Playgirl

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Template:Short description Template:About Template:Use American English Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox magazine

Playgirl is an American magazine that has historically featured pictorials of nude and semi-nude men alongside general interest, lifestyle, celebrity journalism, and original fiction. For most of its history, the magazine printed monthly and was marketed mainly to women, though it developed a significant gay male readership.

Since its founding, Playgirl has existed as a monthly and quarterly publication, in print-only, digital-only, and hybrid formats. From 1973–2009, the magazine was issued in a monthly print format, before transitioning to a quarterly print publication in 2009. Regular print operations were paused from 2016–2020, with only an online presence maintained. In November 2020, the magazine relaunched with a 10,000 print run in the U.S. and United Kingdom, before selling out and returning to press for a second printing. After that relaunch, the magazine resumed monthly releases as an online, digital publication.<ref name=":1">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

History

Playgirl magazine was founded in 1973 by Los Angeles-based nightclub owner Douglas Lambert, who'd initially explored creating a men's lifestyle magazine featuring nude women to compete with Hugh Hefner's Playboy.<ref name=":4">Template:Cite web</ref> At the suggestion of his wife, and inspired by the success of Helen Gurley Brown's use of male nudes in Cosmopolitan magazine (including a shoot featuring film star Burt Reynolds), Lambert refashioned his idea as a feminist response to Playboy and Penthouse instead.<ref name=":4" /><ref name="esquire" /> In partnership with William Miles Jr., an area advertising executive, Lambert founded Playgirl in Century City, California, in 1973 with a $20,000 investment.<ref name=":4" />

The Lambert years

After two test issues (featuring race car driver Mike Hiss and the Hager Twins, country singers and stars of TV's Hee Haw, in seminude centerfolds), the magazine, initially styled as Playgirl: The Magazine for Women formally debuted in June 1973,<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":5">Template:Cite web</ref> featuring television and film star Lyle Waggoner as centerfold and an interview and nude photoshoot with actor Ryan McDonald. Editorial in the issue included a travel pictorial on Hong Kong, long-form interview with actress Cloris Leachman, original fiction by Jillian Charles, and a guide to selecting artwork for the home.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=":5" /> The first issue sold out quickly, selling 600,000 copies in four days, and for the rest of the 1970s, the magazine would sell, on average, 1.5 million copies each month.<ref name=":4" />

From its inception, Playgirl has featured full frontal nude and semi-nude (rear and obscured frontal) pictorials of men, except for a 10-month period in 1986 and 1987, when following the sale and reorganization of the magazine, new ownership mandated a new approach in the hopes of appealing to a wider readership in an increasingly politically and culturally conservative time.<ref name=":4" /><ref name="They couldn't get past the Mimbos">Cara Buckley They couldn't get past the 'Mimbos' Template:Webarchive The New York Times, November 14, 2008.</ref> Editorially, the magazine covered hot-button sociopolitical issues like abortion and equal rights for the majority of its print run. In the magazine's first decade, it typically did so via long-form journalism, commentary, and feature interviews from well-regarded staff and freelance writers.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":5" /> Through the mid-1980s, in-depth interviews with A-list celebrities and newsmakers, including Maya Angelou, Larry Flynt, Barbra Streisand, and Jane Fonda, were frequently paired with commentary from cultural essayists such as Angelou, and original fiction from both emergent and established writers, including Erica Jong and Truman Capote.<ref name="esquire">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=":5" />

The Ritter years

In 1977, Lambert sold Playgirl to Ira Ritter who took over as publisher, continuing the magazine's editorial style and direction (including male nude pictorials) but leaning more publicly into the magazine's feminist and journalistic bona fides.<ref name=":4" /><ref name="esquire" /> Covers in Ritter's first years centered women, often alone, to highlight female perspectives on politics and other cultural issues, deemphasizing the nude photography and erotic themes still central to the magazine, in terms of magazine's public-facing image and newsstand presence.<ref name=":5" /> Results were mixed and in 1986, with readership declines compounded by bad investments by the owners (including the launch of an unsuccessful spin-off publication, Playgirl Advisor, with a more direct focus on sex, sexuality, and couples), Playgirl filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and was subsequently acquired by Drake Publishers, Inc.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="esquire" />

Drake Publishers, Inc.

