# Who the Hell Even Buys Playgirl, Anyway?? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 21, 2005, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-the-hell-even-buys-playgirl-anyway/295647 "2005-03-21T23:28:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2005, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-the-hell-even-buys-playgirl-anyway/295647/21 "2005-03-22T01:03:57Z")
I don’t _buy_ Playgirl, but I sometimes get offers for free issues so I go ahead and take them. Good-looking naked men are good-looking naked men, regardless of who the providers of said naked men are pretending to market to. The models are shown fully erect and have been for at least the last several years. There’s also “erotic” fiction, which I skip, letters to the editor, advice columnists, a celebrity interview or two and lots and lots of ads for hardcore gay male pornography. Oh, I have to amend my first sentence slightly. I do sometimes buy Playgirl, but only when someone I know is a model. Which, oddly, happens more often than you’d think. I’m always amused by the phony answers the magazine makes up for its model Q&As when I know the men involved would never say anything of the sort on the topic of pleasuring women (what with their being gay and all). ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2005, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-the-hell-even-buys-playgirl-anyway/295647/22 "2005-03-22T01:09:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Who the Hell Even Buys Playgirl, Anyway?? [Log Cabin Republicans.](http://www.logcabin.org/logcabin/homepage2.html) 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Loopydude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e56c9b/32.png) [@Loopydude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopydude)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2005, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-the-hell-even-buys-playgirl-anyway/295647/23 "2005-03-22T01:36:43Z")
Hmmm. All vedy, vedy intellestink. Sanks zoh much for all your goodt anzers, ja! ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2005, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-the-hell-even-buys-playgirl-anyway/295647/24 "2005-03-22T01:52:41Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > I’ve only ever seen a handful of, _ahem_, nude male-type people. I suppose I wanted to expand my reportoire without actually expanding my reportoire. Well, you know, there’s an easy way to fix that without spending a lot of money (or, heck, _any_ money). Just start a thread asking male Dopers to email you nekkid pictures of themselves. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![belladonna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9fc29f/32.png) [@belladonna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/belladonna)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2005, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-the-hell-even-buys-playgirl-anyway/295647/25 "2005-03-22T02:11:47Z")
> [@Rilchiam](#): > > Incidentally, what do y’all think of women who read **Playboy**? I’ve had a subscription ever since I got my own place, so I think it’s cool. Such a cliche, but it really is an enjoyable read. As for Playgirl, the only issue I’ve ever seen made the rounds on the bus ride to Washington DC on our eighth grade class trip. This would have been back in 1990 or so. One of the teacher’s daughter was a chaparone, and it was an 18th birthday present to her from her mother. It was \*very \* dogeared by the end of the trip. It’s funny, I can’t recall any of the pictures now, but I can still remember in detail a story in the “dear playgirl” section involving mashed potatoes, a demanding husband and a submissive wife. It was my first exposure to porn outside of Playboy or the Joy of Sex books, which are very non-explicit of course, and I think it really helped helped shaped my current porn preferences. Must have got me at just the right age, heh. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2005, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-the-hell-even-buys-playgirl-anyway/295647/26 "2005-03-22T02:14:08Z")
Well, if Play_girl_ is as boring as Play_boy_, then I’d be just as surprised that anyone looks at it. Airbrushed and artsy-fartsy ain’t my idea of erotic. But to each his or her own, I quess. ---
**Author:** ![Earthling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/90db22/32.png) [@Earthling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earthling)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2005, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-the-hell-even-buys-playgirl-anyway/295647/27 "2005-03-22T02:57:39Z")
A factual answer to the OP’s question, of sorts. _Playgirl_’s circulation was around [500,000](http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_g1epc/is_tov/ai_2419100965) copies in the late 1990s. By 2002, however, that number had dropped to [350,000](http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/special/enron/1579949). In contrast, _Playboy_’s circulation is a bit over [3 million](http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1421585) in the US and around [4.5 million](http://www.answerbag.com/q_view.php/2733) worldwide, and is described as “stable” (all links are work-safe). I don’t know how rigorously checked these numbers are or how long Ms. Zipp has held her post at _Playgirl_, but it’s plausible to argue that she was sacked for lack of performance rather than political leanings. ---
