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Playboy Magazine: From Lewdness to Perversion
Townhall.com ^ | October 5, 2021 | Michael Brown

Posted on 10/05/2021 6:59:26 AM PDT by Kaslin

In many ways, the story of Playboy Magazine is the story of the sexual revolution, from its first cover featuring Marilyn Monroe in 1953 to its current cover featuring a gay man dressed as a Playboy bunny. It is the story of moral degeneration, from lewdness to perversion. I wonder how all the hot-blooded, heterosexual male Playboy readers will fancy this bold new cover?

In my 2017 book Saving a Sick America, I noted that on October 12 and 13, 2015, the internet lit up with headlines: “'Playboy' to stop publishing nude photos” (USA Today); “No more naked women in print Playboy” (Business Insider); “Playboy magazine abandons nudity” (Telegraph, UK); “Playboy magazine to stop publishing pictures of naked women” (The Guardian).

After 62 years of featuring nudes, Playboy was no longer going to display pictures of naked women in its magazine. But from the standpoint of moral values, this was actually bad news, not good news.

As one supporter of nude photos explained, “. . . we live in a world where all the world's porn is like three mouse clicks away, and most of it is totally free. In a world like that, Playboy is redundant at best and embarrassing at worst.” And remember: it was a supporter of nude pictures who wrote this.

Playboy was not abandoning nude pictorials because society had become more moral. It was abandoning these pictorials because society had become so immoral that Playboy’s relatively mild pornography was no longer a draw. Pornography of the most sordid kind was freely available everywhere, so who needed pictures of nude women in Playboy? Porn was now ubiquitous.

Playboy had helped swing the door wide open, and what followed was a flood of ever-degenerating filth, often at the primary expense of women.

Accordingly, Max Benwell’s article on the UK’s Independent site in was titled, “Why you should be worried about Playboy dropping naked women from its pages,” with the subtitle reading, “This isn't a clear moral victory, but yet another reminder of the huge power wielded by mainstream pornography.”

Benwell noted that when Playboy dropped nudes from its website in August, 2015, that “caused its traffic to quadruple.” People were now drawn to the articles and not distracted by the relatively benign pictures.

He continued, “The magazine becoming never-nude is heartening for anyone who cares about the media’s constant objectification of women. But no-one should pretend that this is a moral victory. Playboy, acting as any business would, dropped the nudes because there’s no demand for them any more. The free market argument that supported their continued existence turned on them. But this isn’t because we’re all reading feminist zines on Tumblr now; there’s no demand for them because too many people are watching free online porn instead.”

But it didn’t take long for Playboy to reverse its decision and return to its central nude features.

As reported by the BBC in February 2017, “Playboy magazine has announced it is bringing back nudity, reversing a decision made last year.

“The move was announced by Playboy's new chief creative officer Cooper Hefner, who said the decision to remove nudity entirely ‘was a mistake’.

“‘Today we're taking our identity back and reclaiming who we are,’ he tweeted.

“The US magazine also promoted its March-April edition with a picture of its playmate of the month with the hashtag #NakedIsNormal.”

It looks like Playboy without nudity was like a beach without water or like a sports stadium without teams to play. So much for the overall quality of their publication. And so much for readers subscribing primarily because of the amazing articles.

Still, in many ways, Playboy was behind the times (at least, as reported by others in terms of the sexual content; this is something I do not check on). It was not lewd enough. Not racy enough. Not pushing the boundaries enough. And, at the least, not current.

Now, 68 years after the magazine’s first issue, headlines are announcing, “Bretman Rock Makes History as First Out Gay Male to Cover Playboy: It's 'a Huge Deal'.”

As People reported, “Social media star Bretman Rock is no stranger to breaking barriers.

“The 23-year-old influencer nabbed the cover of Playboy's digital magazine, making him the first openly gay man to don the complete bunny suit for the cover.”

There you have it. A 23-year-old gay man, dressed in a women’s bunny suit and posing sensually, is featured on the front cover. (Please don’t tell me he’s featured in the centerfold too.)

To be clear, “While Playboy says Rock isn't the first man to appear on the magazine cover, he is the first who openly identifies as part of the LGBTQ community and the first male to don the full suit. Bad Bunny has previously been featured on the cover, while Ezra Miller appeared in bunny ears for his feature with the magazine.”

