The Sexual Tensions of Playboy in 1950s America

by Emily S.

Hugh Hefner has been said to have “as much sense of [sex’s] history in America as another man might have of his own hand” (Colin 1). As the creator, editor, and publisher of Playboy magazine, the man has single-handedly created an empire from the ground up and in the process stimulated controversy and interest on the once “taboo” subject of sexuality.

Playboy, which now includes nightclubs, hotels, casinos, a modeling agency, record label, and limousine service, was launched by Hefner in 1953 with a mere $8,000 he had borrowed from friends and family. To this day it continues to outsell all other men’s magazines. The Playboy Empire sprang from the imagination of a high school senior. Then Hugh Marston, Hefner created a persona for himself after having been turned down by a girl named Betty Conklin. This persona, “Hef” had a different wardrobe, hip expressions, and his own cartoon autobiography. As Hefner himself describes, “I was creating my own world in which I was center stage” (Adler 1).

At a 1953 high school reunion, Marston was reminded of “Hef” and became determined to create a men’s magazine. Hefner longed for the liberation of the 1920s, feeling as though he had “missed the party,” by growing up in the 1930s and 40s. He was against the conservative repression of the 1950s and was thrilled when the Kinsey Report came out in 1948 while he was in college. Before the release of the report, the general consensus was “any sexual behavior not for procreation was immoral and illegal” (Adler 1). Kinsey’s findings “confirmed the hypocrisy of the gap between what we said and what we actually did” (Colin 3). This was a revelation for Hefner and helped to further influence his aim to promote a kind of sexual liberation.

In 1953 the first issue of Playboy was introduced to the public, featuring Marilyn Monroe on the cover, and selling over approximately 52,000 copies nationwide, despite national conservatism. The next issue sold even more copies, making Playboy the “first successful magazine for young, single men” (Adler 2). The first issue also displayed the infamous bunny logo, sporting a tuxedo, as a symbol for the magazine’s “fun, frisky, sexy, and sophisticated” outlook (Adler 1). The symbol still remains on the magazine’s cover in some form or another.

Hefner’s magazine also featured the new concept of “the centerfold.” An idea he had borrowed from the pin-ups popular in the war barracks, Hefner’s “Playmate of the Month” centerfold specifically targeted the sexual repression of women. Although women’s rights activists might argue that the centerfold and magazine depicted women as objects, Hefner’s artistic images of “the girl nextdoor” in natural settings with the “suggestion of a male presence” were meant to send the message that “nice girls like sex, too” (Adler 2). He believed that women as well as men should embrace their sexuality, instead of hiding from it—a revolutionary idea at the time.

The repressed culture of the 1950s produced mixed responses to Hefner’s vision of a “mainstream magazine that included sex” (Colin 3). The magazine grew increasingly successful, surpassing Esquire’s popularity with over a million copies in circulation in the 1950s. Others reacted with disgust toward the sexually provocative magazine. Hefner was particularly bothered by the response of many in the women’s movement who opposed Playboy, calling their reaction “counter-revolutionary and unfortunate” (Colin 3).

Although controversial in its time and still today, Playboy magazine changed both social and sexual values by calling much needed attention to the sexual repression and conservatism plaguing the country in the 1950s, and remains the “most imitated magazine in the world” (Adler 2).


Works Cited

Adler, Carlye and Hugh Hefner. "Hugh Hefner Playboy Enterprises." CNN Money. 1 Sept. 2003. 17 Oct. 2006.

Colin, Chris. "A Conversation with Huge Hefner." Salon. 28 Dec. 1999. 17 Oct. 2006.