Playboy on Life Support: Why Hef's Empire of Naked Ladies No Longer Matters

This article was originally published at Role/Reboot.

There’s something that still fascinates people about the Playboy mansion and Hugh Hefner. Despite the magazine’s falling circulation numbers (which, with an internet is full of free porn, seems like a forgone conclusion) and rumors about the mansion being sold to pay off Playboy’s debts, coverage of the goings-on of Hefner and his buxom blondes continues to proliferate. Case in point: the recent “Crystal Harris runaway bride, Hef left at the altar” story. When the “news” broke 5 days before the wedding it spread like wildfire through the Twitterverse. Hefner chose Twitter to let people know the wedding was off, and it was immediately passed along by people from all walks of life with different reactions to the news, ranging from “well, duh” to suspicions the bride had been planning this stunt as a promotional tool for her new single.

Why do we still care so much about this old man and his empire of naked ladies? We’d argue that our ongoing fascination with Hef reflects a younger generation’s curiosity about a man who with each passing day seems more like the relic of a past era that couldn’t exist today. We’re watching the Playboy dynasty on life support.

Of course, until the bitter end, fame seekers will naturally continue to exploit the Playboy brand.  But let’s be clear: Crystal Harris’ willingness to walk away from Hef is evidence that Playboy’s value (both literally and figuratively) is rapidly declining. Ex-Playmates’ accounts about what it’s like for the girlfriends who sleep with Hefner aren’t exactly endorsements of the lifestyle, after all. Still, word on Monday was that Crystal Harris had already been replaced by Anna Sophia Berglund, another 25 year old. Few are likely to bet on the odds of this one lasting.

Hefner has long been held up as an idol, a man who possesses the sexually-fueled, commitment-free lifestyle men the world over desire. But is this still true today? Hefner’s girlfriend equation is simple: Young. Busty. Blonde. Thin. White. Giggly. Eager to please. Always up for a roll in the hay. Are men today coveting Hef’s grotto of women?

We think the days of idolizing the Hef have passed. Although there may be some mystique to the lifestyle of Hefner and his Playboy mansion women, much of the attention comes from people watching Hef with the sort of morbid fascination you would a car wreck. The Playboy empire and Hefner’s lifestyle seem to be symbols of fantasies-past, a relic left over from another decade. You get the distinct feeling that when Hef has gone there won’t be anyone who steps into his place, running the Playboy mansion with a gaggle of young women.

Even Hefner’s Playboy model of porn has become passe. In the days of free unlimited porn, where hard-core material is available with a click of a mouse, topless ladies carefully arranged on various pieces of furniture (and sometimes horses) is just quaint, tasteful erotica. The ease of accessing porn, along with its prevalence in mainstream culture, have decreased the forbidden nature of it, allowing it to speak to whatever desire, fetish, or interest the consumer may have. In this shift, Hugh Hefner has lost his edge. 

This raises the question of whether the world will produce another Hugh Hefner. Perhaps Joe Francis of Girls Gone Wild fame is the modern man who best embodies the building of an empire through the exploitation of beautiful half-naked women today. The crucial difference, however, is that Francis lacks Hefner’s mystique and respect. Francis comes across a cultural predator rather than a cultural icon.