Revamped Playboy Magazine Will Help 'Understanding Of Sex Between Men And Women', Says CEO

Playboy CEO: Revamped Magazine Will Help 'Understanding Of Sex Between Men And Women'
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Playboy made history last month when it announced it would be removing images of naked women from its print magazine.

The company's CEO, Scott Flanders, said at the time that featuring naked women is "passé" because of the accessibility of pornography.

Now, he's taken things a step further, claiming that the new direction of Playboy magazine could "bridge the gap" in the "understanding" of sex between men and women.

"My personal view is that unfortunately availability of porn in some cases has substituted for intimacy in personal relationships," Flanders told CNN Money.

"And that is unfortunate and Playboy would like to be a bridge in the gap between sex, and understanding of sex between men and women."

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But how it plans to do this isn't overly clear, we'll have to wait until March 2016, when the new magazine style is rolled out, to see.

The magazine, which was first published in 1953, has featured naked women throughout its 62-year history. But from March 2016, while it will continue to feature women in provocative poses, the nudes will be no more.

The relaunched magazine will also feature a new "sex-positive female" columnist and it is unsure as to whether it will retain centrefolds.

This isn't the first step towards non-nudes for Playboy. Last year the brand launched a safe-for-work website when it stopped posting nude photos online and they claim the change saw an increase of 12 million monthly visitors.

Playboy's current print circulation is currently about 800,000, which significantly less than the 5.6 million it had in 1975. So many are assuming this is a bid to boost sales.

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Speaking to CNN Money, Flanders certainly thinks this move will bring in more advertisers.

"We've had brands talking to us and wanting to be in the March issue that haven't advertised in Playboy for more than 20 years," he said.

Speaking to HuffPost UK Lifestyle last month, artist and campaigner Sam Roddick says she is interested to see what Playboy does next.

"Playboy was birthed at time when misogyny was virtually unquestioned," she added. "Although it was boldly sexist, it was sexually creative and also strangely empowering for women who were otherwise trapped in the 1950s / 60s.

"I think it is interesting that the magazine that once was so cutting edge in pushing social boundaries has reclaimed that space saying they want to do something different," she told HuffPost UK Lifestyle. "They haven't really had much to offer since the 1980, so I'm interested to see what they feel is relevant and I am curious to see how they execute it.

"So I say let's watch that space and be prepared to be surprised or very disappointed."

The Death Of Lads Mags In 6 Stages
Online porn(01 of06)
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70% of men and 30% of women watch porn online every week, according to research from the porn website Paint Bottle in 2013. You can watch porn online, for free, whenever you like. (And people really do seem to watch really does seem to be 'whenever you like' - the same research claimed that two out of 3 HR professionals had found porn on employees computers).

Why would you spend the money, and risk the embarrassment, of buying a magazine with provocative ladies in a newsagent?.
(credit:scyther5 via Getty Images)
Supermarkets went to war with lads mags(02 of06)
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After campaigns from groups representing parents, supermarkets started demanding that lads mags, or magazines with provocative covers, be concealed by "modesty bags" from 2013. Whether they resisted and pulled their magazines out of supermarkets altogether, or agreed and had their front pages concealed, this was not good news for sales. (credit:Press Association)
The rise of other options(03 of06)
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Perhaps following the continued rise of the 'metrosexual' since the mid 90s, subjects like fashion, grooming, health, technology have become acceptable and popular topics for men to read about, and made lads mags less attractive. Free titles like Shortlist, and men's monthly magazines like Esquire, Wired and GQ, focus on topics other than women - they even have men on the cover. (credit:Shortlist)
The feminist wave(04 of06)
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The rise of popular feminism in the 2000s has seen campaigns and public criticism of how women are presented in the media, putting pressure on supermarkets, newsagents and media owners to shun images that value females only for their bodies. (credit:LEON NEAL via Getty Images)
No more Page 3(05 of06)
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After years of high profile campaigning by No More Page 3 and other groups, The Sun appeared to drop its iconic nude models earlier this year. As Britain's best-selling newspaper, which shifts 1.8 million copies an issue, this was a huge statement about the shifting tastes of the public. (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
The demise of print generally(06 of06)
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Print magazines, like newspapers, have seen falling sales for more than a decade, as the internet means so many interests can be catered to faster, more frequently, and for free. Lads mags have perhaps taken a more savage beating than some, but they follow the wider trend which is leading to a smaller, more niche offering of magazines on our shelves, and far more online-only titles. (credit:Joe Fox via Getty Images)