**Author:** ![Astroboy14](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/df705f/32.png) [@Astroboy14](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Astroboy14)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2005, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-the-hell-even-buys-playgirl-anyway/295647/28 "2005-03-22T03:23:43Z")
> [@Tuckerfan](#): > > Well, you know, there’s an easy way to fix that without spending a lot of money (or, heck, _any_ money). Just start a thread asking male Dopers to email you nekkid pictures of themselves. 😃 You _SWORE_ you wouldn’t tell!! **Runs, sobbing, into the night…** ---
**Author:** ![Telperien](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/65b543/32.png) [@Telperien](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telperien)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2005, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-the-hell-even-buys-playgirl-anyway/295647/29 "2005-03-22T04:09:42Z")
One of my roommates had a couple of copies of _Playgirl_, stored, amusingly, in a brown paper bag. She also had an amusingly tacky porn DVD that made us giggly, not horny. The guys in the magazine were rather handsome, but the vapid expressions on their faces cracked me up. I do not remember if the models were hard or not. Maybe I’m just not that interested in dicks, who knows? Give me a guy in a t-shirt and jeans that really fit him (neither too tight or too loose), though, and lock the door behind you when you leave. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2005, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-the-hell-even-buys-playgirl-anyway/295647/30 "2005-03-22T04:14:48Z")
> [@Harimad-sol](#): > > One of my roommates had a couple of copies of _Playgirl_, stored, amusingly, in a brown paper bag. She also had an amusingly tacky porn DVD that made us giggly, not horny. The guys in the magazine were rather handsome, but the vapid expressions on their faces cracked me up. I do not remember if the models were hard or not. Maybe I’m just not that interested in dicks, who knows? > > Give me a guy in a t-shirt and jeans that really fit him (neither too tight or too loose), though, and lock the door behind you when you leave. 😃 Oh, well, _that_ explains your reaction to the pic I sent you then. Whew! I thought it was because I was hideous, or something. Not that I haven’t gotten worse reactions from people encountering my nekkidness. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2005, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-the-hell-even-buys-playgirl-anyway/295647/31 "2005-03-22T04:24:37Z")
> [@Tuckerfan](#): > > Oh, well, _that_ explains your reaction to the pic I sent you then. Whew! I thought it was because I was hideous, or something. Not that I haven’t gotten worse reactions from people encountering my nekkidness. You sent her a nekkid pic?! :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2005, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-the-hell-even-buys-playgirl-anyway/295647/32 "2005-03-22T04:27:20Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > You sent her a nekkid pic?! :dubious: Yup. Ya want one too? ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2005, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-the-hell-even-buys-playgirl-anyway/295647/33 "2005-03-22T04:31:57Z")
I’ve had a _Playgirl_ subscription for the past couple of years. Many of the guys pictured are hard, which is one of the reasons I subscribed: I definitely have a thing for looking at erections, be they live or Memorex. A hard man is, indeed, good to find. 🙂 I used to like the erotica, too, but it’s gone downhill lately … as has the rest of the mag, in my opinion. The recent overhaul of the look/content is horrible, and I plan to let my subscription lapse this time around. (No more Angry Frank. Hmph. :mad: ) I have, however, kept every issue I’ve gotten, and will continue to keep them around for, um, “reference.” ---
**Author:** ![Telperien](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/65b543/32.png) [@Telperien](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telperien)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2005, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-the-hell-even-buys-playgirl-anyway/295647/34 "2005-03-22T04:39:21Z")
> [@Misnomer](#): > > I’ve had a _Playgirl_ subscription for the past couple of years. Many of the guys pictured are hard, which is one of the reasons I subscribed: I definitely have a thing for looking at erections, be they live or Memorex. A hard man is, indeed, good to find. 🙂 I don’t know why I don’t remember. Maybe I just like boners more when they’re for me, so to speak. Dunno. It’s weird, though. **Tuckerfan,** I appreciated the picture. Really. You’re not hideous. Far from it. ---
