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Comment by striking | Hacker News Reader

That would be a good idea save for the mostly male audience of Playboy (mag/site). It's always tried to market itself as the Gentleman's magazine, and although it could try to market to women in terms of empowerment, I'd argue that it always tried to empower all people in terms of sexual freedom.

I don't think an all-male audience is where interviews on women leaders should go, simply because it won't sell.

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>That would be a good idea save for the mostly male audience of Playboy (mag/site).

Playboys audience and marketing is mostly female. Their profit is from selling their brand and most branded products are female marketed.

If Playboy wants to be a fashion magazine, it will probably not remain one only for men. If it does, well... they won't make much money because women probably make up a large majority of fashion purchasers. I think if Playboy started talking about women business leaders, they could turn some heads. Honestly, I love me a smart business lady with chops, especially when she's not nude and has achieved a lot more than I probably will.

I would argue that they're not a fashion mag at all, at least in a clothing sense. The apparel they sell with a logo on it, that's definitely marketed towards women. But the magazine is supposed to keep men interested. They themselves have admitted that it's a loss leader.

Playboy used to be something you could keep on your coffee table, engendering sex-positivity while having tasteful and interesting gentlemanly articles. Interviews with MLK and others come to mind, as well as serializations of good books like Fahrenheit 451.

They no longer do this, unfortunately. It was easy enough to cruise on money, and now Playboy is a guilty pleasure for people who remember what it is and don't know how to use the internet for porn.

I want the tasteful Playboy back. I don't care so much about getting rid of the nudes, I just want something interesting to read.

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