Bachelors and Bunnies: The Sexual Politics of Playboy

by Carrie Pitzulo

For a lot of people, thoughts about the sexual politics of Playboy run along the lines of what Gloria Steinem reportedly once told Hugh “A woman reading Playboy feels a little like a Jew reading a Nazi manual.” Hefner’s magazine celebrates men as swinging bachelors and women as objects of desire; ergo, it’s sexist.
Not so fast, says Carrie Pitzulo. With Bachelors and Bunnies , she delves into the history of the magazine to reveal its surprisingly strong record of support for women’s rights and the modernization of sexual and gender roles. Taking readers behind the scenes of Playboy ’s heyday, Pitzulo shows how Hefner’s own complicated but thoughtful perspective on modern manhood, sexual liberation, and feminism played into debates—both in the editorial offices and on the magazine’s pages—about how Playboy ’s trademark “girl next door” appeal could accommodate, acknowledge, and even honor the changing roles and new aspirations of women in postwar America. Revealing interviews with Hugh Hefner and his daughter (and later Playboy CEO) Christie Hefner, as well as with a number of editors and even Playmates, show that even as the magazine continued to present a romanticized notion of gender difference, it again and again demonstrated a commitment to equality and expanded opportunities for women.
Offering a surprising new take on a twentieth-century icon, Bachelors and Bunnies goes beyond the smoking jacket and the centerfold to uncover an unlikely ally for the feminist cause.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, American, Sexuality

256 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2011

Reviews

[AskHistorians]

Excellent book about not only Playboy magazine, but also postwar culture, American consumerism, and shifting gender roles in the 1960s and 1970s. You don't even have to have read Playboy to understand them!

[Jelena · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have always been of the opinion that Hugh Hefner is not a "male chauvinist pig". On the contrary, I found the world offered on Playboy's glossy pages to be much fairer than the reality where women are faced with serious social injustice leading to physical, mental and emotional exploitation. This book proves that Playboy is more than a pure male fantasy where women are merely seen as sexual objects, but equal to men in every respect. Centerfolds are the central part of the publication, but not the only one fully representing the Playboy philosophy which is far more complex and liberal then the majority of people may think. Anyone interested in popular culture, the newer American history or feminist studies should definitively read it. The book challenges our notion of men's magazines and shows that sexuality is not something that should be swept under the carpet but discussed openly and honestly.