Playboy: 50 Years of Misogyny

There are already a lot of comments to this post, so I’ll keep this post available on lj.

“Playboy has the political role of developing the misogynist program that is then assimilated, one hand typing, into news journals left and right.” (Dworkin)

Here are some reasons to hate Playboy and its founder, Hugh Hefner:

Bestiality
In cartoons in Playboy, such as this one, men raping animals is presented as humorous: see http://www.nostatusquo.com/ACLU/PETA/xmas.html

Hugh Hefner himself is sexually “fascinated” by women being raped by animals both on and off the camera:

On this, see Linda Lovelace, Ordeal, specifically p. 194: “Then Hefner said that while he liked Deep Throat, he was more interested by the movie I’d made with a dog (forced sex by her batterer husband described on pages 105-113).
“Oh, you saw that one?” Chuck (her batterer husband) said. “Oh that was terrific,” Hefner said, “You know, we’ve tried that several times, tried to get a girl and a dog together, but it has never worked out.” “Yeah, that can be very tricky,” Chuck said, “the chick’s got to know what she’s doing.” “That’s something I’d like to see,” Hefner said, “I think I’ve seen every animal flick (sic) ever made but–” Then Chuck offers Linda as a “willing” participant. (Adams)

Child Sexual Abuse
Playboy, in both text and pictures, promotes the sexual abuse of children. For example, Playboy has run articles written by members of pedophile organizations, such as the North American Man-Boy Love Association and Uncommon Desires, for “man-girl sex enthusiasts.” One article even said that: “[t]he largest child-pornography ring in the United States is run by the Government. It is possible that without Uncle Sam, there would be no child-porn business.” (Lawrence Stanley; cited by Smith) Playboy also lets its readers know that women make up stories of child sexual abuse because they can’t deal with their own aggression. Playboy also advises its readers that “safe sex” with “…virgins or very young lovers…cut down your chances of being exposed to the virus.” (Smith)
Hugh has sex with and has photo-shoots with underage girls:

Dorothy Stratten, a Playboy centerfold…was tricked and intimidated into photo sessions by Snider, who then sold the photos and access to Dorothy herself to Hefner. Ms. Stratten said she was sexually molested by Hefner. After her death, Hefner was made aware that Ms. Stratten had hated the pornography made of her and had hated posing for it. He responded by issuing more videotapes of Ms. Stratten posing…The women used by Hefner personally and in the magazine are rarely much over eighteen. Ms. Stratten was underage when she was initially pimped to Hefner. (Dworkin and MacKinnon)

This exploitation is otherwise known as rape, statutory rape, child molestation, and child pornography.

Rape
Playboy also promotes the rape of women. The magazine characterizes rape victims as hysterical and competitive at best and outright liars and villainous “man haters” at worst. Asa Baber characterized feminists’ activism against rape as this: “The trend in this complicated arena of sexual politics is definitely against us, gentlemen [sic]. A lynch mob could be just outside your door.” (cited by Dworkin) It defines feminists’ definition of rape as giving “women a simple way of thinking about sex that externalizes guilt, remorse or conflict. Bad feeling’s after sex become someone else’s fault.” (cited by Dworkin) The message behind this is that women can’t face up to the fact that they had sex; that they run around screaming “Rape” because of bad sex (but if it was bad, it must be her fault), or just because they feel guilty (Puritanism is the root of all evil).
Hugh Hefner has also raped women. “For instance, Linda Marchiano…was pimped to Hefner by her then-husband, Chuck Traynor. Hefner sodomized her and tried to have her have intercourse with a dog.” (Dworkin and MacKinnon) This is also reported by Linda herself. See Ordeal and Out of Bondage by Linda Lovelace (the publisher lists the author as that. That was the name when her husband/pimp changed her name, to give her a “porn star” name.)

Hugh’s Enemies
Hugh Hefner believes that feminists who challenge his misogyny are the “natural enemy”. A feminist battle call and Hugh’s answering cry are quoted:

We sisters join together to fight you, your Playboy empire and everything you represent, and we shall build instead a society in which women and men are free to relate to each other as human beings of dignity and worth. Until you no longer oppose this, you shall have no peace (the Mountain Moving Day Brigade; cited by Stoltenberg)

These chicks are our natural enemy…It is time we do battle with them…What I want is a devastating piece that takes the militant feminists apart. They are unalterably opposed to the romantic boy-girl society that Playboy promotes…Let’s go to it and make it a real winner. (Hefner; cited by Stoltenberg, ellipses his; see also Steinem)

	absofrickinlute 2004-06-03 03:49 pm (local) (link) Select
	I found this whilst I was looking for more info on the things you brought up – which was all very interesting and awful… http://home.att.net/~r.s.mccain/stanley.html “…assertions were expanded by Stanley in a 1988 Playboy article, “The Child Pornography Myth,” in which he argued that pedophiles were a “small, essentially insignificant group.” ?????? (Reply to this)

	bendaini 2004-06-03 07:31 pm (local) (link) Select
	how completely disturbing. (Reply to this)

