The magazine that was launched with a sultry and smiling Marilyn Monroe waving a welcome wave on its cover has made, what is perhaps the biggest change its its 62-year history. Playboy has announced that it will stop publishing nudes on the pages of the legendary magazine.
Nudes have been what the magazine founded by Hugh Hefner in 1953 is identified with the most, even though other content - such as its interviews - also have had a large following.
Celebrities of all stripes have posed before the camera lens for Playboy at the height of their careers, from Kim Basinger to Drew Barrymore, Madonna, Farrah Fawcett, Sharon Stone, La Toya Jackson, wrestlers Torrie Wilson and Chyna and gymnast Svetlana Khorkina.
It was the realities of this Internet era that has led to such a momentous decision. According to Playboy CEO Scott Flanders, nude images of women have become "passé" in this Internet age.
"You're now one click away from every sex act imaginable for free. And so it's just passé at this juncture," he said.
The rise of Internet access and ease of access of pronographic and other adult content has resulted in a decline of Playboy's circulation. The magazine's circulation decreased from a peak of 5.6 million in 1975 to about 800,000 now. (See: Top 10: Iconic Playboy covers)
Playboy also has a popular website and in order to drive traffic to it via popular social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, they have already made some of the content safe for access at work.
This change in the magazine will be seen from the March 2016 issue of the magazine. Playboy will, however, still continue to publish photographs of women in provocative poses. The difference being that they won't be in the nude.
Pornography was for long the most consumed content on the Internet, it was only as late as 2013 that social media overtook pornography as the No 1 online activity.
Comments
0 comment