Until the 1986 change of ownership, Playgirl's interviews, journalism, and original fiction were central to the magazine's identity and featured and promoted as such.<ref name="fusion.net" /><ref name=":2">Template:Cite web</ref> After Drake's acquisition of the title, the restructured magazine began featuring simplified beefcake-style covers (usually highlighting a model from the issue in underwear or speedo-style swimwear), and implemented changes to cut costs and expand readership in an increasingly conservative and less feminist-friendly cultural environment of the late Reagan era.<ref name="fusion.net" /><ref name=":3">Template:Cite web</ref> This resulted in substantial reductions in the in-depth, substantive journalism, political and social feminist commentary the magazine was known for, a decrease in non-pictorial pages, and an increase in advertising space.<ref name="esquire" /><ref name="fusion.net" />

Ultimately, the 1986-87 reorganization of the magazine failed to significantly increase general readership or improve the magazine's cultural palatability in the new environment, but did have the effect of eroding the magazine's credibility as a substantive mainstream publication that blended erotic content with substantive journalism, repositioned as a niche, adult-oriented publication.<ref name=":4" /><ref name="esquire" />

Crescent Publishing Group and Blue Horizon Media

The 1993 acquisition of Drake by Crescent Publishing Group, the owner of hardcore magazine like High Society and other pornographic titles, cemented Playgirl's reputation as an adult title and, as a result, the number of celebrities and newsmakers sitting for interviews or pictorials rapidly decreased.<ref name="esquire" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Crescent's experiments in the 1990s with the publication of celebrity nudes acquired from external sources—including art nudes alleged to be actor Antonio Banderas and intrusive paparazzi photos of actor Brad Pitt (both presented as cover stories), proved short-lived after a series of expensive legal losses and settlements with Banderas, Pitt, and others. Actor Leonardo DiCaprio successfully sued to stop publication of photographs taken without his knowledge, and the pressure from Crescent to publish the photos led to the resignation of Editor-in-Chief, Ceslie Armstrong, who called the photographs "an invasion of privacy [that] I can't be associated with."<ref name=":7">Template:Cite web</ref>

By the 2000s, Crescent had fully repositioned the title as an adult brand, relaunching Playgirl's website as a pay site primarily featuring co-branded hardcore straight pornography, and increasing explicit content in the print magazine.<ref name=":4" /><ref name="esquire" /> In August 2000, Crescent was charged by the Federal Trade Commission with over $180 million of online credit card fraud, some of which was alleged by the FTC to have taken place on their new Playgirl website.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Playgirl Web Site Faces FTC Charges Template:Webarchive Federal Trade Commission, August 23, 2000.</ref> In November 2001, Crescent agreed to pay $30 million in refunds and subsequently changed its name to Blue Horizon Media, Inc.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In August 2008, the magazine announced that it would cease publication of its print edition as of the January 2009 issue.<ref name="esquire" /> The last print issue of the magazine's initial print run was published as a January/February issue and sold on newsstands through March 2009.<ref name="They couldn't get past the Mimbos" /> Playgirl was then published online through February 2010, when print publication resumed with a March issue featuring political celebrity Levi Johnston, shot by longtime Playgirl photographer Greg Weiner.<ref>David Caplan Finally! Levi Johnston's Playgirl cover revealed Template:Webarchive People magazine, February 8, 2010.</ref>

Blue Horizon

In 2011, Blue Horizon sold the print rights for Playgirl and other titles to Magna Publishing Group, Inc. of Paramus, New Jersey,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="auto">Template:Cite web</ref> and the magazine continued to publish as a print title, approximately quarterly, until 2016, when with print subscriptions dwindling to approximately 3,000 the title ceased regular print operations.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="fusion.net">Template:Cite web</ref>

