Third week: the realization that one's eyes are glazing over at the sight of photos of naked men, who all begin to look the same. Amusement at all the full-frontal photos that regular Joes - plumbers among them - mailed in. Second week: less shock, less terror, less horror. First week: shock at being inundated with photos of naked men slight horror at catching sight of photos from Blue Horizon's triple-X magazines terror at having to put out a magazine with only two other people. Outwardly, it seemed the blandest of places, were it not for the lurid photos and videos that filled workers' computer screens.Īfter being hired at Playgirl, each woman followed a similar trajectory of experiences: Playgirl shared offices with Blue Horizon's other publications in a fluorescent-lighted hive of gray cubicles in an old Art Deco building near Grand Central Terminal. I'm definitely all about looking at naked dudes." "It definitely was bit intense at first," she said. Weiner was the only one who said she half aspired to a career in pornography publishing. "In the end," she said, "that was far greater than reservations I had."Ĭaldwell hired Collins after she wrote an essay for the magazine about orgasm-related migraines. Landing such a high-profile job just four months out of graduate school seemed "so over the top," Caldwell said.
Weiner and Caldwell got their jobs the old-fashioned way: by sending in a resume. In the end, Playgirl was run by a skeleton crew of these three editors, along with what Caldwell described as "a whole horde of eager unpaid interns."Ĭaldwell was a New Jersey girl who had helped run a community newspaper and graduated from Columbia's journalism school Collins has a master's in creative writing from the New School and Corinne Weiner, 26, the magazine's designer for its last 2 1/2 years, was a graduate of Pratt. We were the only magazine that offered naked men to women." "For better or worse, this was a real blow for feminism. "I think a different kind of porn is very degrading to women, but the kind of stuff we were peddling was about what women wanted," said Caldwell, who is 26. Now the three editors' nudie magazine with feminist leanings is gone, and with it, strange and exciting career moments. In contrast to much of the slender offerings of pornography aimed at women, which tends to be softer and more story-driven than that marketed toward men, Playgirl was in-your-face. Still, the magazine drew an avid readership, Caldwell said, selling 600,000 copies per issue in more than three dozen countries. (Playboy sued Playgirl in 1973 for trademark infringement the suit was settled amicably.) Over the years, the magazine changed ownership, began catering more to gay men, and whittled its operations down. Playgirl was started 35 years ago as a feminist response to Playboy and Penthouse. It did offer women a way to see some gorgeous hot, young, sexy guys, and nothing's wrong with that." "It was a great idea, and it could have been done better. "It was almost a way to get back at Playboy," said Pamela Des Barres, the famed former rock groupie, who wrote a music column for Playgirl. Yet for its writers and fans, something tangible has been lost in its closure. Playgirl's passing certainly will not be lamented as would the death of a more respected, or even a mildly respected, magazine. None of the magazine's editors is involved.Ĭaldwell said Playgirl magazine suffered from the twin malaises of rising costs and declining sales Blue Horizon Media did not return repeated calls for this article. The last issue, dated January/February 2009, recently arrived on newsstands.Īlthough the Playgirl Web site is still running, the graphic content is geared more toward gay men. The women's dreams crashed when Blue Horizon Media, which also puts out hard-core magazines, announced it was shutting Playgirl.