Another Playboy landmark, indeed – this time, with a deeper foray into perversion.

There’s an old saying that sin will also take you further than you intended to go. It will keep you longer than you intended to stay. And it will cost you more than you intended to pay.

The same can be said of the sexual revolution. May the Lord have mercy on its millions of victims, many of whom ended up in places they never expected to go. (How many people celebrate being addicted to porn, to give one example out of many?) May Bretman Rock have a life-changing encounter with the Lord Himself.

And may we learn to celebrate a healthy sexuality, within the bonds of marriage, one man and woman together for life, as intended by God. Our Maker really knows best.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial
KEYWORDS: gayboy; lgbt; playboy; playgay
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To: Kaslin

I think I last looked at Playboy when I was 18...(I’m now 72)


21 posted on 10/05/2021 7:26:56 AM PDT by JBW1949 (I'm really PC.....Patriotically Correct)
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To: PGR88
A few years back (probably when Hugh Hefner died) I saw an interview with a “Bunny” who had recently spent some time at Hefner’s Mansion She said it interior was worn-out, was in need of repair, had frayed carpets - and smelled like urine.

My wife and I watched a show about Hefner some time ago (Biography, maybe?). He was very old and had a pair of twins as girlfriends and was practically living on Viagra. People were bringing him birthday gift baskets filled with more Viagra. He once appeared to be a cool and erudite host with his Playboy's Penthouse program in the late 50's/early 60's. In his late years, he was a sad sex-obsessed old man with nothing in his life but sex and more sex.

Makes me wonder about the guys who used to spend a lot of time at the Playboy mansion "partying" with Hef. Wasn't Cosby a frequent guest?

22 posted on 10/05/2021 7:30:20 AM PDT by Sans-Culotte (11/3-11/4/2020 - The USA became a banana republic.)
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To: Kaslin

Playgay


23 posted on 10/05/2021 7:31:35 AM PDT by MercyFlush (The American Revolution was a violent revolt against a dictatorship. )
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To: ClearCase_guy

Depo-Provera is used the lessen sex drives in male sex criminals.


24 posted on 10/05/2021 7:34:58 AM PDT by PghBaldy (12/14 - 930am -rampage begins... 12/15 - 1030am - Obama's advance team scouts photo-op locations.)
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To: Kaslin

I really did read the articles... and some of the were incredible. Some of the highest quality writing in print.

But then I would usually get distracted...


25 posted on 10/05/2021 7:36:05 AM PDT by Mr. K (No consequence of repealing obamacare is worse than obamacare itself)
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To: JoanSmith

Very true.


26 posted on 10/05/2021 7:36:46 AM PDT by Bigg Red (Trump will be sworn in under a shower of confetti made from the tattered remains of the Rat Party.)
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To: PGR88

Hef was a creep, strolling around in a robe and diapers, just like Josef Stolen, ironically.


27 posted on 10/05/2021 7:37:55 AM PDT by alstewartfan ("She looks like she's 19 years old, sitting there like a lady with her legs crossed." Creepy Joe)
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Gay dude in a bunny suit is almost as bad as morbidly obese chicks on the sports illustrated swimsuit issue


28 posted on 10/05/2021 7:40:26 AM PDT by dsrtsage ( Complexity is just simple lacking imaginationd)
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To: Kaslin

I wonder if someone is paying media to promote perversion and falsehood …

Example Drudge was paid by someone or group to use his website during the 2020 election.

Sports Illustrated featured a tranny. Now playboy.

Clearly against the target market they have.

But if someone offered you $500 to feature this crap on the iconic cover, complete with iconic ears and tail, it makes one wonder what else is happening.


29 posted on 10/05/2021 7:41:42 AM PDT by aMorePerfectUnion (Fraud vitiates everything ᡕᠵ᠊ᡃ࡚ࠢ࠘ ⸝່ࠡࠣ᠊߯᠆ࠣ࠘ᡁࠣ࠘᠊᠊ࠢ࠘𐡏⁻ )
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To: aMorePerfectUnion

Correction: $500–> $500 million


30 posted on 10/05/2021 7:42:23 AM PDT by aMorePerfectUnion (Fraud vitiates everything ᡕᠵ᠊ᡃ࡚ࠢ࠘ ⸝່ࠡࠣ᠊߯᠆ࠣ࠘ᡁࠣ࠘᠊᠊ࠢ࠘𐡏⁻ )
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To: ClearCase_guy
If single people all took a pill that removed sexual desire, and then, after getting married to a suitable partner, if they stopped taking that pill, and discovered a wonderful, magical world within the confines of a committed marriage, wouldn’t that be nice?

