You’re probably thinking: “what is an anecdote about Playboy doing on a site for teachers?!” Stay with me here. On Dec. 1, 1953, the first Playboy magazine was published. This was a significant moment in American culture. The magazine was part of the Sexual Revolution and ironically an example of the male chauvinism that the revolution fought against. It was intended to advocate a healthy sex life at a time when sexual repression was common.
Hugh Hefner graduated from the University of Illinois in 1949. He majored in psychology. He worked at a couple of magazines. During this period, he came up with the idea of a lifestyle and entertainment magazine for men. He started the magazine in 1953 with $8,000. His mother put up $1,000. He originally wanted to call it “Stag Party” until the publisher of “Stag” magazine threatened to sue. His friend Eldon Sellers suggested “Playboy”. Hefner warned people that it was “not a family magazine.” It came with a warning: ‘If you’re somebody’s sister, wife or mother-in-law and picked us up by mistake, please pass us along to the man in your life and get back to your Ladies Home Companion.’
The first issue famously featured Marilyn Monroe, whose career was just starting to take off. The centerfold was not taken by a Playboy photographer. It was bought from a calendar company that had bought a series of shots from a photographer named Tom Kelly. Kelly paid the struggling actress $50. Hefner paid the calendar company $500 for the shot. (It had not been used in the calendar.) Monroe got no money for the centerfold. Her advisers told her to deny it was her, but Marilyn admitted to the picture. It actually helped her career. No kidding. That first centerfold was called “Sweetheart of the Month” (“Playmate” would replace it in all subsequent issues) because Hefner wanted them to be the girl next door. ( Sure, Marilyn was just a “girl next door”.)
The first issue cost $.50. It was not dated because Hefner was not sure there would be a second one. No worries. The issue was a big hit. Surprise! It exploded in a society in which the song “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” was railed at in church pulpits just a few years earlier. Besides the picture, the first issue included advice on how men could meet women. You should talk about “Picasso, Nietzsche, jazz, and sex”. (One has to wonder how those first two topics would have worked with Marilyn Monroe.) Hefner did insist that the magazine include works by famous writers and interviews of famous people. You could truthfully say you bought the magazine for the articles. (Just don’t agree to a lie detector test.)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Playboy
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/09/28/business/media/playboy-hugh-hefner.html
https://www.biography.com/news/marilyn-monroe-playboy-first-issue-didnt-pose
https://coolmaterial.com/media/history-of-playboy-magazine/
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