May 31, 2025 The Best Source of News, Culture, Lifestyle for Culver City, Mar Vista, Del Rey, Palms and West Los Angeles

What Kind of Man Misses Hefner?

By Steve Stajich

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Back in the day, there was a slogan meant to define the ethos of Playboy magazine: “What kind of man reads Playboy?” While that question begged even more questions, such as the difference between actually reading the magazine and just looking at it, it did imply that there was a Playboy ethos. And that a truly sophisticated man would know what that was and thus be unapologetic about keeping a magazine full of nude photos of women lying about right in the open.

The reality of having and “reading” Playboy magazine for most American boys and men was something else entirely, and it rarely involved silk pajamas and smoking a pipe. If your Dad had any Playboy magazines, they were concealed someplace out in the garage. If you had one or two, they likely were kept in some location where anyone cleaning or searching your room would have to show the dogged dedication of a homicide detective in order to come across them.

And when they did come across them, then what? Hefner, even in death, still gets credit for having an impact on the sexual something or other of an America coming out of the buttoned-down 1950s and into the uninhibited 1960s. There might have been two kinds of parents back then, those who freaked upon discovery of a cache of Hefner’s magazines and went into a tirade mixing religion and disgust… and then those who used the moment to get to some better understanding of their son’s obviously emerging sexual self.

When Hefner died recently, my Facebook tribe appeared divided on his legacy. Men (who had been the boys hiding their Playboys) largely stood by “Hef,” many of them actually doubling-down on the “I read it for the articles” posture by citing the quality of some of the journalism and the unfettered openness of the “Playboy Interview” that often became legitimate news when reflecting the shields-down thoughts of politicians and (mostly male) film actors.

But women, it can safely be said, commented on Hefner’s passing with a range of feelings from indifference to good riddance. And they tended to focus on how Playboy ushered in an era of glossy commodification of women’s bodies that was just the same old same old with staples in somebody’s bare abdomen. It’s possibly a stretch to believe that Playboy helped to stoke the fires of the feminist movement in the 60s and 70s, but it is true that well-regarded feminists such as Gloria Steinem hit on Hefner with blunt assessments. Steinem once said that “Reading Playboy feels a little like a Jew reading a Nazi manual.” She was entitled to those thoughts, having spent some time working undercover as a Playboy “bunny” waitress in one of Hefner’s nightclubs in 1963.

Playboy magazine was the objectification of women for money, and no amount of tap-dancing by Hefner about “sexual mores in America” back in his time or now in hindsight will ever erase that particular key legacy. But there might be a few things to glean from the odd, weird force that Playboy exerted on American men for a sustained period. That force – a sense of something that was invoked when simply uttering the word or brand “Playboy” – Is now mostly gone because we have polymorphous online sexual content to stir our “prurient” interests. Hell, even the mild buzz that Playboy readers got in the old days by attempting to purchase a copy without some kind of humiliation from the cashier at the drug store is gone. And in its place, the availability of sexual content at a mouse click… albeit a mouse click that might later be traced to us via our browser histories.

I’m not going to say that I feel blessed to have grown-up in a time when Playboy magazine was possible and, with caveats related to being covert about it, available. But I do think that in some roundabout way, Hefner and his magazine contributed to an emerging societal openness and candor that later made possible such things as explicit dialogue and protest against the Vietnam War and, yes, sexism. Right away one should observe that Playboy begat Penthouse and then Hustler and I would agree both contributed nothing, with the footnote that Larry Flynt’s Hustler censorship fights may have left us in a better place regarding free speech.

Showtime’s series version of author Margaret Atwood’s “A Handmaid’s Tale” takes us into a society that controls sexuality at a level of women becoming government-approved baby-making property of the rich. Why has Atwood’s vision proved to be so frightening? Perhaps because the story makes it seem as though the decades of social change that we have all lived through simply disappeared and were consumed by a return to Puritanical oppressiveness. Playboy peddled a sexist ethos, but for a little while an almost electrical vibe of liberation buzzed through it. If marriage in the 1940’s and 50’s had a dark shadow of oppressiveness, Playboy was in its wrong-headed way a bit of light. For the record, I never bought a Playboy; someone else always had one around. The fantasy world of Playboy never motivated me to be less than gentleman-like with a young woman. And while I do need to wear eyeglasses, I never went blind.

