'Knowing What a Man Wants': Advertising in Playboy Magazine, 1972-1982

<a href="https://embed.stanford.edu/iframe/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpurl.stanford.edu%2Fgm318nq2639" class="su-underline">Show Content</a>

Abstract/Contents

Abstract: This article argues that faced with the changing cultural environment, competition and financial hardship, Playboy tried to find ways to adapt with more sexualised editorial content, while also making an attempt at maintaining normalcy in the advertising of their ideal Playboy lifestyle in the magazine to keep the illusion of a fantasy lifestyle alive for readers and keep advertisers happy. Playboy’s team, like their readers, had to navigate their own ideas of masculinity, sexuality and feminism – even if that meant maintaining the status quo. This led to an unclear goal for what Playboy was trying to be in the 1970s and 1980s.

Type of resource	text
Publication date	May 16, 2024; March 2024

Author	McDivitt, Anne Ladyem	https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3137-3251 (unverified)

DOI	https://doi.org/10.25740/gm318nq2639, https://doi.org/10.25740/gm318nq2639
Location	https://purl.stanford.edu/gm318nq2639

Use and reproduction: User agrees that, where applicable, content will not be used to identify or to otherwise infringe the privacy or confidentiality rights of individuals. Content distributed via the Stanford Digital Repository may be subject to additional license and use restrictions applied by the depositor.
License: This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license (CC BY).

Preferred citation: McDivitt, A. (2024). 'Knowing What a Man Wants': Advertising in Playboy Magazine, 1972-1982. Stanford Digital Repository. Available at https://purl.stanford.edu/gm318nq2639. https://doi.org/10.25740/gm318nq2639.

Stanford Libraries staff presentations, publications, and research

Loading usage metrics...