The Playboy philosophy at 50

TownHall.com ^ | December 17, 2003 | Cal Thomas

[T Lady]

For the past weeks, the media have been gaga over the 50th anniversary of Playboy magazine and the "Playboy philosophy," whose guru, Hugh Hefner, began to mainstream pornography and de-couple sex from a committed marital relationship.

What interested me most about this latest excuse to run pictures of almost naked women on television and of the 77-year-old Hugh Hefner in his silk pajamas, surrounded by surgically enhanced women young enough to be his great-granddaughters, was the usual media complicity in promoting a one-sided and incomplete picture of the "free love" generation (which, as it turned out, was neither free nor love).

Where were the stories on venereal diseases, broken marriages and shattered lives of the women who were "bunnies" and "playmates" in Hefner's fantasy world? One might think that those "hard-hitting" journalists so dedicated to presenting both sides of any story would have interviewed people whose lives have been transformed-not for the better-by the sexual revolution.

Writing on FreeRepublic.com, Patrick Fagan says we now live in a "culture of inverted sexuality." This is Hugh Hefner's legacy.

Remember modesty? Gone with the cultural winds. Writing in the Washington Post last week, Tina Brown said that Paris Hilton's pornographic antics and fame show we live in an age "beyond embarrassment."

The progeny of the Playboy philosophy- which said men did not have to limit their sex drive to their wives but could plunder whatever woman would allow them- is brokeness, depression, addiction and, in some cases, suicide. What Hefner thought would liberate has, in fact, enslaved. What he promoted as fun turned out to be its opposite for larger numbers of people.

The throwing off of all restraints has produced a culture without rules, without signposts and without meaning. Is Hefner ever asked by the numerous toady interviewers about what responsibility he bears for any of this? Not that I've seen or read. I guess lust means never having to say you're sorry.

Would Hefner acknowledge that AIDS, which is currently devastating Southern Africa with a vengeance worse than Europe's medieval Black Death, is any of his doing? There is a cause and effect relationship between promiscuous sex and venereal disease, divorce, 40 million abortions in this country, depression and suicide among teenagers who thought they had a right to grow up in a two-parent home. The Hefner message to constantly pursue "greener grass" mocks the message I grew up with. Then, if your marital "lawn" turned brown, you fed it nutrients. Now, if it starts to die, you move to a new "yard."

In many ways our politics mirrors the Playboy philosophy. Once, a divorced man could not be elected president. Recently, a president had sex with an itern in the Oval Office and millions thought it was a private matter and no one else's business.

Madonna writes children's books and her heir-apparent to the crown of slut queen- Britney Spears- engages her in a lip lock on national television. David Letterman proudly announces the birth of his out-of-wedlock child and the audience erupts in wild applause. Marriage announcement to come, or not. It doesn't matter. Gwyneth Paltrow and her "boyfriend" announce she is pregnant. They got married last week. Maybey they'll get divorced next week or next year. It's all the same to devotees of the Playboy philosophy.

Hefner and his philosophy have demeaned women, turning them into the sexual toys the feminist movement decries. Because Hefner is pro-abortion (he would have to be, given the consequences of what he promotes) and because of his financial donations to numerous liberal causes, he gets a free pass from feminists.

Many think Hefner is cool as he hands over his "little black books" to be auctioned and lounges in bed in a New York Times picture and article that ignore the cultural havoc he has unleashed on America.

Hefner has said he freed Americans from their uptight attitudes about sex. Given what replaced it, restraint, fidelity, character and chivalry never looked so good.

Copyright 2003 Tribune Media Services

[freebilly]

Writing on FreeRepublic.com, Patrick Fagan says we now live in a "culture of inverted sexuality."

Upside down sex?

[cyborg]

Best position for conceiving the next generation of the right wing conspiracy.

[freebilly]

Best position for conceiving the next generation of the right wing conspiracy.

Although one of my children is interested in becoming a missionary....

[breakem]

I did two years as a missionary, but prefer my current position.

[T Lady]

Judging from what's written in the article, I doubt that's what Mr. Fagan was alluding to.

-Regards, T.

[RLK]

Bobby Ornstein, Hefner's first special girl, couldn't take it after a while, went to drugs, then committed suicide.

[freebilly]

I did two years as a missionary, but prefer my current position.

You must be top man around there. Bet your glad Hump Day is nearly over....

[cyborg]

Good this is good... a right wing wacko spreading the gospel is a BIG twofer, salvation and civilization at the same time.

[freebilly]

Judging from what's written in the article, I doubt that's what Mr. Fagan was alluding to.

Article? Who has time to read articles...?

[breakem]

It's been a hard driving week.

[MplsSteve]

You know, we never hear about the Playmates.

What I mean by that is the quote in Thomas' article about the broken marriages, diseases and shattered lives.