Interesting concept, if accompanied with a pill that extended middle age.

31 posted on 10/05/2021 7:43:33 AM PDT by frog in a pot (Helping a tyrant's nation prosper can only make sense after the tyrant is removed. [See Afghanistan])
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To: circlecity

Bingo. And when it didn’t produce better sales they reversed the decision. Pretty obvious.

The culture Hef created eventually killed his own baby.


32 posted on 10/05/2021 7:51:36 AM PDT by Beowulf9
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To: Kaslin

Porn addiction and homosexuality both are symptoms of arrested psycho-sexual development. Real men don’t have time for them. Playboy was always gueer.


33 posted on 10/05/2021 8:13:24 AM PDT by Romulus
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To: bray

Playgirl was purchased by very few women.

Imagine the surprise of the more famous “models”.


34 posted on 10/05/2021 8:13:31 AM PDT by Salamander ("Salamander has barbaric tendencies" /Gundog)
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To: ClearCase_guy

Cheaper than a pill to remove sexual desire would be a screen saver with a photo of Hillary Clinton.


35 posted on 10/05/2021 8:14:00 AM PDT by Verginius Rufus
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To: Kaslin

This latest attempt to reboot Playboy and make it relevant will fail like all the others because the editors are too stupid and woke to understand what made it successful in the first place. Playbook had guts when it started and pushed against the social taboos of the time, they didn’t simply bend over and accept them.

If Playboy really wanted to save their brand they would return to the time in the ‘50s and ‘60s when “men were men and women were glad of it”. The whole premise of Playboy was to teach working class stiffs that if they made a lot of money, drank Chivas, wore Patek Phillipe watches, and dressed cool they could get even the most beautiful women in the world (i.e. Marilyn Monroe) to take off their clothes for them. It doesn’t have to be true, just useful to sell magazines. It also helped if they occasionally read something other than comic books.

If Playboy had anything left of their male anatomy they would go full retro and shock the woke world. What made Playboy successful was not competing with porn but with real societal taboos. They had the sense to sell working class stiffs enough to make them stiffer but no more.


36 posted on 10/05/2021 8:16:19 AM PDT by Dave Wright
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To: ClearCase_guy

I think decreasing the male sex drive would make the world fall apart faster.

Men without interest in women are destructive rather than creative and constructive.

I don’t want to live in a world where men are essentially feminized. No thank you.


37 posted on 10/05/2021 8:24:49 AM PDT by Valpal1
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To: Scarlett156

auto correct?


38 posted on 10/05/2021 8:53:02 AM PDT by LibertyWoman (Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil... Isaiah 5:20)
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To: ClearCase_guy

“The sexual revolution was largely driven by The Pill.”

Not sure on this. I believe it was driven by the removal of religious respect when the schools took out prayer so the kids could be exposed to it. And then things like Woodstock, and places like Haight-Ashbury and Venice Beach in California, Seattle, Washington and Portland, Oregon in the northwest, Delano South Beach, Florida, New York and New Orleans are hot spots for the “sexual revolution.”

But the pill was just a tool. And it wasn’t effective as more and more women out of wedlock were getting pregnant, many unwanted, although it has lessoned over the last few years. And there are numerous forms of birth control now avaialble with even young women as early as age 13 can now independently make decisions on their use.

So it isn’t the tool. It’s the user and the parents who should be teaching children more about sexual decisions and not letting the same people that think they are tasked with this along with their decision to pass out condoms to everyone even into grammar schools and as young as 5th grade students, roughly 10 years old.

https://chicago.suntimes.com/education/2021/7/6/22561482/cps-free-condoms-public-sexual-education-sex-ed-curriculum-schools-tampons

wy69


39 posted on 10/05/2021 9:54:16 AM PDT by whitney69
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To: ClearCase_guy
Why doesn’t science ever try to make something so that people could have less sex?

Let me tell you about my prostate cancer medicine...

40 posted on 10/05/2021 2:18:28 PM PDT by Elsie (Heck is where people, who don't believe in Gosh, think they are not going...)
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