Playboy Remove Naked Photos Of Women From Magazine, But 'It's Not A Victory For Women'

Playboy Removal Of Naked Models 'Is Not A Victory For Women'
|

Playboy made history on Monday when it announced it will be removing images of naked women from its print magazine.

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.

In an interview with the New York Times, Playboy's chief executive Scott Flanders says that featuring naked women is "passé" because of the accessibility of pornography.

"You're now one click away from every sex act imaginable for free," Flanders said. "It's just passé at this juncture."

Open Image Modal

According to Flanders, Playboy founder Hugh Hefner, 89, agreed to the proposal to stop publishing images of naked women.

Meanwhile, chief content officer of Playboy magazine, Cory Jones, said: “Twelve-year-old me is very disappointed in current me. But it’s the right thing to do.”

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.

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

But the change "is not a victory for women", says Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett, journalist and co-founder of feminist blog The Vagenda.

"If anything it shows that the internet has taken over in the female objectification stakes, and it's much more difficult to hold the online world to account than it is mainstream media," she told HuffPost UK Lifestyle.

"The death of the lads' mag and page three has more to do with the availability of Internet porn than feminist gain, sadly."

She added: "I don't know what we can do about it, other than make sure we educate young people so that they're aware that porn is not real life and that women should be treated with respect. It's a depressing business."

Kat Lister, HuffPost UK blogger and journalist, agreed: "I would say, no, I don't think this is a 'victory'. I don't see how it could be really - it's hardly a decision that's been made to finally emancipate women. In fact, it has nothing to do with women and everything to do with business and their competitors.

"The objectification of women hasn't vanished, it's just gone online. Playboy might be covering up, but the internet certainly isn't."

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)
Open Image Modal
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)
Open Image Modal
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)
Open Image Modal
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)
Open Image Modal
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)
Open Image Modal
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)
Open Image Modal
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)