Playboy
Playboy is an
American adult entertainment magazine, founded in
1953 by
Hugh Hefner and his associates, which has grown into
Playboy Enterprises, Inc., reaching into every form of media.
Playboy is one of the world's best known
brands. In addition to the flagship magazine in the
United States, special
nation-specific versions of
Playboy are published worldwide.
The magazine is published monthly and features
photographs of
nude women, along with various articles on fashion, sports, consumer goods, and public figures. It also has short fiction by top literary writers, such as
Arthur C. Clarke,
Ian Fleming,
Vladmir Nabokov, and
Margaret Atwood. The magazine has been known to express liberal opinions on most major political issues.
Playboy's use of "tasteful" nude photos is often classified as "
softcore" in contrast to the more "
hardcore"
pornographic magazines that started to appear in the 1970s in response to the success of
Playboy's more explicit rival,
Penthouse.
 |
The first issue of Playboy. |
Playboy's original title was to be "Stag Party," but an unrelated outdoor magazine,
Stag, contacted Hefner and informed him that they would legally protect their
trademark if he were to launch his magazine with that name. Hefner and co-founder and executive vice president Eldon Sellers met to discuss the problem and to seek a new name. Sellers, whose mother had worked for the short-lived Playboy Automobile Company in Chicago, suggested the name "Playboy".
The first issue, published in December 1953, did not carry a date, as Hefner was unsure whether there would be a second issue. The first centerfold was
Marilyn Monroe, although the picture used had originally been taken for a calendar, rather than for
Playboy. The first issue was an immediate sensation; it sold out within a matter of weeks. Known circulation was 53,991 (Source: Playboy Collector's Association Playboy Magazine Price Guide). The cover price was 50¢. Copies of the first issue in Mint to Near Mint condition fetched over $5,000 in
2002.
The famous logo, depicting the stylized profile of a
rabbit wearing a
tuxedo bow tie, was designed by art designer
Art Paul for the magazine's second issue and has appeared on every issue since; a running joke in the magazine involves hiding the logo somewhere in the cover art or photograph. Hefner said that he chose the rabbit as a mascot for its "humorous
sexual connotation", and because the image was "frisky and playful".
An urban legend started about Hefner and the Playmates of the Month because of markings on the front covers of the magazine. From 1955 to 1979 (except for a six month gap in 1976), the "P" in
Playboy had a number of stars printed in or around the letter. The legend stated that this was either a rating that Hefner gave to the Playmate according to how attractive she was, the number of times that Hefner had slept with her, or how good she was in bed. The stars, which ranged in number between zero and twelve, actually indicated the domestic or international advertising region for that printing.
Since reaching its peak in the 1970s,
Playboy has seen a decline in circulation and cultural relevance because of increased competition in the field it founded — first from
Penthouse,
Oui, and
Gallery in the 1970s; later from pornographic
videos; and more recently from
lad mags such as
Maxim,
FHM, and
Stuff. In response Playboy has attempted to re-assert its hold on the 18–35 male demographic it once controlled through slight changes to its content and focusing on issues and personalities more appropriate to its audience—such as hip-hop artists being featured in the Playboy Interview.
Christie Hefner, a daughter of Hugh Hefner, became the
CEO of Playboy in 1988 and is now also the Chairman of the Board.
The magazine celebrated its 50th Anniversary with the January 2004 issue. Celebrations were held at
Las Vegas,
Los Angeles,
New York, and
Moscow during the year to commemorate this event.
The best-selling
Playboy edition was the November 1972 edition, which sold 7,161,561 copies. One-quarter (1/4) of all American college men were buying the magazine every month. [
1]
Perhaps coincidentally, a cropped image of the issue's centerfold (which featured
Lena Soderberg) became a
standard image for testing image processing algorithms. It is known simply as the "
Lenna" (also "Lena") image in that field.[
2]
Today,
Playboy is still the largest selling
men's magazine selling about three million copies a month in the U.S.[
3]
In many parts of
Asia, including
China,
Myanmar,
Malaysia,
Thailand,
Taiwan,
Singapore, and
Brunei, the sale and distribution of
Playboy is banned. In addition, its sale and distribution is banned in almost all Muslim countries in
Asia and
Africa, such as
Saudi Arabia and
Pakistan. However, it is sold in
Hong Kong. In
Japan, where the genitals of models cannot be shown, a separate edition of
Playboy is published under license by
Shueisha.
An
Indonesian Edition of
Playboy launched in April 2006 but the controversy started before the first issue was published. Even the publisher said that the content of the Indonesian edition will be different from the original edition but the government was trying hard to ban it by using pornographic rules since the Indonesian government can't ban any media. A local
Muslim Organization, the Islamic Defenders Front (IDF), is also opposed to
Playboy being published on the grounds that it is pornography. On April 12 a group of about 150 IDF members clashed with police and stoned the editorial offices of the magazine. Despite this controversy, the edition quickly sold out.
