When it comes to cover girls, men’s magazine Playboy isn’t exactly known for its diversity. In fact, over the years most of its pages have been inundated by fresh-faced, buxom babes.
But now, in celebration of Playboy Playmates from the past, the raunchy mag is out to prove that women can be sexy at any age.
The trailblazing magazine which was founded in 1953 by Hugh Hefner, who died yesterday age 91, helped spur on the sexual revolution of the 1960s, advocating free speech and sexual freedom at a time when US states could legally ban contraceptives.
And, while launching the publication during the conservative ‘50s was a risky move, the sexually explicit magazine helped make nudity respectable and loosened the conversation around sexuality.
From its inception, Hefner insisted “Once a Playmate always a Playmate,” and with his son Cooper now at the helm, the magazine has set out to echo the sentiment once again.
Among those re-creating their iconic over images to prove that “beauty is ageless, sex appeal is timeless and exuberance is eternal” are Playboy stars Candace Collins (1979), Monique St. Pierre (1979), Cathy St. George (1981), Charlotte Kemp (1983), Kimberley Conrad Hefner (1988), Renee Tenison (1990) and Lisa Matthews (1991).
Set side-by-side and shot decades apart, how little the women have changed over the year is incredible as they bare their bodies with pride.
“When I did Playboy, there was a little bit of controversy because I was the first African-American Playmate of the Year and some women were saying I was being objectified,” recalls Renee Tenison, Playmate of the Year 1990 .
“But I said, ‘Well, if you’re pro-choice, shouldn’t I have the right to choose what I want to do?’ If I want to pose nude, I should be able to pose nude. I see it as art. Not everybody sees it that way, but that’s how I see it.”
Speaking of her time as a Playboy Playmate, Candace Collins, Playmate of the Year 1979 said, “I now know just how special those shoots were and feel very, very lucky to be in such a unique sorority.”
An authentic indication of the magazine’s contemporary approach to the Playboy brand, these images indicate a step in the direction for future Playmates who, regardless of their size, age or ethnicity, will be appreciated for their inimitable beauty.
