WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Those roving eyes may now have to be contend with beauty under wraps. In a major breakaway from tradition, Playboy is set to stop publishing images of naked women as part of its redesign.
However, the American men's lifestyle and entertainment magazine indicated that it will continue to feature women in provocative poses. The move is seen more as a decision prompted by the necessity to survive rather than subscribing to ethical standards.
The best-selling Playboy edition has now seen its sales drop to 800,000 copies. This is a far cry from the 7,161,561 copies the November 1972 edition, which had model Pam Rawling on the cover, sold.
Playboy's management believes that nudity has now become outdated, thanks to the internet. They are of the view that pornographic magazines are not commercially viable any more. The decision was taken last month at a meeting attended by 89-year-old founder Hugh Hefner, who is the magazine's current editor-in-chief.
As it is, Playboy's website is devoid of nudity, partly to enable access to social media networks like Facebook and Twitter. The popularity of the site has only increased, with web traffic showing a four-fold increase.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX