Period 1
4/1/18
The man, the myth, the legend.
Born on April 9, 1926, in Chicago, little was known that this baby would create one of the first multi-billion dollar companies that changed the magazine, and sex industry forever. Ironically Hugh Hefner was born into a religious family and attended Sayre Elementary as well as Steinmetz High School. He went onto being drafted in the army during WWII but never saw any combat and was discharged in 1946. Hephner went on to study at the Chicago art institute and then went to get a degree in psychology. Hefner released his first magazine titles "Playboy" after receiving $8,000 from 45 different investors. It hit the shelves in 1953 and started a nude photo of Marilyn Monroe on the front page, quickly selling over 50,000 copies. A reason for the magazine's success was because of the post-WWII depression people sought an outlet and went to "playboy" to express their feelings. Hefner quickly built up his multi-billion dollar empire after his infamous "playboy bunnies" hit the shelves and guys and girls from all over the country loved it. After expanding from just magazines Hefner created different playboy clubs similar to those of strip clubs and broadened his magazines to men photos as well. Hefner went to life until 2017 in his infamous Playboy mansion.
Interesting post, Gavin! The story of Hugh Hefner really epitomizes the changing attitude toward sexual freedom in the mid to late 1900s. Compared to earlier in history, the changes brought about in the 1950s were remarkable, especially in regards to freedom of expression for women. For example, in earlier times, women were not allowed to express themselves, especially sexually, because they only were allowed to be mothers as per the doctrine of Republican Motherhood. Based on this theory, a woman's only responsibility was to raise a good son. Under this doctrine, women were barely allowed to say how they felt or have aspirations for the future, much less embrace their sexualities in the public sphere. From this movement to the sexual revolution of the 1950s, it can clearly be seen how the role of women in the public sphere has changed dramatically.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.ushistory.org/us/12d.asp