Related Posts

Defensible Space, Defined: How A Plus Tree Protects Communities from Wildfire

May 30, 2025

May 30, 2025

In the wildfire-prone landscapes of the Western United States, safeguarding homes and communities requires proactive measures. A Plus Tree, a...

WeHo Pride Weekend Begins and 2025 Icons Announced: Parades, Concerts, and Community Celebration Kicks Off

May 30, 2025

May 30, 2025

Three-Day LGBTQ+ Festival Features Performances by Lizzo, Maren Morris, and Kim Petras West Hollywood is preparing to kick off its...

Palisades Village to Reopen in 2026 with Revamped Retail, Dining, and Community Spaces

May 29, 2025

May 29, 2025

Elysewalker Set to Return With Park Reconstruction, Holiday Events, and Streetscape Upgrades Palisades Village, the open-air shopping and lifestyle destination...

Bel Air Seventh Grader Reaches Finals of Scripps National Spelling Bee

May 29, 2025

May 29, 2025

Oliver Halkett of Mirman School Competed on Thursday for a $50,000 prize Thirteen-year-old Oliver Halkett, a seventh grader from Mirman...

(Video) Signs That Your Aging Loved Ones Are in Need of Caregiving

May 29, 2025

May 29, 2025

To Find Out More, Go To Safelyhomeagain.com To Find Out More, Go To https://t.co/ZCPyKHj5aq pic.twitter.com/cDTEPjfA6s — Westside Today (@WestsideLAToday) May...

Two Men Charged in Culver City Kidnapping and Robbery After Victim Forced to Withdraw Cash

May 29, 2025

May 29, 2025

Suspects Allegedly Abducted Man at Gunpoint, Drove Him to Multiple Banks  Two men have been arrested and formally charged in...

Salt & Straw Unveils Summer Pie Series with Five Seasonal Ice Cream Flavors

May 29, 2025

May 29, 2025

Five New Flavors Inspired by Classic Summer Pies Will Be Introduced Salt & Straw is giving summer a scoopable twist...

(Video) Interviews with Rick Caruso and Elyse Walker, with a Dennis Quaid cameo

May 28, 2025

May 28, 2025

We spoke at the Press Conference to announce plans to reopen Palisades Village Shopping Mall. Actor Dennis Quaid arrives to...

Levain Bakery Debuts ‘Levain à la Mode’ with Local Ice Cream Partners for Summer

May 28, 2025

May 28, 2025

Seasonal Offering With Wanderlust Creamery is a First in Cookie Shop’s History For the first time in its three-decade history,...

Beverly Glen Sixth Grader Advances to Finals of National Student Cook-Off

May 28, 2025

May 28, 2025

Twelve-Year-Old Heads to Virginia to Compete in K12 Culinary Competition Abijah Levy Minor, a 12-year-old student from Beverly Glen, has...

Sarah Paulson to Host Charity Bingo Night for Pasadena Humane Society on June 5

May 28, 2025

May 28, 2025

Evening of Food, Wine, and Live Music to Raise Funds for Animal Rescue Efforts Emmy-winning actress Sarah Paulson will host...

Bay Cities Italian Deli Responds to Health Code Closure, Commits to Corrective Action

May 28, 2025

May 28, 2025

Santa Monica Landmark Disputes Rodent Claims but Acknowledges Violations Bay Cities Italian Deli, a Santa Monica staple renowned for its...

Film Review: Bring Her Back

May 28, 2025

May 28, 2025

By Dolores Quintana Grief is the price of love.  Danny Philippou and Michael Philippou’s second feature film, Bring Her Back,...

County Assessor Stresses Need For Fire-Affected Households to Update Addresses to Receive Relief Checks

May 28, 2025

May 28, 2025

Assessor’s Office Offers Automatic Tax Relief for Fire-Affected Homeowners Following the destruction caused by wildfires earlier this year, the Los...

Caltrans Schedules Public Meeting for $143.7 Million I-405 Rehabilitation Project

May 28, 2025

May 28, 2025

Virtual Forum Set to Brief Residents on Upcoming Construction The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) will hold a virtual public...