Nudes Are Old News at Playboy

[onehandle]

Source: New York Times



Last month, Cory Jones, a top editor at Playboy, went to see its founder Hugh Hefner at the Playboy Mansion.

In a wood-paneled dining room, with Picasso and de Kooning prints on the walls, Mr. Jones nervously presented a radical suggestion: the magazine, a leader of the revolution that helped take sex in America from furtive to ubiquitous, should stop publishing images of naked women.

Mr. Hefner, now 89, but still listed as editor in chief, agreed. As part of a redesign that will be unveiled next March, the print edition of Playboy will still feature women in provocative poses. But they will no longer be fully nude.

Its executives admit that Playboy has been overtaken by the changes it pioneered. “That battle has been fought and won,” said Scott Flanders, the company’s chief executive. “You’re now one click away from every sex act imaginable for free. And so it’s just passé at this juncture.”

Read more: http://nytimes.com/2015/10/13/business/media/nudes-are-old-news-at-playboy.html

[mr goodbeer]

1. America Has Officially Died

[Kelvin Mace]

13. A magazine that has objectified women for 50+ years

is considering ceasing the practice and you call this evidence that America has died?

[mr goodbeer]

32. I never got that vibe

To me, Playboy was never any kind of "guide" on women, it was just beautiful women naked. Of course, it's been about 20 years since I've looked at it, so maybe it has degenerated over that time, I don't know.

[Kelvin Mace]

33. Haven't read it in a long time

That was my impression of it back in the 70s and 80s.

[truthisfreedom]

2. Sounds interesting.

Now people really will read it for the articles.

[oberliner]

8. Can't people read the articles online too?

Seems that magazines in general are obsolete.

[Kennah]

3. About 2 years ago, our then 12 year old son asked Mom for a Playboy magazine

Mom asked, "Is it because of the fascinating articles?"

He looked a bit puzzled, and responded, "No, there are pictures of naked women."

Could be his autism, but he often doesn't get sarcasm.

[gvstn]

4. Funny anecdote.

[YOHABLO]

5. Playboy represented more than just the ideal naked woman. It represented a lifestyle.

[DetlefK]

7. The quest hasn't changed: How does a man seduce a woman?

What should he dress like?
What hair- and beard-styles do women like?
What should his tastes be like?
What should he talk like?
What should he think like?
What should he know about art and culture?

What does a man need to become... a playboy.

[Elmer S. E. Dump]

26. Stay strong, My Gringo Friend.

[left-of-center2012]

6. I read it for the ...

cartoons and jokes.

[bluedigger]

9. But Esquire still exists.

Hope Playboy's writers are as good as Charles E. Pierce.

[kentauros]

21. Heavy Metal still exists.

That's what I read when I was younger

http://www.heavymetal.com/

[bluedigger]

22. I read that for a couple years, too.

They used great paper.

[kentauros]

23. It was where I learned about Moebius and other French artists,

as well as some from Spain. They also had a teaser comic leading up to the release of Alien And yes, their paper quality was better

At the time, there was nothing like European comic artists. Since then, at least some Americans have become just as talented and "unleashed", especially from our antiquated comics code bs.

[bluedigger]

24. It was a revelation to most Americans, I think.

As a teenager raised on Hanna-Barbra and Looney Tunes, it raised my appreciation of cartoons to art. Not that those aren't art, too. You know what I mean.

[kentauros]

25. I know what you mean :)

But I'd never even imagined anything like "The Airtight Garage of Jerry Cornelius." Not even American underground comics came close in weirdness and quality. And yes, artistic nudity

[Doctor_J]

10. If you want to see nude women you can just to an internet search for

Nude selfie and voila. So that part of playboy has become redundant.

[mac56]

11. An acquaintance used to receive Braille editions of Playboy.

I always thought that was fascinating.

[jakeXT]

30. I remember the joke from Men in Tights

http://www.archive.org/stream/playboybraile00nlsu#page/n21/mode/2up

[gregcrawford]

12. Discussions about objectifying women aside...

... Playboy just slit its own throat. It'll be out of business in a year, whaddya bet? "I just read it for the articles" is SUCH a crock of the proverbial substance! Artfully composed glamour photography - erotica, if you prefer - must be differentiated from raw internet porn, which possesses all the aesthetic appeal of a bowel movement.