2020 relaunch and current era

In 2020, new owner Jack Lindley Kuhns, a gay man, revived the title, relaunching the "New Playgirl Magazine" with a special print edition, featuring a pregnant and nude actress Chloe Sevigny on the cover (a nod to both Playgirl's feminist roots and the magazine's early issues, which often featured women on the cover), edited by Skye Parrott.<ref name=":1" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The issue, described by Kuhns as "part political magazine and part art magazine" featured images of nude bodies of all ethnicities and genders, as well as writing about racial injustice, trans empowerment, and body positivity and sold out immediately.<ref name=":1" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Since the 2020 relaunch, the magazine has moved to a regular publishing cycle as an online-only title split across two domains: Playgirl.com, a free site featuring a mix of news, features, and photo essays reside, and PlaygirlPlus.com, a subscription site where access to the publication's archives and the magazine's traditional "Man of the Month" nude photospread, modernized with additional video and multimedia content, are hosted.<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":8">Template:Cite web</ref> Nicole Caldwell, a former editor-in-chief during the magazine's print run, oversees the online iteration in the same capacity. Under the direction Caldwell, Boardman, and production director Daniel McKernan, the brand has refocused on the traditional male physique and art nude composition the magazine is historically known for, incorporating additional video and multi-media content, moving away from the more explicit depictions of the print magazine's final years and reembracing the magazine's roots.<ref name=":6">Template:Cite web</ref> Both domains highlight the decades of substantive journalism, commentary, fiction, and pictorials from the magazine's archives, presenting them in newly digitized formats.<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":8" />

Celebrities and public figures nude in Playgirl

Many celebrities and public figures have posed nude or semi-nude for Playgirl during the magazine's initial print and digital incarnations, with "posed" defined as appearing as a model for a shoot for the magazine specifically (versus merely appearing clothed and/or shirtless in the magazine or nude in photos acquired from external sources).

Playgirl featured the highest number of A-list celebrities in nude photoshoots in the 1970s, in the wake of the American sexual revolution and early feminist positioning of the magazine, and 1980s.<ref name=":2" /> While many celebrities, such as football legend and actor Jim Brown, World Series MVP Steve Yeager, and actors Lyle Waggoner and Christopher Atkins, posed nude at the height (or near height) of their fame, some, including actors Sam J. Jones and Steve Bond, and country singer Keith Urban, posed earlier in their careers, going on to greater professional success in the years immediately following. Others, like teen idol singer and actor Fabian, Skid Row musician Phil Varone, and supermodel Tim Boyce posed nude for the magazine after the height of their fame, introducing themselves to new generational audiences. On rare occasions, as with fallen 9/11 firefighter Vincent Princiotta, Playgirl models came to national prominence posthumously.

With dozens of celebrities and public figures posing for the magazine over the five-decade print runs, circumstances and experiences varied. Many of the early celebrity centerfolds elected to pose in support of the feminist and gender equality aims of the magazine, particularly in response to male-oriented titles like Playboy, which already featured nude female celebrities. NFL player Dan Pastorini first posed for the magazine to help pay off a legal settlement, but positive reception to his shoot led to a second appearance shortly after.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":6" /> While film star Atkins told UPI columnist Vernon Scott he'd posed to "stir up some controversy" in his young career,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Olympian Greg Louganis disclosed in his autobiography that he hadn't wanted to do his shoot, but felt pressured to do as a marketing vehicle (to bolster the heterosexual "heartthrob" appeal of the then-closeted diver).<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Singer Johnny Mathis, unhappy with the results of his shoot, requested his feature not run (the magazine agreed),<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> while NFL player Bob Chandler, who posed shortly after his team won the Super Bowl, was pleased with his layout, and displayed a framed shot in his home.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Actor Marcus Patrick claimed then-editors' use of photos more explicit than agreed cost him his role on the daytime soap opera Days of Our Lives,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and singer Urban jokingly called posing pre-superstardom a "career regret," finding the photos, which featured him posing nude and in underwear with his guitar, embarrassing.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Conversely, musician Peter Steele expressed strong regret for his unusually explicit shoot, reportedly repulsed by the attention he garnered from gay fans.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Others, like straight soap opera actor John Gibson, found the attention from male and female fans equally flattering, with Gibson specifically crediting the positive attention from his Playgirl appearance for his career shift and subsequent success as an actor, model, and dancer.<ref>Gerien, Mischelle (April 1975). "Pride of Palm Beach: John Gibson". Playgirl. pp. 56–60.</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

While celebrities and public figures from many walks of life—including the military, circus arts, and politics—have posed nude for Playgirl, the majority of the magazine's high-profile nude models have come from the worlds of film and television acting, professional and world-class athletics (mostly professional baseball, football, and Olympic athletes), and music, including well-known pop, rock, metal, and rap artists.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":5" /><ref name=":7" /> Historically, famous athletes and musicians have posed fully, frontally nude at the highest rates, while actors, generally required to more carefully manage public image and perception, have been more likely to pose for obscured or rear-only nude pictorials (with some notable exceptions).<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":7" />

The number of mainstream celebrities appearing nude in the magazine slowed steadily following a 1986 restructuring (which saw significant cuts to the budget for original features and an end to the high fees previously paid out to celebrity models), and as a result of increasing cultural conservatism at the end of the Reagan Administration and concurrent rise of cultural movements like the Moral Majority, which called for the censorship and restriction of nudity as non-"family friendly" content in American media.<ref name=":3" /> With top publicists and representatives for A-list actors and professional athletes more wary of associating with the magazine, celebrity appearances (including A-list interviews) grew rarer. This trend hastened in the final years of the magazine's print run, when the magazine's owners moved the publication in a more explicit direction.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="esquire" /> (As a general rule, explicit celebrity photoshoots, featuring erections or sexually suggestive poses with a female model, were exceptionally rare; most exceptions—including Steele, Varone and reality stars Nick Hawk and Joey Kovar—came during this later period in the title's history.) In the final years of the print run, celebrity appearances were limited exclusively to personalities from the world of reality television.

In February 2024, the newly relaunched, and no longer explicit, Playgirl announced the first celebrity pictorial of its new era—featuring actors Bryan Dattilo, Emmy Award-nominee Paul Telfer, Robert Scott Wilson, and Emmy Award-winner Eric Martsolf, stars of the long-running soap opera Days of Our Lives, along with their former co-star, Hawai'i 5-0 and Star Wars: Resistance actor Christopher Sean would be released in April.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Actor Christopher Atkins once again graced the cover of the July 2025 issue. A new Greg Gorman photoshoot with Atkins was conducted for the issue.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Celebrities and notable public figures who posed for Playgirl pictorials

Year Issue Type Style Name Field/Notability
1973 January (preview issue) centerfold obscured full nude Mike Hiss professional race car driver
February/March

(preview issue)

