Playgirl: The Nuts and Bolts (Adults only)
Written: Apr 24 '00 (Updated Oct 08 '00)
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Pros: Good Pictures, Nice Try in Concept
Cons: Lame Articles, Objectifies Men, Misses the Mark
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| netKat's Full Review: Playgirl Magazine |
***Warning: if you do not want to read about a magazine devoted to titillating sexually explicit articles and pictures of naked men, please do not continue***
I'm not going to lie. I did not buy this magazine because of the articles. I bought it because I wanted to look at some naked men. OK. There, I admit it. And if I could hide out in the men's locker room, I'd do that too. :)
I have been perusing Playgirl for nearly two decades, picking up an issue every once in a blue moon (no pun intended). Boy, have things changed over time. Let's just say the Playgirl Magazine of today is a lot, uh, harder than the fledgling Playgirl Magazine of my youth, perhaps in response to stiffer competition (sorry).
I know the general consensus is that women don't really like this kind of stuff, at least not the way men do. Well, somebody is buying it because this magazine is still in business after all these years, so let's examine this phenomenon of turnabout on the typical men's "entertainment" magazines.
--What is in this Magazine?--
Well, according to the cover: The World's Hardest Men, make you sweat till you scream; 12 Buff Hunks, strip down and pump it up; Male and Hearty, our sexy centerfold; A Naughty Exercise Guide; and a famous soap opera actor "flexes more than his acting muscle". Then there's the cover shot of a very handsome man, the actor, in a very brief swimsuit, semi-submerged in bubbling clear water. Ahh.
From the name on down, the magazine attempts to copy it's more successful men's magazine counterparts.
As you open the magazine, you are assaulted with various 800 numbers to call, illustrated with the gentlemen, in various stages of undress, with whom you will presumably be speaking, for a fee, of course.
The quality and weight of the paper is significantly less than that of male oriented magazines of a similar genre. The magazine is also markedly thinner than its contemporaries as well, owing to far fewer pages of advertisements.
The Table of Contents
Nicely laid out (no pun intended) over two pages, detailing the regular Departments and Features. Page numbers are provided to reference the articles, however, there are very few pages in the magazine that actually have numbers on them rendering this effort almost worthless.
Man on the Street
A picture of a regular clothed guy is shown and 4 women are asked to comment on his body and judge his attributes. Ratings are given on face, body, sex appeal, and then the final score: Dumbell, Bench Mess, Naughty-lus, or Stare Master. I have never even seen a men's magazine treat women this way.
A related article on the page across from this feature is entitled "10 Ways to Score a Guy at the Gym". The intent, I guess, is to get the guys' attention while at the gym using tee-hee-hee slutty flirtatious techniques, but the effect is really a put down of both women and men.
The Pictorials
The pictorials are similar to what you would find in Playboy and Penthouse, but with males in the objectified role, and softer core. There is very minimal couple activity and no penetration, either implied or actual. Even the ludicrous comments and biographical blurbs are an attempt to mirror the men's magazines.
Here is a typical example:
"But the muscle that hit us like a tsunami was that beast which thundered between his legs. When the director's pants hit the floor, so did our jaws, because like Jaws, this fish was the mother of all sharks!"
The guys are good looking and muscular, with appropriate attention paid to rear views. Every once in a while there is a picture that will probably cause you to laugh out loud... like a naked guy trying to kick a soccer ball, or a naked guy leaning over the open hood of a car, presumably about to engage in some dangerous auto repair work.
Readers' Erotic Encounters
Stories, which have ostensibly been submitted by readers, are featured in this section, accompanied by cameo pictures a la Penthouse Letters. The writing is not bad, although somewhat less graphic than one would find in a men's magazine. The story lines seem to take precedence a bit more, with vestiges of relationships interwoven amongst the soft to medium core sexual encounters. There's nothing wild going on here, folks, but it is reasonably effective for mild erotica.
The Buzz
This section seems to be patterned after Playboy, but is nowhere near as witty, comprehensive, or useful. It consists of just 2 pages with "the pulse of entertainment and the best of film, music, websites and more". Not.
The Centerfold
Well, it's the usual two pages with the staples in the middle. What more can I say? :)
Celebrity Feature
In this case, the soap opera star from the cover. The interview is mundane, but his personality does show through. The most you see in the pictures of this guy is his butt, and I bet you can practically see that on soap operas these days anyway!