Let's get all scientifical an' shit: From a purely biological standpoint, minus all the sanctimonious political correctness, the male of the species is visually stimulated. It's imbedded in the lizard part of the brain, and the oldest strands of our DNA. We SEE a beautiful woman and the ol' furnace starts to chuff up a head of steam. Intimacy ensues. Or not. The female half of the biological imperative has more subtle criteria for selecting a suitable mate from the hordes of horny Henrys that trail behind her.

Perhaps they should change the name of the magazine as well. How about "OLD FART, Dreaming Of Bygone Days When Pretty Girls Thought He Was A Playboy?" I know a little sumpthin' about THAT!

[GOLGO 13]

15. The PLAYBOY brand needs an update.

It's the place where C- celebrities & young girls go to start their careers. The only reason an A-lister goes to the mansion is to use the bathroom. Or score some blow.

I've heard that the non celebrity guys there have to pay to get it. Pretty pathetic.

[jonno99]

16. Eh - I'm not sure I'd even want to use the bathroom. Apparently the place

is "less than upscale":

‘Everything in the Mansion felt old and stale, and Archie the house dog would regularly relieve himself on the hallway curtains, adding a powerful whiff of urine to the general scent of decay.’

...

‘Every Friday morning we had to go to Hef’s room, wait while he picked up all the dog poo off the carpet — and then ask for our allowance...'

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1342643/Hugh-Hefners-Playboy-mansion-like-squalid-prison-say-Playmates.html

[Blue_Tires]

28. Fine, I don't have to stay there

Just grab a couple of bunnies and head back to my place

[jeff47]

18. If you want to see naked women, why would you bother buying a copy of Playboy?

To get one, you have to go to a newsstand and buy it, then bring it home and then "read the articles". And you see around 3 photo shoots.

On the other hand, you can have free naked women on every electronic device in your home in seconds.

There's no reason to bother with Playboy to see naked women. So why spend the money to put them in the magazine? The only people still buying the magazine are looking for more than naked women.

[gregcrawford]

29. All true...

... but when I started sneakin' peeks at Playboy, it was only 4 or 5 years old and cost less than a dollar. Transistors and circuit boards hadn't even been invented yet, let alone personal computers! Just thinkin' about the old days...

I'm long past caring what they do with it; just made for an interesting conversation for a minute. Ah! Minute's up.

[Javaman]

14. in other news: playboy subscriptions drop through the floor.

[gregcrawford]

17. Yeah, the mag's an anachronism...

... as is the concept of a "playboy." Hefner's 2 years older than baseball and just doesn't cut a dashing figure in pajamas anymore. Ya had a good run, Hef. Time to call it a day.

[jeff47]

19. Probably not - why bother subscribing to Playboy to see naked women?

It's available for free on every electronic device you own.

The only people still subscribing to Playboy aren't doing it to see the ~3-5 naked women per magazine.

[yellowcanine]

20. I always read it for the articles anyway.

The one of Jimmy Carter "lusting in his heart" made my day.

[Blue_Tires]

27. So they're turning Playboy into something pedestrian like Maxim?

[brooklynite]

31. My thought as well, a higher-end "Lad Mag" as the Brits call it.

[DerekG]

34. Kinda sad for those of us who prefer our porn "soft"

I never got into Hustler or Penthouse--far too explicit for my tastes.

Playboy, on the other hand, is right up my alley. I'd hate to lose it just because our culture has become more coarse.

[Frank Cannon]

35. Actually, I'm amazed it's still around.

Even Penthouse found out they couldn't compete with the Internet. This was when they started featuring pictorials of full-penetration intercourse and women pissing, and those that were even on the web at the time were still using dial-up.

Playboy really used to have great articles--much better than Penthouse-with regular lengthy interviews of people like Henry Kissinger, Alex Haley, and Akio Morita. But like every other magazine, it's really been dumbed down over the years. It's been more like "Maxim, but with nudity". Now it will just be like Maxim.