AMBER BATURA
LUBBOCK, Tex. — In December 1953, the inaugural issue of
Playboy magazine hit newsstands without a date. Hugh Hefner, its creator, was
unsure whether it would be a success and have a future, so by withholding the
date he hoped he could continue to sell that issue until he sold out of that
first run.
Mr. Hefner, who died
on Wednesday at 91, had nothing to worry about.
In its prime, the magazine ranked among America’s
top-selling publications, alongside Life and Time, sometimes beating their
subscription rates. The magazine, intended for men, quickly transcended Mr.
Hefner’s target audience, with a subscriber base that cut across gender, race,
class and ideology.
Today it’s easy to write off Playboy, and Mr. Hefner, as the
last remnants of a more sexist age. But seen from the perspective of the 1950s
and ’60s, they were progressive icons — not just in the libertine styles they
promoted, but in the causes that they featured. The magazine became central to
what it meant to be a modern man.
The masculine ideal of the era was narrowly defined: aloof,
outdoorsy, a breadwinner, “manly.” Showing too much of an interest in culture,
fine food or travel was anathema. Mr. Hefner felt trapped by conformity and
designed a magazine that promoted a very different idea of what made an
individual a “man” through its features and advice on clothing, food, alcohol
selections, art, music and literature. Though it quickly became a cliché, many
male readers really did “read it for the articles,” telling surveys that they
enjoyed features on the ideal bachelor pad even more than the centerfold.
Of course, Playboy was never just about the articles. From
the beginning, its goal was to combine and appeal to men’s entire range of
interests — the intellectual, the entertaining and the erotic. Hence the
Playboy Playmate, which Mr. Hefner modeled after Esquire’s Vargas Girls,
popular among servicemen during World War II. Women in the magazine, he said,
were intended more as the girl next door than as sex objects.
Still, the fact that they were often topless (full nudity
didn’t appear until 1972) brought criticism that Mr. Hefner objectified women;
promoted an unrealistic standard of female beauty; and promulgated the idea
that women should be subservient playmates for the modern man. To Mr. Hefner,
women were simply one of the interests of most heterosexual men. The magazine
featured discussions of equal rights, contraception and reproductive choice.
Mr. Hefner never saw that as a contradiction.
As the magazine’s editorial style evolved, Mr. Hefner and
his editors delved more into politics and current events. By the 1960s, he was
writing a frequent installment, “The Playboy Philosophy,” in which he addressed
topics like the First Amendment and sexual mores. He advocated gay rights. He
pushed for women’s access to birth control and abortion. He discussed
censorship as well as what constituted “obscene” in the United States, and he
promoted the free exchange of thoughts and ideas.
And readers responded. So many wrote in that the magazine
created “The Playboy Forum,” where it published readers’ letters discussing the
content of the “Philosophy.” Playboy became more than just a magazine, but a
place that facilitated dialogue among a wide variety of readers: Men, women,
veterans, draft dodgers, congressmen and clergy all wrote into the Forum.
Mr. Hefner went beyond the pages of Playboy to spread his
message. He created the Playboy Club franchise to bring the atmosphere of the
magazine to life for its readers. They could buy good food, good liquor and
good entertainment.
He integrated his staff and membership; he hired men and
women of all races, and often provided black comedians and musicians their
first chances to perform in front of white audiences. When a New Orleans and
Miami club owner segregated the membership, Mr. Hefner bought those franchises
back. The clubs provided female employees with tuition reimbursement and encouraged
them to attend college.
Mr. Hefner also set up the Playboy Foundation, which
supported First Amendment rights, often contributing to defendants in
free-speech cases. The foundation went on to support other works, including
research on post-traumatic stress disorder, commissions on Agent Orange and
programs and organizations for veterans.
Those latter causes were no coincidence: Playboy played a
major role in the American war in Vietnam. For hundreds of thousands of young
men “in country” — their average age was 19 — the magazine made them feel as if
they were back home. The centerfold pages hung on tent flaps and office walls,
and could be found stashed in pockets, helmets and packs. The interest went
beyond the women: Young soldiers eagerly perused the glossy advertisements for
the latest stereos, cars and fashion, which they could buy at one of the
mall-like PXs on the military’s sprawling bases (yes, even cars, which the
government would ship home). It acted as a how-to guide for consumption and consumerism
for many young men who had never had disposable income before.
Articles and interviews in the magazine were some of their
only sources of real news about the growing antiwar and counterculture
movements stateside. They went beyond the headlines, too, discussing and
critiquing strategy, the draft and the politicians who moved the chess pieces.
But the magazine also remained supportive of the men fighting the war.
Countless letters from servicemen to the magazine, now stored in the Playboy
archives, reveal how much the magazine lifted morale, how it brought a welcome
respite from the boredom, terror and chaos they endured on a daily basis.
While the magazine deserved criticism, its evolution
reflected changing norms and values in American society.
In August 1967, a soldier named Donald Iasillo wrote to
Playboy thanking the magazine for literally saving his life. An issue folded in
his chest pocket had prevented a bullet from entering his heart. “Usually for
reasons other than its value as armor plate, Playboy is by far the biggest
morale booster in Vietnam,” he wrote. “For this, we all thank
you.”
Amber Batura is a doctoral candidate in history at
Texas Tech University.
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De THE NEW YORK TIMES, 29/09/2017
Fotografía: Dan Mouer in Vietnam in 1966. The magazine was sent by his wife, along with a batch of chocolate chip cookies.
Fotografía: Dan Mouer in Vietnam in 1966. The magazine was sent by his wife, along with a batch of chocolate chip cookies.
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