(Reply from suspended user)

I don’t understand indii_rock19 2004-06-04 01:59 pm (local) (link) Select

It isnt that I don’t understand what you are trying to say, I do, but I think that you are taking the matter of Playboy too seriously. Playboy does make women seem objectified, but maybe you should think about calming down your bias and somewhat feminist view on Playboy. It is the frivolity and the careless nature of playboy that seems to draw its readers to the magazine; they are not looking to rape fourteen year old girls or animals, but especially in the fifties, the sexual revolution was bound to happen – we had to let our hair down someday, and in that way it was absolutely inevitable. I agree that these days there really are too many rappers, for example, with the twenty chicks, the booze, and the bling. Of course, Hugh M. Hefner chose this life and he does not sit there in his pyjamas while waiting not to be judged. I personally do not read Playboy, or Maxim, but I do not mind my idea. it is just my point of view. People dont create weblogs such as play girls because they want to promote rape, it is the female sexuality that shows. All of us have this. All women want to be seen as beautiful, sometimes we want to be provokative. I am not sure whether you are male or female, but if you are a female, havent you ever felt like you just wanted to have fu-un, like cyndi lauper? I am not saying that all girls are like that… and Im not saying that I am like that. I personally know one of the girls from play_girls and i guess that it is just the wonder of sexuality shining through. We are all intrigued and scared by it. So, I know this is your opinion… and I am just stating mine. Do not bash them for…promoting rape, or promoting child porn without really knowing what they are about first. (Reply to this)(Thread)

	Re: I don’t understand goacidic 2006-09-02 10:37 am (local) (link) Select
	Why does it matter what they are originally about? If they are promoting rape and child porn, they are promoting rape and child porn, and that should be stopped.. I think the sexual revolution perhaps started off as a good thing for women, but now they are merely being turned back into objects again with these kinds of magazines. (Reply to this)(Parent)

Re: I don’t understand rasp_berry_jam 2006-09-03 10:31 pm (local) (link) Select

The sexual revolution is not what is being fought. Sexuality itself is certainly not being fought. The fake and one-sided sexuality Playboy sells is. It is pretty clear that no woman is wanted in Playboy if she doesn’t look and act like a little Lolita, which by the way Vanity Fair, is not a love story. Cyndi Lauper is actually a good representation of what this fight wants. She never stripped down(to my knowledge) to get recognized and promoted the sexual pleasure of women. She doesn’t like this Playboy style anymore than demonista here does. I quote: “the propaganda that you are now feeding into the youth is a pedophiliac type of prostitution for the young kids today.” -Cyndi Lauper Salon.Com (Reply to this)(Parent)

	goacidic 2006-09-02 10:40 am (local) (link) Select
	Hugh Hefner is such a fucking freak, he needs to get what he deserves. “these chicks are the natural enemy” What a fucking loser. I’d love to see him get raped. (Reply to this)

	goacidic 2006-12-05 02:56 am (local) (link) Select
	Hey did you end up posting part 2 of this? (Reply to this)(Thread)

	demonista 2006-12-10 11:24 pm (local) (link) Select
	Nope…I’ve not even written it, so I guess there isn’t a part two for me to speak of. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	xemeex 2008-02-21 04:32 pm (local) (from 213.185.28.82) (link) Select
	we are “opposed to the romantic boy-girl society that Playboy promotes”…RIGHT!!! xD …the other was horrible!!! words can’t explain!… (Reply to this)

xxprettyinmetal 2008-10-05 08:12 am (local) (from 220.101.63.147) (link) Select

I’m a 21 year old FEMALE married Australian Sailor. When we’re at sea there’s two choices of magazines, Navy magazines or mens magazines. I read Playboy and Zoo and FHM because the articles are interesting, funny and entertaining. No women’s magazines have decent work outs in them, they focus only on celebrity gossip, and the other articles seem to be boring sap stories. At the end of a long hard day at sea, when it’s rough as guts and I just want to relax and I want something entertaining. I love in Zoo the accidental porn (photos taken of things in real life like trees and things that look kind of naughty). And about the photos, I went to a professional photographer and did a sexy photo shoot in sexy gear for my husband and I felt great about it. I would love to appear in Playboy, those women are incredibly beautiful and incredibly confident. (Reply to this)(Thread)

	demonista 2008-10-05 07:53 pm (local) (from 205.189.25.223) (link) Select
	And with YOUR selfishness, you attempt to erase the decades of Playboy’s transgressions against women and children. Congrats… (Reply to this)(Parent)