Tuesday, October 31, 2017

Hugh Hefner's Ghost

They say Hugh Hefner never dies. But it happened this month. His controversial magazine, Playboy, included nude women, beautiful bachelor pads, and social commentary. The Playboy bunny became an American icon. The controversy, of course, was whether Playboy glorified the body ( a la Renaissance ) or objectified women. "Liberated women" could take the former view, but pantsuit feminists took the latter opinion, and posters, calendarsa and magazines were removed from white and blue collar workplaces alike.

Context mattered, and Playboy sold itself as a classy publication. If Playboy was a high-minded ideal, 25-cent peep shows were the crude, ugly bastardization of the beautiful body. Times Square, New York, was the epoch of sleaze, and Mayor Giuliani's cleaning up the city meant shutting down those venues. The twinning of public sexuality and mid century urban physical decay must've made sense in the mind of the Moral Majority. In Hugh Hefner's final year, Playboy removed the nudity to appeal to a wider audience. It is a paradox how in some ways, America has become more sexually liberated, like greater acceptance of LGBTs;  but has become constrained, such as the undergrounding of nudity to the internet, and the rise of MGTOW online forums fomenting resentment for the other gender.

Happy Halloween!

No comments: