RIP, Playboy..

[The Curmudgeon]

Another day, another pop culture institution has been changed in it's last dying breath to stay relevant, all thanks to the internet. Just a few weeks ago NME went from a weekly music magazine to a free magazine, packed with expensive looking, glossy adverts, looking at music, movies and, ugh, "culture."

And Playboy just announced that they would no longer be printing nude images of women. So now, when people say they buy it "for the articles", they're now actually telling the truth.

I have never bought an issue of Playboy. In fact, thinking about it, I've never actually SEEN an issue of Playboy. It's just not that big a "thing" in the UK. The logo is. Can't fucking move for that (weirdly, it's a logo that's popular with women), but the magazine just doesn't get that much attention over here. We've got our own British form of soft-core pornography, thank you very much.

The reason for the removal of nekkid ladies isn't some pro-feminist statement, it's just because as the CEO of Playboy said, "you're now one click away from every sex act imaginable." What a time to be alive, eh? So, I'm not overly sure who still buys Playboy, but I can't imagine it surviving without the one reason people surely bought it for.

So, Playboy; a bit part of your adolescence? Do you still buy it?

[Ben]

Never bought one, never opened one up, and never cared to. I'm a 90s kid, so nudie mags were practically a thing of the past by the time I was old enough to be curious about em. The CEO's point can't really be rebutted either. Who's honestly going to pay for a paper copy of something they can get online in seconds? Nostalgia only counts for so much. You gotta figure Playboy's time is up.

[trashcanman]

My wife actually bought me a year subscription early in our marriage. Still not sure how that even happened. I was pleasantly surprised that most of the women weren't the silicon monstrosities Playboy is known for, but I'm just not a huge fan of the hyper-airbrushed look that all magazines use. It was mostly a place where celebrities showed off their goodies exclusively, but naturally they started going up online instantly when each issue was published, diminishing the appeal of hard copies. It's days were absolutely numbered. Why would Playboy pay millions to Jennifer Lawrence or whoever when her cellphone is just going to get hacked and everyone who wants to is going to see her nude anyways? It's just not a winning business model anymore. Made for a surprisingly fun video game, though.