This article is about the magazine. For the lifestyle that inspired the magazine's name, see Playboy lifestyle. For other uses, see Playboy (disambiguation).
Playboy is an American men's lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother.[3]
Known for its centerfolds of nude and semi-nude[4] models (Playmates), Playboy played an important role in the sexual revolution[5] and remains one of the world's best-known brands, with a presence in nearly every medium.[6] In addition to the flagship magazine in the United States, special nation-specific versions of Playboy are published worldwide, including those by licensees, such as Dirk Steenekamp's DHS Media Group.[7][8][9][10][11]
The magazine has a long history of publishing short stories by novelists such as Arthur C. Clarke,[12] Ian Fleming,[12] Vladimir Nabokov,[13] Saul Bellow, Chuck Palahniuk, P. G. Wodehouse,[12] Roald Dahl,[14] Haruki Murakami, and Margaret Atwood.[12] With a regular display of full-page color cartoons, it became a showcase for cartoonists such as Jack Cole,[15] Eldon Dedini,[16] Jules Feiffer,[17] Harvey Kurtzman, Shel Silverstein,[18] Doug Sneyd, Erich Sokol,[12] Roy Raymonde,[19] Gahan Wilson, and Rowland B. Wilson.[20] Art Paul designed the bunny logo. Leroy Neiman drew the Femlin characters for Playboy jokes. Patrick Nagel painted the headers for Playboy Forum and other sections.
Playboy features monthly interviews of public figures, such as artists, architects, economists, composers, conductors, film directors, journalists, novelists, playwrights, religious figures, politicians, athletes, and race car drivers. The magazine generally reflects a liberal editorial stance, although it often interviews conservative celebrities.[21]
After a year-long removal of most nude photos in Playboy magazine, the March–April 2017 issue brought back nudity.[22]
^Bennett, Jessica (August 2, 2019). "Will the Millennials Save Playboy?". The New York Times. Retrieved August 13, 2021.
^"Playboy Enterprises, Inc". Playboyenterprises.com. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved February 14, 2016.
^Seib, Christine (December 9, 2008). "Hefner's Daughter Christie Walks Away from Playboy Enterprises". The Times. London. Retrieved May 22, 2010.
^"Playboy 'to drop' naked women images". BBC News. Retrieved February 14, 2016.
^"Why America loved Playboy". BBC News. October 14, 2015. Retrieved February 14, 2016.
^Wray, Richard (November 13, 2009). "Iconix 'makes offer for Playboy'". The Guardian. London. Retrieved October 7, 2011.
^Hauswirth, Heather; Kelly, Keith J. (August 11, 2021). "The pay-for-play scandal behind many sexy Maxim, Playboy 'covers'". New York Post. Retrieved October 3, 2021.
^"Dirk Steenekamp, CEO – DHS Media Group". Beyond Grit with Robert Young. podbean. September 8, 2021. Retrieved October 3, 2021.
^"DHS Media obtains publishing rights to BBC Top Gear Magazine South Africa". Publishing News South Africa. bizcommunity.com. Retrieved October 3, 2021. DHS Media Publisher and CEO Dirk Steenekamp
^"DHS Media Group – K2016212484 – South Africa". b2bhint.com. Retrieved October 3, 2021.
^ abcdeSteven Watts (August 24, 2009). Mr Playboy: Hugh Hefner and the American Dream. Wiley. pp. 80, 91, 111, 144, 152, 190. ISBN 978-0-470-52167-0.
^Samuel Schuman (1979). Vladimir Nabokov, A Reference Guide. p. 61. ISBN 9780816181346.
^"11 great authors who wrote for Hugh Hefner's Playboy". BBC. September 28, 2017.
^Art Spiegelman (2001). Jack Cole and Plastic Man: Forms Stretched to Their Limits. Chronicle Books. p. 126. ISBN 0-8118-3179-5.
^Eldon Dedini (2006). An Orgy of Playboy's Eldon Dedini. Fantagraphics Books. p. 8. ISBN 1-56097-727-2.
^Stephen E. Kercher (2006). Revel with a Cause: Liberal Satire in Postwar America. University Of Chicago Press. p. 480. ISBN 0-226-43164-9.
^Shel Silverstein (2007). Playboy's Silverstein Around the World. Fireside. ISBN 978-0-7432-9024-1.
