Sunday 25 October 2015

Sexual Sunday: Playboy Against Womens Bodies?



If your new round these parts then you mightn't know that Sunday is the day of rest and also a perfect excuse for sex or some sexy reading - or both, you lucky ducks! Sometimes I like to review sex toy shops and other times I just ramble on about anal or casual dating. Today its all about Playboy, enjoy!

Not so long ago headlines like 'Nudes are old news at Playboy' will have been plastered all over the place and it was hard to miss. One of the most iconic 'sexy' brands are going to be giving up what they are most well known for, nudity. Why you might ask, well because of the internet of course. There is nothing you can in a magazine that you can't get more of - and in more depth or extreme ways, then online. Playboy has seen a massive decrease in the amount of magazines its selling monthly and they are looking for ways to boost sales. Love it or hate it, Playboy has been around since 1953 with Marilyn Monroe on the very first cover, and it seems like its not going anywhere any time soon.

With the website being made safe for work since 2012 they have a seen a huge increase of traffic and hope that this will continue to happen, along with the magazine. Some of the other notable changes will include a sex positive female who will write the Mr Jones sex column and the target audience will be young employed men. Leaving aside the 'sex positive female' for a second, lets just focus on the lack of nudity. Or should I say, 'what about the tits!?' as a lot of people commenting on the articles and news stories discussing this.

Personally I don't really have a problem with Playboy as a magazine. Along with it publishing interviews with people such as Jimmy Carter, Malcolm X and Valdimir Nabokov, it was one of a kind when it began and its played some part in bringing women who have been on the pages since more fame. It was one of the first notable magazines to publish a cover with an African American woman on the cover (Darine Stern) which helped to shift peoples ideas of beauty. It had featured two other African American Playmates by the time, but Naked African Americans were only published in magazines produced for and targeted at the black community. I'm not suggesting that I have an entirely positive stance on it however as it does objectify women and if your to believe all the things that are said to have gone on in the Playboy Mansion, then it could be indeed a very negative and scary brand to be involved with and give your money to. 

Back to the 'sex positive female' who will now write the Mr Jones articles for a minute, Its sad that it must be stated the person who is writing will be positive about sex. I haven't ever seen the same statement made when men write for it. I'm not having a big feminist rant here, don't get me wrong, I'm just doing my regular rolling of the eyes at how crappy people still are.

I feel that it could all be a PR stunt to get people talking about Playboy again and have it on the map, So far they have certainly succeeded in getting the brand onto every paper, site and social media platform, even with the meme of 'I only read it for the articles'. Now that 'all' that will be left are the articles, I wonder how long it will be before we see models strip again for the cause. Playboy has said that while there will still be women posing and center folds, it will be tasteful and artful. The covers are said to echo this too, as studies done showed younger people to 'like art' as Cory Jones, who is chief content officer of the magazine, was quoted on. 

I might be majorly in the wrong for saying this, but when you take the sex appeal out of a well known sexy magazine, your not left with a lot. Those who have bought it for the purpose of seeing nudes will doubtfully now buy it for the editorial content and the artistic photography, when they can get what was denied to them for free online and in greater quantities. It will be really interesting to see how this develops and what Playboys annual figures are once nudity is taken away from March 2016. I know personally I'll get the last nudity copy and then the next issue, just to compare.

So, is it good or bad that nudity is soon gone from Playboy? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

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