Please say this ain't so

[LennG]

See the Newest "Playboy" Cover Model, Who Just Made History

https://bestlifeonline.com/news-bretman-rock-playboy/

Bretman Rock has just made history as the first openly gay male star on the cover of Playboy. In the photos posted on the company's website, Rock sports the classic bunny ears and a corset, like many Playboy stars have worn before him. (Playboy, which was founded in 1953, transitioned to be exclusively digital last year, so Rock's cover

[DaveBrown74]

Obviously they can do whatever the hell they please, but I don't understand this from a business perspective. Aren't the majority of Playboy's readers heterosexual males that enjoy the occasional good article but mostly like looking at pics of women? How does a gay man fit into the equation. Since when is that Playboy's audience?

[jimv]

Lenny, was posting this really necessary?

[LennG]

Lenny, was posting this really necessary?

If I didn't think so, I wouldn't have posted it.

Something people might be curious about.

What's wrong with it?

[Ed Vette]

If I didn't think so, I wouldn't have posted it.

Something people might be curious about.

What's wrong with it?

Maybe it's because his nipples aren't covered? 

[MightyGiants]

Is Playboy even a thing anymore?

I mean print magazines are dead

Print girlie magazines are dead

So what exactly is Playboy doing and who and how are those products being consumed?

[Ed Vette]

Is Playboy even a thing anymore?

I mean print magazines are dead

Print girlie magazines are dead

So what exactly is Playboy doing and who and how are those products being consumed?

Looks like they're expanding their base. I just checked and they ended their print in spring of 2020. It's all digital now. https://www.insidehook.com/article/arts-entertainment/whats-next-playboy-post-print

[LennG]

PLayboy is just a name now. I agree, print mags are basically dead. Even this so-called cover is just for an online thing don't think it will ever will make it to the newsstand.

[DaveBrown74]

Is Playboy even a thing anymore?

I mean print magazines are dead

Print girlie magazines are dead

So what exactly is Playboy doing and who and how are those products being consumed?

I am pretty certain they completely stopped print and are entirely online now. I would assume they charge for subscriptions and make their revenue that way as well as from advertisers, like any other online publication these days.

I don't know if there is still a "Playboy Channel" on TV, but there was at one stage. That may or may not still exist.

Either way I'm fairly certain they are an online publication now just like anything else that has pivoted from print to online.

I do get the point though that why would anyone pay for Playboy online when there is an unlimited supply of erotic material online that is both free and more graphic, but I guess the answer to that is that Playboy is, and has been, more than just pictures of nude women. It has always been higher brow than and different from other adult magazines, so perhaps they have subscribers that also want to read non-sexual articles that they have been accustomed to getting from the magazine over the years. I have always thought Playboy was a bit like a GQ or even a Vanity Fair that happened to also have pictures of nude women. It was never just straight up smut.

[LennG]

I am not embarrassed to say I used to get Playboy delivered for quite a while. Sure the nude ladies were a treat, and the old joke was 'Yes I get it for the articles" but that was also true for me. I loved most of the interviews in every issue and Playboy was very progressive about certain things and, at that time, had a lot of power, and they used it to make changes in norms, etc. It was more than just some dirty old man', Hefner', sitting in his tower, having all these lovely ladies all around him. Maybe I am the only one, but I did enjoy Playboy for its cartoons, its stance on many issues, and, yes, its articles and stories.

[Ed Vette]

I am not embarrassed to say I used to get Playboy delivered for quite a while. Sure the nude ladies were a treat, and the old joke was 'Yes I get it for the articles" but that was also true for me. I loved most of the interviews in every issue and Playboy was very progressive about certain things and, at that time, had a lot of power, and they used it to make changes in norms, etc. It was more than just some dirty old man', Hefner', sitting in his tower, having all these lovely ladies all around him. Maybe I am the only one, but I did enjoy Playboy for its cartoons, its stance on many issues, and, yes, its articles and stories.

Just wait till Doris hears about this! 

[LennG]

Just wait till Doris hears about this! 

Glad she doesn't read this board. 

[DaveBrown74]

I am not embarrassed to say I used to get Playboy delivered for quite a while. Sure the nude ladies were a treat, and the old joke was 'Yes I get it for the articles" but that was also true for me. I loved most of the interviews in every issue and Playboy was very progressive about certain things and, at that time, had a lot of power, and they used it to make changes in norms, etc. It was more than just some dirty old man', Hefner', sitting in his tower, having all these lovely ladies all around him. Maybe I am the only one, but I did enjoy Playboy for its cartoons, its stance on many issues, and, yes, its articles and stories.

I totally believe that. Many of their readers had the same stance you did. Heck, my wife even used to read it, as she was in the publishing business and thought the articles and cartoons were excellent.

And let's face it, if one's sole motivation were erotic content, then there are (and have long been) much more explicit things out there than Playboy.