^Bryant, Mark (October 19, 2009). "Roy Raymonde: Cartoonist noted for his work in 'Punch' and 'Playboy'". The Independent. Archived from the original on September 25, 2015. Retrieved March 10, 2015.
^"Blog Archive » "We All Have To Start Somewhere" Department. Case in Point No.11". EliSteinCartoons.com. February 3, 2009. Retrieved December 7, 2011.
^"Film Review: Hugh Hefner: Playboy, Activist and Rebel". Filmjournal.com. July 20, 2010. Archived from the original on March 5, 2012. Retrieved December 7, 2011.
^Bennett, Jessica (August 2, 2019). "Will the Millennials Save Playboy? – The Hefners are gone, and so is the magazine's short-lived ban on nudity – as well as virtually anyone on the staff over 35". The New York Times. Retrieved August 2, 2019.
Playboy is an American men's lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh...
following women have appeared in the American or international edition of Playboy magazine as Playmate of the Month. Those who were also named Playmate of...
A Playboy Bunny is a cocktail waitress who works at a Playboy Club and selected through standardized training. Their costumes were made up of lingerie...
The Playboy Mansion, also known as the Playboy Mansion West, is the former home of Playboy magazine founder Hugh Hefner, who lived there from 1971 until...
a list of all the models photographed for Playboy magazine. Not all of the women who have modeled in Playboy have done so in the nude. The list has been...
The Playboy Club was initially a chain of nightclubs and resorts owned and operated by Playboy Enterprises. The first Playboy Club opened in Chicago in...
A Playmate is a female model featured in the centerfold/gatefold of Playboy magazine as Playmate of the Month (PMOTM). The PMOTM's pictorial includes...
media and lifestyle company founded by Hugh Hefner as Playboy Enterprises, Inc. to oversee the Playboy magazine and related assets. Its headquarters are in...
Playboy TV (originally The Playboy Channel) is a pay television channel based in the United States. The channel first launched on December 9, 1980, as...
The following is a list of Playboy Playmates of 2010. Playboy magazine names its Playmate of the Month each month throughout the year. Jaime Faith Edmondson...
Weekly Playboy (Japanese: 週刊プレイボーイ, Hepburn: Shūkan Pureibōi), also known as Shūpure (週プレ) or WPB, is a Japanese weekly magazine published by Shueisha...
released two books, Down the Rabbit Hole in 2015, about her life in the Playboy Mansion and her relationship with Hefner, and The Vegas Diaries: Romance...
A playboy lifestyle is the lifestyle of a wealthy man with ample time for leisure, who demonstratively is a bon vivant and man about town who appreciates...
editor-in-chief of Playboy magazine, a publication with revealing photographs and articles. Hefner extended the Playboy brand into a world network of Playboy Clubs...
The Playboy is a graphic novel by the Canadian cartoonist Chester Brown, serialized in 1990 in Brown's comic book Yummy Fur and collected in different...
is an American model and actress. She is known for her appearances in Playboy magazine as Playmate of the Month for December 1997 and Playmate of the...
This is a list of models who were chosen as a Playboy Playmate of the Year for the American edition of Playboy magazine. 1953: Marilyn Monroe 1954: 1955:...
Jordan Terrell Carter (born September 13, 1995 or 1996)a, known professionally as Playboi Carti, is an American rapper and record producer. An influential...
The following is a list of Playboy Playmates of 1990. Playboy magazine names its Playmate of the Month each month throughout the year. Peggy McIntaggart...
Playboy Radio was an internet radio station originally launched on XM Satellite Radio on September 1, 2002. Its programming was dedicated to similar topics...
The following is a list of Playboy Playmates of 1981. Playboy magazine names their Playmate of the Month each month throughout the year. Karen Elaina Price...
The following is a list of Playboy Playmates of 1997. Playboy magazine names its Playmate of the Month each month throughout the year. Jami Ferrell (born...
World of Playboy is an adult infotainment newsmagazine currently airing on Playboy TV. It has produced over 100 episodes and functions as a monthly summary...
released by Playboy Enterprises, the publishers of Playboy magazine. They are largely made up of music-video-style vignettes featuring Playboy Playmates...
The Playboys is a 1992 Irish film directed by Gillies MacKinnon and starring Albert Finney, Aidan Quinn and Robin Wright. The plot follows an unwed young...
of the Playboy Mansion) is a reality television series which focuses on the lives of Hugh Hefner's girlfriends who live with him at the Playboy Mansion...