Sex Talk with Dr. Joy
Fairly pedestrian questions, less racy than those found in Cosmopolitan or asked of Dr. Ruth.
The Men in Your Life
You know the concept, send in pictures of your hottie and he can be famous and you can get paid $250. This is a direct lift from Beaver Hunt in Hustler. Here we have 4 pages of your average guy next door lounging around naked. I don't know. I can see that they're trying to look sexy, but it just isn't working, especially compared to the professional shots elsewhere in the magazine. Nice try though guys!
Coming Attractions
"Look what that wonderful maker of ours let wash up on the shore! If it isn't a 6'2" stunner named Jerry who's built like the Titanic and just as likely to go down! It's time to drown, friends... in desire."
Oy.
What's missing?
The pseudo intellectual well written articles found in the men's magazines. There is no witty writing, no topical investigations, nothing of interest above and beyond naked men. This magazine relies solely on the shock/novelty of full frontal male nudity to hold the "reader's" interest. It is almost insulting that the editors pay no attention to our need for intellectual stimulation. Even Hustler does at least that, well it tries to anyway.
--Overall Impression--
This magazine is bent on reducing men to pieces of meat to be objectified and judged as a sum of their naked body parts. Sounds kind of familiar, doesn't it, only this time it's men instead of women. Because turnabout is fair play, I like the concept of a women's magazine like this, but rather than groveling to the lowest common denominator displayed by your typical men's nudie mag, it would be a lot more effective, and attractive, to raise the bar.
Men and women are different. Taking a men's magazine format and simply changing the roles and attempting to duplicate the results is not the answer. I wish there was more imagination, creativity, and intellect exhibited with this concept. Give us an intelligent magazine devoted to the display and discussion of men, in all their glory and sexuality and I'll subscribe. As it stands, I'd rather read Men's Health or Maxim than Playgirl.
--Of course, there's a Website--
The Playgirl site requires a credit card number to get inside. In the interest of researching this review, I sacrificed this information and entered the realm of potential pay to play web porn. They clearly state the credit card information is only to prove that you are 18 or over and that your card will not be charged. However, despite promises of a free preview, while cruising my way through the site on the "free tour" somehow an account was set up and my credit card was actually billed! More on that later.
Back to the preview. Oh my. Ladies, there's more salami in here than a good NY delicatessen. Where's the beef? It's at Playgirl.com. And when I clicked on, uh, a particularly interesting specimen, I was signed up for a membership without my consent. What is a membership? It's $2.00 per day for a minimum of 30 days! That's a lot of overpriced bologna!
A prompt call to customer service yielded being stuck in a recorded message loop for over 30 minutes. Apparently there is no chance of escape. I did call my credit card issuer to let them know this was a fraudulent charge, and I wrote a scathing letter to Playgirl.com's customer service and cancellation email addresses.
Based on this deceptive practice, I would not recommend this site. In fact, I am reporting them to the Better Business Bureau (if that's possible for an outfit based in Guatemala) and writing a letter to the Editor in Chief of Playgirl Magazine highlighting the deceptive practices on this site. I will also file a formal complaint with American Express against this site. Under no circumstances would I recommend getting trapped by this "free preview". Nice pictures though. :)
--Final Thoughts--
The strategy of people trying to build themselves up by putting other people down is not one that will be successful in the long term. Sure it's fun for a while to point and judge and laugh with some backslapping locker room humor, objectifying men in the manner that has befallen women for years in these magazines. But it gets old fast. What women really want to see, at least this woman, are real (naked) men, interesting articles, intriguing thoughts, effective erotica, humorous tidbits, intellectual stimulation, and good advice. Playgirl does not even come close. Sorry. :)
You may also be interested in these related reviews:
Sex+Potty Humor+Shock Jock Tactics = Hustler (adults)
http://www.epinions.com/mags-review-399F-58C4CE1-393924EF-prod5
Nasty Habits: My foray in the Amsterdam Red Light District
http://www.epinions.com/trvl-review-3AC-1ED4CD0-38CD872A-prod2
Recommended:
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Epinions.com ID:
netKat
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Member: Kat
Location: Maryland
Reviews written: 166
Trusted by: 885 members
About Me:
Analytically inclined mom, bank officer, freelance writer, and internet addict.
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