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2005, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-the-hell-even-buys-playgirl-anyway/295647/35 "2005-03-22T04:40:25Z")
> [@Loopydude](#): > > This might be an IMO, but seems relatively Pitworthy, so whatever… > > Inspired by [this](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=308042) thread. > > Obviously the OP’s position is a post-hoc-crock of shite. > > But what I really can’t understand is getting irate over whatever happens at _Playgirl_. Quite frankly, I didn’t even know the mag existed anymore. I once asked my wife if she’d ever gotten a playgirl, and her reply, after making the “I just sniffed poo” face, was to say she’d rather look at Play_boy_; and she’s about the straightest woman I’ve ever met. I’ve only ever been in a gay bookstore once (Lambda Rising in DC), but they shure had a lotta other stuff besides Playgirl on the shelves that I would think would be far more interesting to the male of that persuasion. Apparently women think it’s supremely tacky, and men will probably think it’s pitifully lightweight. Could we possibly rage at anything more obscure here? > > Go on, I dare you to admit it: Do you read Playgirl?? > > And if nobody does: Is that the best the Repugnicans can do to demonstrate Left-Wing media bias??? Cite logical fallacies surrounding management changes at a softcore porn mag that nobody consumes?? > > The mind fucking boggles. Gay men ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2005, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-the-hell-even-buys-playgirl-anyway/295647/36 "2005-03-22T05:26:45Z")
> [@Harimad-sol](#): > > **Tuckerfan,** I appreciated the picture. Really. You’re not hideous. Far from it. I’m just ribbin’ ya. Like a lot of males, I get insecure when I show a woman the “goods” and she’s not awestruck. Of course, it doesn’t help that when I unveiled Mr. Happy for one female, she promptly ran to the bathroom and puked. _That_ does wonders for your self-esteem, let me tell you. ---
**Author:** ![Telperien](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/65b543/32.png) [@Telperien](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telperien)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2005, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-the-hell-even-buys-playgirl-anyway/295647/37 "2005-03-22T06:17:09Z")
> [@Tuckerfan](#): > > I’m just ribbin’ ya. Like a lot of males, I get insecure when I show a woman the “goods” and she’s not awestruck. Of course, it doesn’t help that when I unveiled Mr. Happy for one female, she promptly ran to the bathroom and puked. _That_ does wonders for your self-esteem, let me tell you. :eek: You poor thing. For the record, my reaction is generally not awestruck. If I’m going to be awestruck, then I’m not letting that thing in bed with me. I’m more like, “Cool. Let’s get to it.” Sigh. I’m such a romantic. ---
**Author:** ![slortar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@slortar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slortar)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2005, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-the-hell-even-buys-playgirl-anyway/295647/38 "2005-03-22T13:24:39Z")
> [@Tuckerfan](#): > > Of course, it doesn’t help that when I unveiled Mr. Happy for one female, she promptly ran to the bathroom and puked. _That_ does wonders for your self-esteem, let me tell you. Hey, at least she didn’t puke on **you**. That’s true love, I’m telling you. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2005, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-the-hell-even-buys-playgirl-anyway/295647/39 "2005-03-22T14:24:27Z")
> [@Tuckerfan](#): > > Yup. Ya want one too? And you have no problem admitting this online? Um. Yeah. Sure, I’ll take one, if only for curiosity’s sake. And be aware there will be no reciprocation. :o ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2005, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-the-hell-even-buys-playgirl-anyway/295647/40 "2005-03-22T14:35:47Z")
> [@faithfool](#): > > … all put-on glitz and trying way too hard to be smoldering and hotness personified. A definite turn off. See, that right there is one of the big differences between men & women, I think… > [@Tuckerfan](#): > > Of course, it doesn’t help that when I unveiled Mr. Happy for one female, she promptly ran to the bathroom and puked. That does wonders for your self-esteem, let me tell you. [Life imitates art.](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104036/) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-the-hell-even-buys-playgirl-anyway/295647.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-the-hell-even-buys-playgirl-anyway/295647.md?page=3)