In 1986, the American
convenience store chain
7-Eleven removed the magazine from its stores. The store returned
Playboy to its shelves in late 2003.
In book stores throughout the world it is common for
Playboy, as well as other adult publications, to be put on a higher shelf than other magazines thus keeping them out of the reach of children.
Playboy was not sold in the State of
Queensland,
Australia during 2004 and 2005 but has returned as of 2006. Furthermore, due to declining sales, the last edition of
Australian Playboy published was the January 2000 issue.
On the
January 14,
2004, the
Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that Playboy Enterprises Inc.'s (PEI)
trademark terms "Playboy" and "Playmate" should be protected even in Internet searches that prompt
pop-up advertisements. The suit originally started on
April 15,
1999, when Playboy sued
Excite Inc. and
Netscape for trademark infringement.
Many notable photographers have contributed erotic work to
Playboy, including
Stephen Wayda,
Arny Freytag,
Ron Harris,
David Mecey,
Bunny Yeager,
Russ Meyer,
Pompeo Posar, and
Richard Fegley.
Playmate of the Month Modeling Payouts
| Year | Amount |
|---|
| 1959â€"1960 | $500 |
| 1961â€"1965 | $1,000 |
| 1966â€"1967 | $2,500 |
| 1968â€"1969 | $3,000 |
| 1970â€"1977 | $5,000 |
| 1978â€"1983 | $10,000 |
| 1984â€"1989 | $15,000 |
| 1990â€"199? | $20,000 |
| 199?â€"today | $25,000 |
Playmate of the Year Modeling Payouts| Year | Amount |
|---|
| 1960â€"1963 | $500 plus $250 bonus |
| 1982â€"today | $100,000, an automobile, and a motorbike. |
During the 1960s and 1970s all PMOY's received pink automobiles, the hue of pink used was known as “Playmate Pink”, the same shade as awarded to
Mary Kay's independent sales force, a frequent source of confusion.
There is some controversy over
airbrushing (or, in recent times,
Photoshopping) that is done on the photos featured in the magazine. Some readers say that this kind of photo-editing takes away from authenticity and makes photographs look unnatural.
One example was the case of
Pamela Anderson and the "disappearing labia". In Pamela's original
Playboy appearance in the issue of February 1990, there was a rear-view photo with her legs slightly apart and her
labia minora plainly visible. In reprints in later "Newsstand Specials" as well as a poster-sized print, Pamela had been "defeminized," this area having been painted over in the color of the object in front of which she was standing.
Similarly, in
Rena Mero's ("Sable") first
Playboy shoot, one photo of Mero lying on her back was edited to add extra pubic hair over her genitalia. However, in the 50th Anniversary issue, this picture was printed in its original, unedited state.
Rival adult magazine
Hustler and owner
Larry Flynt has often been critical of
Playboy and their airbrushing. This has often led
Hustler to promote the fact (and to make fun) that their nude pictorials are never airbrushed and are completely natural.
*First issue with
Leroy Neiman's Femlin: August 1955
*First issue with a
Vargas girl: March 1957
*First issue with
Ian Fleming story: March 1960
*First issue with Playboy Advisor column: September 1960
*First issue with Playboy Interview: September 1962 (with
Miles Davis)
*First issue with a man on the cover: April 1964 (
Peter Sellers)
*First issue to show female
pubic hair: August 1969 (dancer
Paula Kelly)
*First issue with identical twins in centerfold: October 1970 - (
Mary and
Madeleine Collinson)
*First issue with a Playmate showing pubic hair: January 1971 (
Liv Lindeland)
*First issue with a double sided centerfold (the reverse side was a rear view). January 1974 (
Nancy Cameron)
*First issue with signed centerfold: October 1975
*First issue with Playmate data sheet: July 1977
*First issue without staple in the centerfold: October 1985
*First national magazine with Web site: August 1994
*First issue with identical triplets in the centerfold,
The Dahm Triplets: December, 1998
*First issue with a Playmate without any pubic hair: September 2001 (
Dalene Kurtis)
For a full listing, please see:
*List of people in Playboy 1953-1959, 1960-1969, 1970-1979, 1980-1989, 1990-1999, 2000-Present
Many celebrities (singers, actresses, models, etc.) have posed for Playboy'' over the years. This list is only a small portion of those who have posed. Some of them are:
(starting at the accompanying date, or during the accompanying date range)
*
Argentina (1985â€"1995, 2006â€")
*
Australia (1979â€"2000)
*
Brazil (1975â€") â€" see
specific article*
Bulgaria (2002â€")
*
Croatia (1997â€")
*
Czech Republic (1991â€")
*
France (1973â€")
*
Germany (1972â€")
*
Greece (1985â€")
*
Hong Kong (1986â€"1993)
*
Hungary (1989â€"1993, 1999â€")
*
Indonesia (2006â€")
*
Italy (1972â€"2003)
*
Japan (1975â€")
*
Mexico (1976â€"1998, 2002â€")
*
The Netherlands (1983â€")
*
Norway (1998â€"1999)
*
Poland (1992â€")
*
Romania (1999â€")
*
Russia (1995â€")
*
Serbia (2004â€")
*
Slovakia (1997â€"2002, 2005â€")
*
Slovenia (2001â€")
*
South Africa (1993â€"1996)
*
Spain (1978â€")
*
Sweden (1998â€"1999)
*
Taiwan (1990â€"2003)
*
Turkey (1986â€"1995)
*
Ukraine (2005â€")
The success of
Playboy magazine has led PEI to market other versions of the magazine, the
Special Editions[
4] (formerly called News Stand Specials), such as
Playboy's College Girls[
5] and
Playboy's Book of Lingerie, as well as the
Playboy video collection.
