When Playboy Made It Big
Reason magazine|April 2017

PLAYBOY MAGAZINE USED to be the contraband men of all ages hid in their sock drawers.

Lenore Skenazy
When Playboy Made It Big

Now it might as well be another pair of socks.

It’s hard to get excited by a nudie magazine anymore—especially one without any nudes. Since March 2016, Playboy no longer features naked ladies, which is kind of like Hershey’s still selling almonds without the chocolate.

But props where props are due: It’s unlikely we would be as blasé as we are today about sex, porn, and even women’s lib if it weren’t for Hugh Hefner and his crazy 1953 creation.

Hef was a frustrated cartoonist at the time, working in the Esquire subscription department because that was the closest he could get to the world of publishing. When his request for a $5 a week raise got turned down, he decided to strike out on his own. Somehow he pulled together $10,000 and prepared to launch a racy new magazine: Stag.

Fortunately for him, the name was already taken. So instead he called it Playboy. The first edition featured a centerfold (a word we wouldn’t even have without him!) dubbed “Sweetheart of the Month.” In the very next issue, the sweetheart was rechristened a “Playmate.” As the author Julie Keller has mused, “There is a vast ideological gap between the words.”

There sure is. The former harkened back to Mary Pickford, courtship, a-settin’ on the velveteen settee. The latter is some one you play with. It’s fun, but it’s not forever.

Thus began the smashing of taboos.

This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM REASON MAGAZINEView all
Gimme Shelter  - The U.S. confronts a growing homelessness problem. Does Miami have the answer?
Reason magazine

Gimme Shelter - The U.S. confronts a growing homelessness problem. Does Miami have the answer?

The U.S. confronts a growing homelessness problem. Does Miami have the answer?

time-read
10+ mins  |
July 2024
AI Is Coming for Hollywood's Jobs
Reason magazine

AI Is Coming for Hollywood's Jobs

But so is everyone else.

time-read
10+ mins  |
June 2024
AI Can Do Paperwork Doctors Hate
Reason magazine

AI Can Do Paperwork Doctors Hate

With help from AI, doctors can focus on patients.

time-read
4 mins  |
June 2024
Antitrust May Smother the Power of AI
Reason magazine

Antitrust May Smother the Power of AI

Left alone, AI could actually help small firms compete with tech giants.

time-read
3 mins  |
June 2024
A Brief, Biased History of the Culture Wars
Reason magazine

A Brief, Biased History of the Culture Wars

THE FIRST PAR AGR APH of the book jacket lays it out: “There is a common belief that we live in unprecedented times, that people are too sensitive today, that nobody objected to the actions of actors, comedians, and filmmakers in the past.

time-read
5 mins  |
July 2024
FAMILIES NEED A VIBE SHIFT
Reason magazine

FAMILIES NEED A VIBE SHIFT

THE AUTHORS OF FOUR NEW BOOKSWITH 24 KIDS BETWEEN THEM-SAY THE AMERICAN FAMILY NEEDS A COURSE CORRECTION.

time-read
10+ mins  |
July 2024
"The Past Is There To Teach Us What Can Happen'
Reason magazine

"The Past Is There To Teach Us What Can Happen'

Hardcore History's Dan Carlin on hero worship and moral assumptions in the study of the past

time-read
10+ mins  |
July 2024
Cutting Off Israel
Reason magazine

Cutting Off Israel

ENDING U.S. AID WOULD GIVE WASHINGTON LESS LEVERAGE IN THE MIDDLE EAST. THAT’S WHY IT’S WORTH DOING.

time-read
10+ mins  |
July 2024
WHAT CAUSED THE D.C.CRIME WAVE?
Reason magazine

WHAT CAUSED THE D.C.CRIME WAVE?

GOVERNMENT MISMANAGEMENT, NOT SENTENCING REFORM OR SPARSE SOCIAL SPENDING, DESERVES THE BLAME.

time-read
10+ mins  |
July 2024
States Turn Their Backs on Criminal Justice Reform
Reason magazine

States Turn Their Backs on Criminal Justice Reform

IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE to avoid the “strange bedfellows” cliché when reading about the criminal justice reform movement in the 2010s.

time-read
5 mins  |
July 2024