Colin James: Say what you will, Hugh Hefner changed the world
HE was a chauvinist pig who made his millions exploiting women, but nonetheless, I say rest in peace Hugh Hefner, writes Colin James.
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REGARDLESS of what you think of him, Hugh Hefner was a deadset legend.
He dared to be different and, in his own way, helped change the world.
Few men, if any men, can claim to have led a life like Hefner did. But there are thousands, if not millions, of them across the world who privately wished they had.
Yes, by today’s standards, Hefner was a sexist, chauvinistic pig who made his fortune exploiting naked women. Yes he produced sex-laden glossy magazines depicting women in degrading poses. Yes he lived with his own harem of ditzy blondes in a faux mansion renowned for its cocaine-fuelled, alcohol-sodden parties. Yes he objectified women and made them look like second-class citizens.
All of this happened at a time when societal attitudes were vastly different, before the rise of feminism and political correctness. Hefner was a publishing pioneer who would have been slaughtered if he had arrived on the planet 50 years later than he did.
Instead, he created Playboy in the post-war 1950s, combining the world’s first images of nude women with mens-only cartoons, jokes, fiction and in-depth articles, many of which are still regarded as some of the finest investigative journalism to be published.
His first cover girl was Marilyn Monroe. She would be followed by a legion of famous women who, compared to modern pornography and some magazine competitors, would tastefully pose naked over decades for Hefner’s iconic “Playmate” centrefold spreads.
Battling conservative forces determined to wipe him out, he used his mantle as Playboy’s publisher to become an advocate for free speech, civil rights and sexual freedom. He was one of the biggest champions of the sexual revolution through the 1960s and 1970s.
In his smoking jacket, he hosted party after-party at his mansion in Beverly Hills, his guests a veritable who’s who of American celebrities and politicians served and entertained by women dressed as his trademark, the Playboy Bunny.
For teenage boys in the 1970s and 1980s, Hefner introduced many to the female anatomy through the pages of Playboy. While their fathers would say they bought the magazine for its articles, this was known to be a common lie.
At 91, Hefner cannot be said to have lived a dull live. Up until his death yesterday from natural causes, he was still living in his mansion with his latest wife, Crystal. But that was typical Hefner.
As he once said: “Life is too short to be living someone else’s dream”. RIP Hef.
Colin James is the opinion editor of The Advertiser.
Originally published as Colin James: Say what you will, Hugh Hefner changed the world
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