relatively new tradition that we started. It always ends up exactly how you expect a group of boys giving each other gifts would go–terribly.
When it came my turn for the secret santa and I wondered what horrible gift I got, I was surprised my buddy had remembered that I mentioned I had never even seen the inside of a Playboy. He was determined to change that, and change that he did, the first and only issue of Playboy I have ever looked on was “Girls of the SEC” 2009 issue.
I remember being both shocked that he remembered and intrigued as to what I might find….I flipped through about ten pages thinking to myself “oh wow, this is kind of cool” flip about ten more pages “….Ok? I thought there were supposed to be non-stop-full-giving-your-pastor-a-heart-attack nudity?” I then got a little impatient and just started flipping through the papers a bit more rapidly until I came across five pages….. “Only five pages?? That’s it??”
Both confused and I guess a bit disappointed, I began to read everything else in the magazine, then realized what playboy was really about. It was a genuine true blue “Gentleman’s Magazine,” including articles on building the best fireplace, or what movies to go see, all the way to ads for Rolex, Lexus, and Cigar brands. Simple articles that were the farthest thing from what I would’ve expected out of the world’s most notorious magazine.
I guess now it’s socially acceptable to be a subscriber?
