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Inside the Mansion: Hugh Hefner’s Deepest “Playboy Secrets” Revealed
I grew up sneaking peeks of Playboy like millions of Baby Boomers. My uncle had a stash in his basement. Whenever we visited, my cousins and I would go to the basement for a little peep session.
But Playboy was more than about revealing breasts and curves. It was about achieving an ideal. For men, it was the tall, debonair Casanova a la James Bond; for women, a body for sin, like Melanie Griffith declared in Working Girl. Founder Hugh Hefner, with voluptuous platinum blondes by his side and in the magazine, cultivated an image of the ultimate cocksman who required a harem to satisfy his incessant sexual needs.
Feminists rightly criticized Playboy and its bunny culture, calling it misogynist. In reply, Hefner would coyly smile and joke about the articles. Yes, Playboy’s editorial content was once so stellar he and others could therefore justify the blatant objectification of women in its pages. How many times would a man claim he read Playboy for the articles. It was a great “cover” story.
The Secrets of Playboy miniseries currently on A&E focuses on Hefner and the woman he surrounded himself with. Hefner died in 2017, just prior to when the MeToo reckoning began. Several women who previously wrote tell-alls are featured in the first two episodes: Miki Garcia, Holly Madison…
