How many magazines can boast having the most beautiful women in the world, movie icons, TV stars and celebrities strip for pictorials? Most of these famous ladies were honored to be part of the Playboy brand, which elevated their celebrity status, like actress Joan Collins who posed for Playboy at age of 50 at the height of her Dynasty fame and was the original cougar, making it sexy to be an older woman.
Past and present icons like Marilyn Monroe, Jayne Mansfield, Farah Fawcett, Dolly Parton, Bo Derek, Raquel Welch, Kim Basinger, Suzanne Somers, Madonna, Charlize Theron, Mariah Carey, Anna Nicole Smith, Lindsay Lohan, Drew Barrymore, Sharon Stone, Pamela Anderson and Kim Kardashian have all graced the cover of Playboy, growing their male fan base in every sense of the word.
I must admit then, that I was surprised to hear that Playboy recently decided it will no longer be showing full nudity in its magazine. Given this new policy, my recommendation to Hugh Hefner and the executives at Playboy to stay on top is to have pictorials of “Nearly Nude Stars” who are comfortable in their own skin, dressed sexy without revealing it all. I think celebrities who are famous for raising the pulse rates of men like Scarlett Johansson, Cameron Diaz, Halle Berry and ‘slightly older’ stars such as Helen Mirren would be popular choices for the new Playboy era.
It would be a shame to see Playboy Magazine subscriptions plummet lower than they already have (from five million to less than one million), because they stop publishing nude photos. Of course I am slightly biased, as I have appeared in the magazine myself nearly nude when I had my own show on the Playboy Channel called Pillow Previews. More recently, I was on Playboy Radio giving sex advice with Dr. John Gray bestselling author of Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus.
Tina Fey joked about her dream to pose for Playboy on Saturday Night Live, but many young women do have strong and positive self-images of themselves and the ambition to make money, find fame, boost their confidence and discover sexual empowerment by modeling for the most tasteful men’s magazines in the world. Many of these models such as Bettie Page, Jenny McCarthy, Shannon Tweed, Pamela Anderson, Carmen Electra and Kendra Wilkinson all became successful household names thanks in part to Playboy.
So I hope that Hugh Hefner at 89 years young will continue to tease and titillate readers with plenty of sensual skin, and that Playboy’s new look won’t discard the format that marked the launch of an empire in 1953 with centerfold Marilyn Monroe, but evolves into a feast for all of our senses that fulfills our sexual appetite in the form of beautiful photos and erotic words that trigger our imagination and empowers us to intensify our desires.
I was EXTREMELY shocked when I read the article that Playboy wasn’t doing nudity in their magazine anymore. Ive never known a time where there wasn’t nudity in their magazine and some of the most famous and beautiful women have either make careers or jolted their careers by posing for the magazine. but with adult content and other adult themes being readily available, I guess that “taboo” and “eye opening” factor has died. Playboy was a “coming-of-age” staple for a lot a guys growing up ;). i have a feeling that a lot more women will be lining up to pose too. Well, I hope this new era of playboy will bring more positives than negatives for the magazine. If Hefner thought it over and gave the ok, then he has to be ok with it. And that fine by me.