The creation of Playboy Magazine
- The beginning of Playboy magazine took place in the year of 1953. The creator of the rising magazine, Hugh Hefner, previously attended Northeastern University as a rigorous sociology student. Evidently, by studying American society for years, he was able to identify popular demands. Taking advantage of his knowledge he later came up with the idea of creating a new magazine based on presenting women from an erotic point of view. The issue with which Playboy debuted had an image of the beloved public figure Marilyn Monroe portraying a white dress on the cover. As expected, Hefner’s new creation gained popularity making the demand for the product have a rapidly increasing demand. Even though the magazine itself was being extremely successful, Hefner dealt with his first of several lawsuits in the year 1955. The United States’s post office charged him with spreading inappropriate and explicit content that alludes to an unpleasant image of the female gender. Regardless of the accusing statement being true, Hefner won the trial without affecting Playboy’s reputation. Later in the same year, the American economy was at its peak due to the success of the stock market - bull market. Causing the wage minimum to be raised to 1 dollar per hour which was double the original price of the acclaimed Playboy magazine. Making it affordable to the majority of the American population and raising its sale rates.
- The reason that I offered that background concerning those three events is that it helps me to explain what the photograph of Bettie Page was doing socially and culturally in the United States of America when Linnea Eleanor “Bunny” Yeager produced it and Playboy Magazine published it. Jumping back to the 1950s in the United States of America, when the American economy was at its peak and people were seeking “the good American life”, this photograph of Bettie Page was taken and later published by the then-new Playboy magazine. Playboy magazine has had the same objective ever since its first issue was published, which was to satisfy male buyers. This is a perfect example of the influence that the male gaze has over society. Even though the concept of Playboy Magazine was something innovative for the time period when it was created, the magazine provided attention to the Male American population’s needs. Additionally, the magazine supplied a brand new point of view of the female body. The initial idea of the magazine was to portray an image of “the girl next door”. Evidently, the purpose of the magazine rapidly changed by displaying nude photographs of female models. The magazine intended to demonstrate the female body as something erotic and at the same time to display sexuality to the public eye. By spreading the idea of sexuality through explicit photos of nude female bodies Playboy gained popularity among the American population. Even though this image of Bettie Page demonstrates vulnerability by her posing nude, it also symbolizes her being authentically self-confident and bold. The impact of this magazine on American society led to promote a sexual revolution by normalizing the objectifying the female body from a sexual point of view.
- The New York Times. “Playboy in Popular Culture.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 28 Sept. 2017, www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/09/28/business/media/playboy-hugh-hefne....