Can anyone name any specific examples? I've never heard anything about the lives of Playmates being ruined because of appearing in Playboy.

[Lady Eileen]

Thanks for posting this article.

[freebilly]

Good this is good... a right wing wacko spreading the gospel is a BIG twofer, salvation and civilization at the same time.

All kidding aside, my nine year old got baptised this fall after asking for the past three years. He loves the Lord and plays a mean game of hoop. He told me last month that he wants to go to a Bible College.

He's way more together than I was when I was his age (actually, he's more together than I was when I was 35).

[Teacher317]

**a-HEM!**

Pictures please?

[freebilly]

It's been a hard driving week.

Must be hard on you....

[cyborg]

Children are more wise, more mature than we give them credit for. They are sophisticated and know what they want these days. I can understand your pride. A nine year old boy who says he loves the Lord and likes to play ball ought to be getting a nice present for Christmas!

[breakem]

It has it's up and downs until you learn the ins and outs of the job.

Somebody stop me! I guess I will.

[T Lady]

RLK just gave one about Bobby Ornstein in post #7; I don't know if she was one of Hefner's playmates or bunnies.

...One way to find out is to send Cal Thomas an e-mail (click on to townhall.com to the article and hit the contact button) to cite any of his sources...and he will respond; I've written him on several occasions.

I could probably hazard a guess as to why we never hear anything. Like the Mafia, old Hef might have a way of keeping these ladies quiet, and not in a friendly manner, I take it. But that's just a guess.

-Regards, T.

[T Lady]

Nope. Don't do those kind of pictures. Besides, I haven't a clue how to put pictures on this site or italicize letters for that matter.

-Regards, T.

[ALOHA RONNIE]

.

...T'was JFK's reported interest in JAMES BOND that brought Playboy the Book Installments...

...that took it to the Moon...

...before Neal Armstrong ever got there.


.

[RLK]

There have been a few articles on murders surrounding Hefner and some of his ex girlfriends in psychiatric care. I don't have a list handy. I remember his girlfriend Ornstein from a documentary on Hefner a few years back.

[Finalapproach29er]

Because Hefner is pro-abortion (he would have to be, given the consequences of what he promotes).............

-Playboy funded Roe vs. Wade (no kidding)

[freebilly]

Basketball, football, skateboard helmet, new bat, a ton of books--

He'll do alright this Christmas. The six year old gets a new bike and has been asking for a Bibleman action hero since July. His favorite activity is going to church (they've got great snacks after the service).

[freebilly]

Somebody stop me! I guess I will.

LOL!

[cyborg]

You're a good dad!

[breakem]

As I recall several Bond books debuted in Playboy. Fleming was also a Book of the Month Club choice several years. I read my first Bond book in the early 60s in high school. A friend's mother was a BOMC member and he gave them to me when she was finished.

I actually bought Playboy to read the Bond books. Believe it or not.

[T Lady]

Really? Where did you find this information? I'd sure like to check it out.

-Regards, T.

[freebilly]

You're a good dad!

Thank you, I'm an okay dad who just tells his kids who their real Dad is....

[Finalapproach29er]

Hefner admitted it on some TV show in the last ten days. Can't remember which show except that he was among (liberal) friends.

[Lady Eileen]

Remember modesty? Gone with the cultural winds. Writing in the Washington Post last week, Tina Brown said that Paris Hilton's pornographic antics and fame show we live in an age "beyond embarrassment."

Here's a link to a short but excellent book on the topic of modesty from a Christian perspective.

[freebilly]

Thank you. I'll pass this on to my wife. She bought a book recently for my daughter called Secret Keepers (my daughter's 2-1/2, but my wife bought it with an eye to the future)....

[T Lady]

Thanks for the link. It looks like some valuable reading.

-Regards, T.

[ItsForTheChildren]

Can anyone name any specific examples? I've never heard anything about the lives of Playmates being ruined because of appearing in Playboy.

It sure didn't do Dorothy Stratton any good.

[ConservativeMan55]

Hear me Roar!

[Richard Kimball]

There have been several that I've heard of that have had some rough times, although I don't know how much Playboy had to do with it.

Star Stowe (1977 Playmate) was passed around by many rock musicians, and finally ended up being a street whore. She was murdered. Willey Rey (1971), who was on the cover of the Playboy stock certificates, died of a drug overdose in her parents bathroom two years later. Her parents blamed the crowd she ran with, most of whom were from Playboy. Dorothy Stratten was murdered by her husband. Her husband was furious because Hefner had pretty much taken her away from him, introduced her to Peter Bogdonavich, and they were a hot item. Her husband was a small-time pimp. Elissa Bridges (1994) died of a drug overdose last year. Of course, there have been several busted for prostitution.

