In a bizarre change of pace, Playboy Magazine, the infamous female nudity and sexuality magazine, has decided to stop publishing female nude bodies.
The change had us at the Editorial Board scratching our heads.
We have long promoted female sexual empowerment and female equality, and so we are in full support of Playboy’s decision to downplay the objectification of women, but such a sudden and complete 180 degree switch was somewhat unexpected.
The company’s chief executive, Scott Flanders, told the New York Times that the reason for the switch was relatively simple.
“You’re now one click away from every sex act imaginable for free,” said Flanders. “And so it’s just passé at this juncture.”
Well, all right then.
With that in mind, we have to wonder if Playboy’s brand switch has less to do with female empowerment and more to do with keeping the magazine relevant and increasing readership.
Essentially, this switch isn’t about starting a conversation about the objectification of women; rather, it’s just about making a buck.
With the Internet now providing what Playboy used to — the naked female body — the magazine’s continued use of nude models is now entirely redundant.
What the magazine first pioneered might just be its eventual downfall.
How the tables have turned.
We have to wonder if nixing nudity really means a total brand switch, and we don’t think it does.
If Playboy really were planning to be consistent with this change, it would shut down the Playboy Bunny program, revamp the structure of their club circuit and start serious discussions about the danger of pornography and the porn industry for its female participants and the need to protect sex workers.
As far as we can see, the company is simply out to capitalize on sex, as they always have been.
And while it’s ironic that the new way to do so in the digital age is to downplay nudity, we still don’t see a fundamental brand switch.
Nor do we hear productive conversations about how Playboy’s existence has, at the end of the day, done more harm for women than good.
But we hope a cleaner Playboy might start a positive trend in the portrayal of women’s bodies in mainstream media.
So, while we recognize a need to criticize the magazine’s decision, we hope that this might lead to long-term positive change.
At least it will make the editorials easier to read.