centerfold obscured full nude The Hager Twins singers, variety show stars (Hee Haw), actors (The Bionic Woman, Twin Detectives)
June centerfold obscured full nude Lyle Waggoner actor (The Carol Burnett Show, Wonder Woman)
celebrity nude obscured full nude Ryan McDonald actor (The Odd Couple, Days of Our Lives)
July centerfold frontal nude George Maharis Emmy Award-nominated actor (Route 66, The Most Deadly Game), singer
August centerfold obscured full nude Gary Conway actor (Burke's Law, Land of the Giants) and screenwriter
feature rear, obscured nude Alan Landers actor, model (The Winston Man)
September centerfold obscured full nude Fabian Forte singer, actor (The Longest Day), Emmy Award-nominated producer
October centerfold obscured full nude Fred Williamson professional football player, actor (Black Caesar, Julia)
November centerfold frontal nude Don Stroud actor (The Amityville Horror, Mrs. Colombo), stuntman
June centerfold obscured full nude Cristopher George actor (Grizzly)
December centerfold frontal nude Jean-Paul Vignon French singer, TV host, actor (The French Atlantic Affair, The Rockford Files)
1974 January celebrity nude rear, obscured full nude John Ericson actor (Honey West, Stalag 17 original Broadway cast)
feature frontal nude Sonny Landham actor (48 Hours, Predator), politician
April centerfold frontal nude Peter Lupus actor (Mission: Impossible), champion bodybuilder
June group feature frontal nude San Diego State Rugby Team athletic team
feature frontal nude Angie Reno world champion professional surfer
July feature frontal nude Lou Zivkovich professional football player
August centerfold frontal nude Greg Rogers, Ron Rogers Australian swimmers, Olympians, Olympic medalist (Gregg)
September centerfold frontal nude Jim Brown professional football player (Pro Football Hall of Fame), actor (The Dirty Dozen, 100 Rifles), Emmy Award-nominated broadcaster
feature frontal nude Mike Purpus champion professional surfer
November centerfold frontal nude Phil Avalon Australian actor and producer
1975 April centerfold frontal nude John Gibson actor (The Young and the Restless, The Warriors) and dancer
June centerfold frontal nude Sam J. Jones actor (Flash Gordon, The Highwayman) and professional football player
September frontal nude Jaime Moreno Mexican telenovela actor, singer
October feature frontal nude Steve Bond actor (General Hospital, Picasso Trigger)
1976 January centerfold frontal nude Jimmy Cavaretta celebrity trapeze artist, television personality
1977 February centerfold frontal nude Dick Baney professional baseball player
1980 November group feature frontal nude Eric Martin and Kid Courage musician, rock band
December centerfold rear, obscured full nude Dan Pastorini #1 professional football player
1981 July feature obscured full nude Dan Ford professional baseball player
December feature rear, obscured full nude Bob Chandler professional football player (Rose Bowl MVP, Super Bowl XV winner)
1982 January return feature rear, obscured full nude Dan Pastorini #2 professional football player (Super Bowl XV winner)
July feature rear, obscured full nude Leon Isaac Kennedy actor (Body and Soul, Lone Wolf McQuade), disc jockey, playwright
September feature frontal nude Christopher Atkins actor (The Blue Lagoon, Dallas)
October feature rear, obscured full nude Steve Yeager professional baseball player (World Series MVP)
December feature rear, obscured full nude John Matuszak professional football player and actor (The Goonies)
1983 January feature rear, obscured full nude Tommy Chong actor (Cheech & Chong, That 70s Show), Grammy Award-winning comedian
frontal nude Don Williams professional football player
April feature obscured full nude, underwear Bubba Smith professional football player
June feature rear, obscured full nude Warren Cuccurullo #1 musician (Duran Duran, Missing Persons)
July feature rear, obscured full nude Steve Stone professional baseball player (Cy Young Award), Emmy Award-winning broadcaster
1984 January feature obscured full nude Glenn Morrissey actor (Emerald Point N.A.S., Force: Five)
1985 October feature rear, obscured full nude Héctor Camacho #1 Puerto Rican boxing champion
December feature obscured full nude, underwear Eric Dickerson professional football player
1986 March feature rear, obscured full nude Brian Pockar Canadian Olympic figure skater, national champion
August cover story rear nude David Lee Roth singer (Van Halen)
feature frontal nude Steven Pearcy singer and musician (Ratt)
1987 August feature rear, obscured full nude Greg Louganis diver, Olympic medalist
April feature rear nudity Jeff O'Haco actor (Return to Lonesome Dove, Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman), stuntman
1989 April cover story underwear Frank Dicopoulous actor (Guiding Light, Forever and a Day)
1991 May cover story obscured full nude, underwear Kip Winger Grammy Award-nominated musician (Winger)
June feature rear, obscured full nude Big Daddy Kane Grammy Award-winning rapper, producer
1994 January feature frontal nude Frank Sepe #1 fitness celebrity, author, model
September cover story obscured full nude, underwear Chayanne Grammy Award-nominated Puerto Rican singer and actor
November group feature frontal nude Vincent Princiotta NYC firefighter (fallen 9/11 first responder)
1995 October feature frontal nude Hermann Eastmond Pan-American Games medalist, national team athlete
August cover story frontal nude (explicit) Peter Steele musician (Type O Negative)
1996 August feature frontal nude Father MC rapper, Grammy Award-nominated producer
October cover story obscured full nude Shawn Michaels professional wrestler (world champion)
1998 January feature frontal nude Frank Sepe #2 professional bodybuilder, author, model
May feature frontal nude Robert John Burk celebrity street performer (The Naked Cowboy), model
Digital PG Extras frontal nude (explicit) Warren Cuccurullo #2 musician (Duran Duran, Missing Persons)
2000 October cover story obscured full nude Christian Boeving actor (Kingdom of Heaven, When Eagles Strike), extreme athlete (Battle Dome)
January cover story rear, obscured full nude Victor Webster actor (Days of Our Lives, The Matchmaker Mysteries)
May cover story rear, obscured full nude Winsor Harmon actor (All My Children, The Bold and the Beautiful)
2002 September cover story underwear James Hyde actor (Passions, Monarca)
2001 April cover story obscured full nude Keith Urban Grammy Award-winning singer
2003 May feature rear, obscured full nude Darryl Worley CMA-nominated singer
2006 April feature obscured full nude Brendon Small actor, comedian, musician (Metalocalypse)
June feature frontal nude Danny Lopes actor (Desecration, Satan's Playground)
2007 April feature rear, obscured full nude Vito LoGrasso professional wrestler
September cover story frontal nude Marcus Patrick actor (Days of Our Lives, All My Children)
2010 Winter #1 feature rear, obscured full nude Levi Johnston political celebrity
Summer cover story frontal nude Ronnie Kroell actor, politician, reality TV star (Make Me a Super Model)
return feature frontal nude Héctor Camacho #2 Puerto Rican boxing champion
Winter #2 cover story frontal nude (explicit) Phil Varone musician (Skid Row)
2011 Spring cover story frontal nude Tim Boyce supermodel
Fall cover story frontal nude Joey Kovar reality TV star (The Real World), bodybuilder
2013 Spring cover story rear, obscured full nude Filippo Giove reality TV star (Jerseylicious)
Summer cover story frontal nude (explicit) Nick Hawk model, reality TV star (Gigolos)
October digital feature rear, obscured full nude Mike Shouhed reality TV star (Shahs of Sunset)
2024 March digital feature underwear Maluma Grammy Award-winning singer
April digital feature, video underwear (all), obscured full nude (Telfer, video only) Bryan Dattilo, Eric Martsolf, Paul Telfer, Robert Scott Wilson, Christopher Sean actors (Days of Our Lives - all, Hawaii Five-0, Star Wars: Resistance - Sean, Emmy Award-winner - Marsolf)
August digital feature underwear Lucky Daye Grammy Award-nominated singer and songwriter
December digital feature, video rear, obscured full nude (video only) Gleb Savchenko professional dancer (Dancing with the Stars)
2025 January digital, feature underwear, rear nude NLE Choppa rapper
July digital feature, cover story Template:N/A Christopher Atkins actor

