Well, geez - who could have predicted that the idea of “let’s take a decades-old American institution known for displaying photos of hot naked women and turn into progressive “publication” where we’ll stop with the hot naked women and instead give our consumers transgender models and Lizzo” wouldn’t be a rousing success ?
Playboy is going back to basics following a woke rebrand that almost tanked the iconic brand for good.
Not only has Playboy brought back its print magazine after a five-year hiatus, it’s also reversed its prior ban on nudity after nixing its signature T&A spreads during the #MeToo movement.
Playboy’s return to racy content and traditional beauty standards is a far cry from where the publication was just a few years ago.
In 2017, just one month after the death of Playboy’s founder and editor-in-chief Hugh Hefner, the magazine featured its first transgender Playmate with French model Ines Rau gracing the pages.
Discussing the bold decision to include transgender women in Playboy after 64 years of biological females, Hefner’s son Cooper, then 26, said at the time, ‘It’s the right thing to do. We’re at a moment where gender roles are evolving.’
Cooper eventually left the company in 2019 and an editorial team of two women and a gay man, all under the age of 32, took over the magazine with a mission to make Playboy more progressive.
I remember a time when I was in high school. Following my afternoon newspaper delivery (I delivered the local paper twice a day), I would sometimes stop at the corner store to peruse the adult magazines. Playboy was my favorite. That was before adult magazines were hidden behind the cashier counter.
I wasn’t embarrassed in the least as I flipped through the pages looking for nude females. Raging adolescent hormones.
As an adult, I had a long-time prescription to Playboy. My wife enjoyed the magazine as much as I did.
But that was a whole lifetime ago.
When they decided to go WOKE, I thought they were making a big mistake. I’m glad to see they are going back to basics. As to a Transgender centerfold, I can’t comprehend anyone being even remotely interested. What were they thinking?
