I'm not terribly surprised that Playboy is going to cease showing nude women in the magazine. It's been several years since I've looked at a Playboy (or a Penthouse) but when I last looked, I noticed both had become more like the MAXIM- type men's magazines of the time that had scantily clad pretty girls instead of nudes and more of a factoid approach to journalism that was akin to PEOPLE magazine rather than the literature that Playboy (at least) was known for. Yes, there really were articles to read and most were quite good.
The late Bob Guccione, who founded Penthouse changed the format of his magazine when he saw the writing on the wall that was internet pornography. Penthouse had always been pussy-centric and was the first mainstream men's magazine to show pubic hair, erections and then penetration- the natural order of things. Guccione realized a long time ago that people would opt for the free, unlimited porn of the burgeoning internet rather than spend several dollars a month on his magazine. He retooled, keeping the nudity while dropping the hardcore sex. Penthouse became MAXIM but with nudity, probably about the same time Playboy did.
I have long considered Playboy to be for arrested adolescent, over-aged frat boy types anyway, what with it's emphasis on hedonistic pleasures. It was very Sublime in it's time, with tips on how to romance women, what vehicle to drive, what wine went with what dish, and yada yada. Don't get me wrong- it was a great find when I was a kid and very, very enjoyable but after college age you realized, Hefner was a silly old man hanging on to a past that really only existed in a James Bond film.
Within the last ten years Playboy followed the MAXIM trend of mctidbits of information but kept the good ol' tasteful nudity. In a way it tried to become something a young man could read after jerking off to midget porn on the internet.
But, magazines, like newspapers, are struggling in competition with the internet. Whether they feature nudity or not, it's hard for any media to compete with the immediacy of the internet and it's only getting harder.
I don't really get how dropping nudity will help or even save the magazine. Evidently MAXIM is still popular with a circulation of 2 million readers each month. Playboy is down to around 800,000. When this Ferrerman was in high school, they were talking 5 million. MAXIM is not a feminist magazine and young men aren't flocking to it rather than Playboy because they'd rather imagine the models naked. The only thing I can think of is that Playboy has long since shown it's age. It's not just your father's nudie mag, it's grampa's! There's no changing that. Dressing it up is not going to help, Hef.
4 comments:
Hey there Ferrerman - so do you know who this Prohaireisis is? I saw your BUSTED comment - can you comment back with his/her name?
As far as being back - I can't get involved with the DondoDork, HarleyHoney and Laura B drama. I wouldn't be friends with any of them in real life. They crave drama and I suspect don't let stuff go because it feeds what they love most - say it with me - DRAMA. lol.
Thanks Ferrerman. And no Thanks on the Pumpkin Spice.
Funny after our talk about the Objectification of women that I am posting on a, "No Nudes is Good News" post! The irony does not escape me.
Thanks for jumping in there - I don't usually get incensed about stuff but for some reason when Tally questioned the veracity of my statement I was angry. It's bad enough going through it but then a double whammy when someone doesn't believe it. By the time I graduated I figured it out. College was a rough time. I worked at what was called a, "Space and Astronomy Lab", that was linked to SUNY @ Albany. I also worked in an Accelerator Lab when I was there during one summer. I was used to working with guys that were bookworms - I was a geek too. I just didn't look like one. Typically, Scientists are so caught up in Cranial Pursuits that they think with their heads and not what's between their legs. I have a B.S. in Physics and Math and almost a M.S. in CIS - still working on it all these years later - it's on my bucket list now. My point is that I had no idea how to handle that stuff and it did bother me. There were also several men in managerial or Director positions that made huge passes at me. We're talking physically pushing themselves on me. I'm lucky that I never fell for that kind of thing. I had a professor drive me home from work one time and he had this bottle of white stuff hanging from his mirror and asked if I wanted to do any. I didn't know what it was and he told me Cocaine. I said, "No", and jumped out of the car. I think these men think because you're young you'll go along with it because they are in a position of power. The cat calls are just an extension of that. I had it coming from many directions. Older and wiser now - and happy that's behind me.
;-)
Leslie
There's no reason to mention Topix on a blog like this and you should be ashamed for doing so
What's a girl like you doing on a nice blog like this?
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