In Defense of Playboy

Because Dave and I are in a key demographic for certain publishers, we have been given the opportunity to receive several magazines free of charge. Intermingled with out complimentary subscriptions to Opera News, Women's Day, Allure, Shape and Baseball Digest, we also receive... Playboy.

Not to be snotty, but I feel it's necessary to start off with what I don't like: bad, "take my wife please" jokes; sexist, unfunny cartoons; the back tabloid-ish page where they gleefully post TMZ "oops!" pics of celebrity nipple slips; the girls represented are more or less lily white; and Hef is just creepy.

But is it porn?

The ol' "you know it when you see it" doesn't seem to apply here. The pictorals are artful, tasteful, and romantic, not at all degrading. This month's photo spread celebrates the playmate of the year in retro cheesecake that is playful and beautiful. And you can tell the girls feel beautiful in these pictures.

And that is one thing that is delightful about the overall tone of the magazine, is its love of women. While women of age, color or size are not always depicted, they are represented in advice columns, features, and celebrated for what they bring to mens' lives. By Playboy's standards, the girls may be here for the looking, but for them, there's nothing to compare with the warm body at home.

The advice column is also a plus. Instead of dealing with writer's issues like a snarky frat boy (Maxim), the column tackles issues with grace, dignity and frankness. Articles on grooming, etiquette and style steer readers away from stereotypical boorish womanizing behavior and towards being gentleman.

And the writing is spectacular. A recent short story about a man who marries his next door neighbor was thrilling and chilling. Interviews are conducted with intelligence for both audience and subject. And a recent sex poll was fascinating as well as on par with findings by the same-month issue published by Glamour magazine. It is one magazine I read cover to cover.

But the one thing that was both touching and surprising was a tiny bit on a Playmate from 1978 who had recently passed from breast cancer. This tiny obit mentioned her love of dance and if you saw a a star twinkling, it was probably her dancing. It was a lovely gesture and a touch of grace.

To judge a mag by its cover is to do Playboy injustice. If you can look beyond the sleazy duck cartoon, you will see something quite elegant.