No nudes is good nudes.
Representatives from Playboy Enterprises, Inc. announced Monday the publication will no longer publish nude photos starting March 2016. It has featured unclothed centerfolds since the 50s, and according to an article published by ABC News, Playboy Enterprises CEO Scott Flanders said the change is warranted because today’s political and sexual climate “bears almost no resemblance” to what it was when Hugh Hefner created the magazine more than 60 years ago.
This is huge for women everywhere. Rather than focusing on the naked female body, Playboy can showcase higher-end journalism and showcase women in a positive light for their non-tangible features.
Although I was surprised by Playboy’s decision, it’s no secret that the Internet fills the demand for pornography. Still, some Playboy readers and fans were less than satisfied with the publication’s announcement, and they took to Twitter to talk about it:
- @kristinelevine: “I would rather see @Playboy fold completely than do this”
- @_blktray: “playboy with no nudes is like ordering a burger with no meat”
- @givemeglamour: “Playboy at its core has always been a celebration of the nude female body. I hate that they are taking that away.”
I was surprised people were divided on this issue. I scrolled through a plethora of positive and negative comments on Twitter. One tweet led me to a thread on amirite.com, and this specific forum scared the hell out of me.
“Thanks to feminism, employers are shying away from hiring beautiful, brainy women for a real job because of the sexual harassment threat,” one commenter wrote. “So if she can’t shake her money maker, how else can an attractive woman survive?”
An attractive woman can survive by showcasing her intellect and inner beauty. I couldn’t find any statistics online to substantiate this, but I’ve never heard of an employer being weary of hiring an attractive woman because he or she was afraid of a sexual harassment threat. Sex appeal is never going away because it’s human nature, and I hope it doesn’t, but Playboy’s redesign is just a small, positive step toward achieving a world where a woman’s worth isn’t determined by her figure.
I hope the future holds a social environment where my daughter doesn’t feel like her looks are the driving force behind her success. Playboy’s decision is making this dream a reality for women everywhere.
I never thought I’d say this: Thanks, Playboy.