Readership and gay following

Though the magazine was mainly marketed to heterosexual women, it developed a substantial gay male following. In 2003, then-editor-in-chief Michele Zipp acknowledged the magazine's gay readership, noting "it's 'Entertainment for Women' because there's no other magazine out there that caters to women in the way we do [but]...we love our gay readers as well, and the gay readership [of the magazine] is about 30%."<ref name="merritt">Michael Rowe, "Great Scott: After years of struggling with his sexuality, Playgirl centerfold Scott Merritt is coming all the way out. To his surprise, so is Playgirl", Template:Webarchive The Advocate, issue 895, August 19, 2003.</ref>

Dirk Shafer, one of the gay men featured later produced a comic mockumentary titled Man of the Year in which he discussed balancing his own homosexuality with his role as Playgirl's "Man of the Year," a seemingly heterosexual sex symbol. While the magazine always presented its models as heterosexual, openly gay models have appeared in the magazine, including Scott Merritt, Playgirl's 30th-anniversary centerfold, who came out publicly in an interview with The Advocate. Some models featured over the magazine's print run also posed for gay-focused publications or worked in the gay adult entertainment industry.<ref name="merritt" />

Other versions

Playgirl is available in English and has been published in a number of other languages and international English-language editions during its history:

  • Germany (1978–1980 and 1989–2003)
  • France (1978)
  • Australia (1985–88) and as Interlude in 1991
  • Netherlands (1987–88)
  • United Kingdom (1992–93, 2011)
  • Spain (1992–93)
  • South Africa (1995)
  • Brazil (1985)
  • Russia (2004–09)
  • Japan (1986–2015)

When the Russian version of Playgirl was launched in June 2004, it contained photographs of nude, circumcised American men despite circumcision's being less common outside the U.S., being practiced mainly by Muslims and Jews in Russia.<ref>Carl Schreck, "Playgirl's men are a cut above," Template:Webarchive St. Petersburg Times, Issue 978 (46), June 18, 2004.</ref>

Playgirl UK's brief 2011 relaunch was accompanied by an announcement that it would feature no below-the-waist nudity, and would focus on attractive male celebrities rather than models and pornography actors. It was a failure, and ceased circulation soon after it began.Template:Citation needed

See also

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References

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