MU professor explores Playboy influence on American culture

MU history professor explores the cultural significance of aging Playboy icon.

By Katrina Mehl

Published Sept. 16, 2008

Hugh Hefner. Playboy Mansion. Playboy bunny. These are all universally known symbols of a famous piece of Hollywood.

MU history professor Steve Watts has caught this phenomena in a book called "Mr. Playboy: Hugh Hefner and the American Dream."

The book bears Hefner's likeness from his early career, pipe in hand.

"I've gone out there quite a bit," Watts said in reference to the Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles. "People always ask what it's like. I always tell them it's like parachuting onto another planet."

He said the house has its own rules, its own norms. The first day is culture shock. Watts visited the mansion to use Hefner's archives for research, and conduct interviews with house residents, including the stars of reality TV show "The Girls Next Door," Holly Madison, Bridgette Marquardt and Kendra Wilkinson.

Watts said the purpose of the full-scale biography is to not only look at Hefner himself, but also his influence and his persona in post-World War II America.

There are a lot of things in culture that Hefner portrayed, but Watts said Hefner was a historical figure in two areas. He first challenged the sexual mores of the culture, working for the sexual liberation of both men and women. Which, in looking at today's culture, has changed drastically since World War II.

Secondly, he promoted what Watts calls the consumer revolution.

"Playboy magazine painted a picture of the 'good life' for young men," Watts said. "In the early editions, two-thirds of the magazine was filled with Hefner's advice to young men on how to live that life."

The magazine has long included advertisements of fine liquor, sports cars and the latest dress, amid the women.

It is also, and has been, a controversial topic for women.

"Since the 1960s, through the 1970s, and even on into the '80s, there was a strong attack on Hefner by feminists," Watts said.

And the ongoing attack has been from the same stance, that Hefner's magazine objectifies women. In response, Watts said, Hefner always considered himself a liberal. The magazine set out to be a liberationist magazine, saving the uptight middle class from their norms, Watts said.

"I think he was horrified by these attacks, and felt betrayed by them," he said.

Watts said the book will be in stores on Oct. 1.