Whatever one's feelings about this strategy, it worked brilliantly, and hastened the acceptance of the male nude as no "physique" magazine - before AND after PG - ever could.
That fear was effectively extinguished for good by Playgirl Magazine with its "For Women Only" branding - while being fully aware that men constitute a large, unacknowledged audience. While the "physique" magazines of yore scored their fair share of good-looking and well-endowed models, they remained esoteric and could not attract many of the otherwise willing specimens of American male beauty because the latter feared being branded as gay. It is a well-established fact that a significant number, if not a majority, of Playgirl's readers and collectors are men, gay as well as, by open admission, straight, who were looking to compare and size themselves up versus the models, and in the hope of landing on PG's coveted Centerfold, too. One of the singular appeals of PG's Specials is that apart from reproducing images from its previous Issues, the Portfolio also showed previously unpublished nudes, "bonuses" for the magazine's fully evolved, loyal audience, just before men began taking "selfies" and the exhibitionists among them started posting them online.
#PLAYGIRL MAGAZINE PICTURES FULL#
The models, who all appeared in the original issues of Playgirl Magazine during its very last full decade (2000-2006), represent, individually and collectively, some of the handsomest and sexiest men Playgirl Magazine ever discovered and photographed. "Men of Summer", "Men In College", and "The Best Centerfolds" were the recurring themes of PG's Special Issues. Page after page of male nudes, in the great outdoors, basking in the glorious sun. Presents Playgirl Magazine's "Men of Summer" Special Portfolio Issue Number 55. Published in a small and limited print run as a softcover original only that sold out upon publication. A fine copy of Playgirl Magazine's 2006 "Men of Summer" Special Portfolio Issue. (SEE ALSO OTHER PLAYGIRL MAGAZINE TITLES IN OUR CATALOG). This is surely an accessible and lovely alternative. Please note: Copies available online have serious flaws because they have been pored over. This is one of few copies still available online and is in especially fine condition: Clean, crisp, and bright, a beauty. This Inaugural January 1973 Issue is an erotic photography classic. An absolute "must-have" title for Playgirl Magazine and male erotic photography collectors. In contrast, the male nude magazines explicitly for gay men invariably came and went.
As such, the Playgirl story is a fascinating and telling bit of American culture: The fact is that throughout its long existence, up to 90% of its subscribers were men (mostly, though not exclusively, gay), without whom it would not have lasted so long, forty-plus years being the longest-running male nude magazine in America ever. Playgirl Magazine lasted for forty-plus years, peaking during the late-1970's, 1980's, and 1990's, managing to snag the men who appeared in it because the latter believed that it was a "Magazine For Women". The single most-visited website listing of Playgirl Magazines commences with it. Playgirl Magazine's first year was tumultuous: The magazine was stopped in its tracks by opponents (both the religious/conservative establishment and the then-"Women's Lib" puritanical feminists), and, after overcoming the barrage of criticism and outright censorship, did not publish what it considers to be its first full-fledged "Maiden Issue" until June, 1973 ("Lyle Waggoner"), which most people consider to be its first. But it is the Cover Image of a hirsute, bare chest, one of the best covers Playgirl Magazine has ever done, that is worth the price of entry. Features the legendary racer Michael Hiss as the very first Centerfold. Presents "Playgirl Magazine Inaugural Issue". Published in a small and limited "trial run", the Issue sold out upon publication.
A fine copy of Playgirl Magazine's Inaugural January 1973 Issue.