The growth of the
Internet prompted the magazine to develop an official web presence called Playboy Online or Playboy.com, which is the official website for
Playboy Enterprises, and an online companion to
Playboy Magazine. The site has been available online since
1994. [
6]. As part of the online presence, Playboy developed a pay web site called the
Playboy Cyber Club in 1995 which features online chats, additional pictorials & videos of
Playmates and Playboy Cyber Girls that are not featured in the magazine, as well as archives of past
Playboy articles and interviews. In September 2005,
Playboy launched the online edition of the magazine
Playboy Digital.
The
National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS) has published a
Braille edition of
Playboy since 1970[
7]. The Braille version includes all the written words in the non-Braille magazine, but no pictorial representations. Congress cut off funding for the Braille magazine translation in 1985, but U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Hogan reversed the decision on First Amendment grounds[
8].
*
List of men's magazines*
List of people in Playboy 1953-1959*
List of people in Playboy 1960-1969*
List of people in Playboy 1970-1979*
List of people in Playboy 1980-1989*
List of people in Playboy 1990-1999*
List of people in Playboy 1990-1999 by birthplace*
List of people in Playboy 2000-present*
Dead Playboy Playmates*
The Playboy Mansion*
Playboy Club*
Playboy on Campus*
Playmate*
Playboy Dolls*
Playboy Videos*
Playboy Enterprises*
Playboy's Book of Forbidden Words*
Pubic WarsGeneral compilations
* Hugh M. Hefner, editor. The Bedside Playboy. Chicago: Playboy Press, 1963.
;Anniversary collections
* Gretchen Edgren, editor. The Playboy Book: Forty Years. Santa Monica, California: General Publishing Group, 1994, ISBN 1881649032
* Playboy: 50 Years, The Photographs. San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 2003, ISBN 0811839788
* Hugh M. Hefner, editor; Michelle Urry, cartoon editor. Playboy: 50 Years, The Cartoons. San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 2004. ISBN 0811839761
* Gretchen Edgren, editor. The Playboy Book: Fifty Years. Taschen, 1995. ISBN 3822839760
;Interview compilations
* G. Barry Golson, editor. The Playboy Interview. New York: Playboy Press, 1981. ISBN 0872236684 (hardcover), ISBN 0872236447 (softcover)
* G. Barry Golson, editor. The Playboy Interview Volume II. New York: Wideview/Perigee, 1983. ISBN 039950768X (hardcover), ISBN 039950769 (softcover)
* David Sheff, interviewer; G. Barry Golson, editor. The Playboy Interviews with John Lennon and Yoko Ono. New York: Playboy Press, 1981, ISBN 0872237052; 2000 edition, ISBN 0312254644:
Note that the following sites may contain content of an adult nature, including nudity.;Official
*
Playboy.com *
Playboy UK*
Playboy Enterprises Inc. (Corporate website)
*
Playboy Cyber Club *
Affiliate Programme for webmasters ;Regional
*
Playboy Germany *
Playboy Brazil*
Playboy Netherlands *
Playboy Mexico *
Playboy France *
Playboy Japan *
Playboy Romania *
Playboy Slovenia ;Other
*
Playboy Covers of the World— Thousands of Playboy covers from all past and present editions worldwide.
*Crossett, Andrew,
"Index: The Women of Playboy â€" 1967–2004", 2004.
*
Playmate database at the University of Chicago*
Index: Interviews conducted 1961–1996*
A full listing of the Playboy Interview subjects and their interviewers*
"Play Orc" - humorous parody of Playboy
*
Playboylive.com 