Hefner, from everything I've read about him is a pretty lame piece of work. He had rules, for example, that the Playboy bunnies couldn't be picked up by their husbands or boyfriends at the club, so they had to walk several blocks by themselves at night in downtown Chicago to get a ride. Male employees were not allowed to date playmates or bunnies. They also were not allowed to talk to Hefner, and if Hefner thought they were too good looking, he'd have them fired. There were rumors that he boinked one of his daughter's friends he met at her 16th birthday party (yes, a classmate of hers), and playmates were invited to mansion parties, but couldn't bring their husbands. They were encouraged to bring female friends, but if the friends weren't attractive enough, they'd be advised not to bring them back. Most of this is in a book titled "Bunny", and although Hefner threatened to sue over it's publication, there was enough documentation that they couldn't prove anything false.

I was disappointed at how sleazy Playboy was behind the scenes, but when I was a kid, I was naive enough to believe the stuff written in there.

[RLK]

Hefner and his philosophy are a lot like Bill Clinton and they appeal to the same mentality. However, like Clinton, they leave a trail of destruction and emptyness behind the.

[T Lady]

Oh, yeah. I remember E! doing a True Hollywood Story on Stratton and her possessive boyfriend, who got her into the Porn Industry in the first place. Creep.

-Regards, T.

[isom35]

a playboy thread and no pics? sigh..........

[T Lady]

Not on this thread (at least from me anyway), you'll have to look elsewhere. Besides, as I pointed out earlier, I'm technically challenged in the area of posting pictures and putting words into italics. If you- or anyone else on this thread- is good at doing these things, please send me a private message with directions. Thanks.

-Regards, T.

[RLK]

a playboy thread and no pics? sigh..........

-----------------

This thread isn't about pictures. It's about serious thought for a change.

[RLK]

There were rumors that he boinked one of his daughter's friends he met at her 16th birthday party...

---------------------

Barbara Klein, later renamed Barbie Benton, was 18 when Hefner picked her up. She was concerned and told Hefner she'd never dated anyone older than 24 before. Hefner's reply was. "That's all right. Neither have I."

[Cosmo]

I had not heard about Elissa Bridges Overdosing. She was one of my favorites.

[Melas]

It's too easy to pick on Hefner. Hefner was a natural consequence of seriously repressed society. He was ushered in on the backlash of the society that was so whacked that some thought it was vulgar and dirty to day "pregnant" on television.

It's easy to blame the sexual revolution on the problems we have now. Pity that too few are willing to blame the sexual revolution on the foolishness that started the rebellion in the first place.

[RLK]

Hefner was a natural consequence of seriously repressed society.

--------------------

No he wasn't.

[hunter112]

He was ushered in on the backlash of the society that was so whacked that some thought it was vulgar and dirty to day "pregnant" on television.

I always thought it was weird that Lucy and Desi, and Dick van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore would sleep in twin beds, my folks, the libertines, slept in the same bed. You're right about the sexual revolution getting all the blame, but Playboy just happened to coincide with another thing that changed the sexual culture, and that was effective birth control. The Pill, introduced in 1960, did more to separate sex from procreation than anything else that happened since human beings discovered that they were connected. The baby boom culture coming of age during that time did a lot to promote the magazine, too.

[WOSG]

"This thread isn't about pictures. It's about serious thought for a change."

Dang.

serious thought and playboy bunnies is like oil and water.

[WOSG]

"Hefner was a natural consequence of seriously repressed society."

That is totally whacked... Hefner was a publisher in a society that was *NOT* repressed enough to stop him from pushing the envelope on it ...

" He was ushered in on the backlash of the society that was so whacked that some thought it was vulgar and dirty to day "pregnant" on television."

until the point where we dont know what vulgar and dirty is anymore (too many cases of bad taste in entertainment to cite)... Methinks you make Cal Thomas' point. Our standards have indeed fallen.

"It's easy to blame the sexual revolution on the problems we have now."

Usually the truth has a way of being hard to refute.

" Pity that too few are willing to blame the sexual revolution on the foolishness that started the rebellion in the first place."

Ah, yes, Liberal logic at work. Dont blame those who believe in divorce abortion and sexual promiscuity - no! - blame those who are against those things for forcing folks against the wall to be for it! This is the same logic that blames the Americans for terrorist attacks on us, blames society and victims for criminal behavior, etc.

It's nonsense. Blame the puritans for uptight society. Blame the sexual revolution on the sexual revolutionaries ... have no fear, Hef would claim full credit for his part!

[Eowyn-of-Rohan]

Yeah, we need more teachers like you (not)

[Eowyn-of-Rohan]

WAS the culture then so "repressed", or did the media present a fake and narrow image of 1950s society? Speak to people who actually LIVED through it (as I have to my parents). Also, I think the country was better off in those days when the media was "repressive" than it is now with the media the way it is.