An Open Letter to All Playboy Models

Dear Ms. Beautiful Playboy Model,

How have you been? I hope things have been going well. So, I have a question for you. I had recently found an article from when Playboy was going through the west coast to find the Girls of the Pac-10. And of course, as you might know, when Playboy comes to visit, out comes the praise as well as the critics. The article was from the Oregon State University newspaper, the Daily Barometer, and was written by a nursing student. She asked the question, why do women choose to pose for Playboy? However, she looked at it from kind of an anti-Playboy view. I wanted to answer it from not only the middle but even the Playboy fans point of view. And what better way than to ask those who really know, the beautiful ladies that have actually posed and more than likely do have a reason why they posed for Playboy. So, I ask the same question to you, why did you choose to pose for Playboy and why do you think women choose to pose? It would be great if you could help. Thank you so very much!

Sincerely,
Albert

P.S. You may respond back by comment or email, plybynme@gmail.com. Thanks again!

The Origins

The beginnings of this blog was an article in the Oregon State University newspaper called the Daily Barometer, that was influenced by a visit by Playboy, who was holding a casting call to search for the Girls of the Pac-10. The article was written by a nursing student, Sarah Paeth, who started off the article by playfully preparing us for "a feminist-filled 500-word rant about objectifying women and demonizing the male species." But, she didn't want to write that type of article because she didn't want to waste her own time writing it as well as the readers' time reading it. Instead, she asked the question, why do women choose to pose for Playboy? It surely is a valid question. But she came at it from an anti-Playboy point-of-view. It seemed that she didn't even try to answer the question either. Instead, it was like she was sitting next to an OSU co-ed and trying to convince her not to pose for Playboy. I felt that it was very important to look at and answer the question from, not only the opposite point-of-view, but right down the middle.

I think that this article intrigued me because it opened a whole new set of questions and topics. This blog was originally going to be a collection of the responses that I had received from the different models. But I felt that I could expand more on Playboy. Not only truly answer the question why women pose for Playboy, but discover people's view on Playboy today, the relationship between feminists and the magazine and other issues.

After I found this article, I found
another article from the Washington State University newspaper. The editor of the paper, called the Evergreen, assigned staff writer Janel Brown to cover the Playboy visit. But her assignment was not only to write about the visit but to be a part of it. She was asked to try out to be one of the girls of the pac-10 and she thought, why not? She gave it a shot and she had a blast doing it!

These two different articles and views on Playboy shows the magazine is still relevant. The Playboy brand is still here and kicking ass. Playboy magazine has been a big influence on me and I thought it would be great to share my thoughts and maybe even some adventures.

What Is...Sexy? Revisited

I would love to share a blog post from my personal blog, That Humble Swagger, that i wrote some time ago. I felt it was appropriate to share this here because Playboy is filled with the sexy. The sexy that I find sexy.

So, I now present, What Is...Sexy?
What sexy does is sexy.

A strong, confident woman is sexy. A strong, confident older woman is even sexier. 

Intelligence is sexy. Multi-lingual girls are sexy. 

Multi-cultured girls are sexy. Cultured girls are sexy too.

A sexy voice can make your soul quiver. The sound of a woman in high heels walking down a hallway is sexy. Well-defined calves are sexy. 

Beyoncé is sexy. So is Martha Stewart.

A girl who can tell me who the starting center was for the L.A. Lakers in game 6 of the NBA finals in 1980 is very sexy.

A girl who can play the drums is sexy. A girl who can DJ is just as sexy.

Uniqueness is sexy. Individuality is uniquely sexy.

A 5'8" supermodel is sexy. A 4'11" Playboy model is SO much sexier. 

Natural beauty is sexy. Voluptuousness is super sexy.

Sexy is timeless. No matter the era, their sexy is our sexy. Sexy is ageless. Ageless is sexy.

A woman with muscles is sexy. Strength is sexy.

Funny women are sexy. A sense of humor is sexy.

Women with curves are sexy. Mothers are sexy. 

Classic beauty is sexy.

Most sexy women are beautiful. Most beautiful women are sexy. Although not all beautiful women are sexy. Some sexy women would not necessarily be considered a real beauty. But they don't care and that is sexy!

Sexy is sexy. What is sexy to you?

Me and Playboy

Playboy and I go way back. Not only for the boobs and butts, although those were a couple of good reasons for being a fan, but Playboy is a brand, a culture as well as a lifestyle. In my early teens, I was curious. Then, in my late teens, I became a fan. And finally, as I approach my thirties, a connoseiur. From the website to the message boards to the Playmate signings, I was and still am into everything Playboy.

I remember being in grade school and hearing of my friends going to the public library, right next door to the school, and taking out an issue of Playboy, going off into a corner and looking through its pages. In high school, when the internet finally entered our family home, I delved into the Playboy website, searching for the Playmate centerfolds, from the centerfolds of the golden age of the magazine to the Playmates of today. I found old-school beauty, Cathy St. George's centerfold, Baywatch beauty-turned-Playmate, Donna D'Errico, and my favorite Playmate of all-time, Miss February 1995, Lisa Marie Scott. I certainly was captivated. Not only by the most beautiful women in the world, but by the brand, the culture of Playboy.

In my college days, I would search out where the Playmate signings would be around the San Francisco Bay Area. I drove up to the city to meet and greet the very beautiful Miss April 2000, Brande Roderick, who signed her own issue for me. A few years later, I attended the 50th anniversary Playmate search party in downtown San Francisco. It was fun to meet and chill with some of the girls next door.

I got lost in the Playboy history and how Mr. Hefner started the magazine in Chicago with only $600 plus borrowing $6000. I emersed myself into the Playboy Philosophy. Playboy magazine, Hugh Hefner and his Philosophy influenced me tremendously. In some way, they steered me to the creative route. I wanted to create my own magazine. I wanted to create my own philosophy. I wanted to change the world just as Mr. Hefner had done. And I still do.

Hello World

This blog began just as a little blog post for my personal blog, That Humble Swagger. That post, which hasn't been finished quite yet, was inspired by an article that asked the question, why do women choose to pose for Playboy? The article was written by an Oregon State University nursing student, who I felt wrote it from a 'traditional' feminists' point-of-view and didn't get the perspective of those who can really answer the question that she had asked. Who better to answer the question of why than the girls who have actually posed for Playboy? I knew that most of them had a good reason for why they had posed.

Being a member of the Playboy message boards for almost six years, I kept coming back for the simple fact that there are more than a few models that come to chat there. I certainly had access to what she didn't have. I felt that it was a great idea to take advantage of that, reach out to the models and ask them why they chose to pose for Playboy as well as why they think women choose to pose.

I messaged every model that I could and got a great response from those that got back to me. I wanted to get a good mix of models' perspectives, from the young newcomers of the Casting Calls to the veteran SE models to the Playmates of yesteryear. I also went to a few Playboy employees, photographers and connoisseurs. I consistently got a great response from the new models that came by the boards. Also a couple of classic Playmates from the 1970s sent me back a message. With about less than 50 responses back, I thought it would be great to reach out to the other Playboy models that don't have access to the message boards. I know I'll get similar answers along with very different ones. As I was doing my research, those answers that I received back for why they came to Playboy led to many other questions regarding the girls, the brand and the magazine. There was more to the questions than just why. So I thought it would be fun to create this little blog to reach out, find and share these models' thoughts.

I certainly have had fun interacting with the models and have really enjoyed doing the research. I'd love to share my adventures with all of you. And so, I give the world...Playboy and Me.
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