Justice Potter Stewart in a famous summation wrote that he could not define pornography, "but I know it when I see it." (Justice Stewart in Jacobellis v. Ohio 378 US 184 (1964).). The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines pornography as “material (as books or a photograph) that depicts erotic behavior and is intended to cause sexual excitement” (2009). Today, we know it when we see it and we are getting an eye full, but we choose to look the other way. Popular culture and our normative values are much more lenient than they were 60 years ago.We can thank Hugh Hefner and Playboy in part for the sexual mugging we must routinely endure. Founded in 1953, Playboy today is one of the best known brands around the world. In addition to its flagship magazine, Playboy Enterprises, Inc. owns hotels, and produces television shows and a cable television network. The magazine today has a paid circulation of over 2.5 million copies (Audit Bureau of Circulations, 2009), more than Parenting and even O, The Oprah Magazine and Martha Stewart Living.
It is heartening that the majority of the magazine's readers “buy it for the articles” like the monthly interviews with a cornucopia of guests. Among the politicians and celebrities that have graced the pages of the magazine are Jimmy Carter, who admitted to committing “adultery” in his heart in the midst of running for, and ultimately winning the Presidency in 1976, Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, John Lennon and Yoko Ono, Frank Sinatra, George Wallace, Jesse Jackson, and Donald Trump. There are also countless proud parents whose daughters can add to their Curriculum Vitae that they were one of Hef’s “girls of the Pac-10” or any one of the other conferences, including the Ivy League, featured in Playboy.
Playboy’s impact on advertising, business, politics, consumer values, and sexual openness (University of Missouri, 2008) can not be denied. It was, and to this day, is a model for the modern male. Men learn what the best car is to pick-up women , the best liquors to drink, the best clothes to wear, the best stereo equipment to own, and how to decorate their “bachelor” pad. Playboy was also responsible for a sexual liberation. A liberation that helped define the American ideal of beauty, resulting in over 355 thousand women having breast augmentation procedures in 2008, the most performed surgical cosmetic procedure surpassing liposuction (American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery). A liberation that many feel degrades and objectifies women, while Hefner prefers to note its empowering facets of upsetting traditional gender values, while supporting economic opportunity, social equality, and abortion rights.
Ultimately time will tell how Hefner is remembered, as a social truth-seeker and cultural revolutionary as he would like, or as messenger of the devil. Either way, we have him to thank for an $8 billion porn industry in the U.S. that includes adult videos, magazines, Cable/Pay per view television, Internet and CD-Rom programming. Hefner and Playboy made pornography “chic” so that it can be found throughout popular culture today, from your local upscale bookstore to your living room, thanks to enabling mainstream corporations such as Time Warner, Comcast, and AT&T. Once Pandora’s box is opened, it is hard to put the lid back on it.
References
American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. (2009, March 16). Liposuction no longer the most popular surgical procedure according to new statistics. Retrieved September 14, 2000, from http://www.surgery.org/media/news-releases/liposuction-no-longer-the-most-popular-surgical-procedure-according-to-new-statistics
Audit Bureau of Circulations. (2009, June 30). Consumer Magazines: Circulation averages for the six months ended. Retrieved September 14, 2009, from http://abcas3.accessabc.com/ecirc/magtitlesearch.asp
Pornography. (2009). In Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. Retrieved September 14, 2009, from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pornography
Scully, M. (2006, March 31). The Playboy legacy. Retrieved September 13, 2009, from http://www.opinionjournal.com/taste/?id=110008169
University of Missouri. (2008, September 12). Playboy founder embodies american dream; changes American culture. Retrieved September 14, 2009, from http://rcp.missouri.edu/articles/watts-hefner.html
I never really thought about (or cared) the impact that Hugh Hefner has had on the pornography movement. It is hard to believe that one person could have such an effect on our pop culture.This magazines popularity does not surprise me though. Ok, maybe a little. I figured that Oprah had this title in her hands. You are right, the brand that he started has catapulted his name into one of the few that will be remembered for the movement in which he was such a big part of. I do, however get tired of seeing the advertisements for the Girl Next Door show. I guess I do not see the point. But our society has dramatically changed throughout the past fifty plus years. Magazines that were once hidden behind counters and wrapped in brown paper bags are now readily available just because our society feels that it is acceptable. This magazine, as well as many others, has also placed a magnifying glass on women and their bodies. Some women tend to compare themselves to these pictures. Unfortunately, our brains would like to tell us that these pictures are accurate statements of what the person really looks like. They fail to mention the various editing, lighting, as well as air brushing that is involved to promote these individuals.
ReplyDeleteWhile pornography is a very staple part of our culture, I sometimes wonder of its positive or negative impact. The negative is pretty obvious; however, in other countries pornography is acceptable. I guess this would lead to a taboo debate. I will agree with Josh in that I am tired of Playboy spin-offs on television and all the other "garbage" that is basically attempting to sell sex. My conservative values clash with most programming on MTV and VH1, which seems to only play programs that evolve around loose women. I know that sex sells and understand the position of the broadcaster as they are reaching their target market, but my remote has a channel change button that is used. Overall, good post.
ReplyDeleteExcellent topic! Hmm...had to research pornography for class..lol. I agree with J.J., over in Europe we are looked upon as being conservative in regards to our views about nudity.
ReplyDeleteHugh Hefner did not make this enterprise as big as it is on his own. The masses that purchase the material made the Playboy enterprise what it is today.