Eye on Hugh Hefner: Girlfriends, Wives, and Centerfolds
THS (True Hollywood Story) aired an episode profiling Hugh Hefner. I admit to being ridiculously intrigued by The Girls Next Door-- to a degree unproportional to the show's actual quality. The basic premise: a reality show about Hugh Hefner and his three live-in girlfriends. He has one main girlfriend (the one with whom he shares a bedroom; the one who gets jealous when ex-girlfriends drop by; and the classiest of the bunch) but the rest all seem to get along. The other two girls seem to have a good time with each other, recognize the main girlfriend's superior position, and just enjoy reaping the benefits of life in the Playboy Mansion (which, btw, includes a 9 o'clock curfew!).
Pamela Anderson said something astute in her E interview: she said that people dog Hugh all the time for exploiting women, but that in reality it was women who exploited Playboy. She, after all, wouldn't be where she was if it weren't for Playboy. Despite the fact that poor Pam is clearly using motivated reasoning to in part justify her career being built on proactivity instead of victimization, I think there's something to her off-the-cuff comments. We could go on and on in circles about who's benefiting the most; but there is something to be said about the fact that a good deal (close to 50%? don't quote me on that) of Playboy's subscribers are female (or were in the 1980's); something to be said that girls love wearing underwear with that goddamn bunny on it, and those bunny ears; something to be said that scores of women have used Playboy to rocket them to fame, and now use that notoriety for charitable causes.
There's something to be said for all of it, I guess. I started out watching Girls Next Door thinking that it was just so bizarre that I would be impervious to its sexual politics and antifeminist lessons; but the more I watch it, I've noticed that I'm starting to get more and more unsettled by it. It's still fun to watch; but I guess the fun is starting to be outweighed by the sadness of the fact of the matter: these girls lead a charmed life but probably don't value themselves on things independent from the male gaze, and you kind of hope that everybody bases their personality, self-esteem, and general sense of self on stuff just for them-- or at least, is able to incorporate chronic, self-approved traits into their person.
A sense of self independent of the male gaze... pretty hard, to say nothing of a sense of self independent of society's gaze. We're all would-be Playmates in the Social Playboy Mansion, I guess.
Pamela Anderson said something astute in her E interview: she said that people dog Hugh all the time for exploiting women, but that in reality it was women who exploited Playboy. She, after all, wouldn't be where she was if it weren't for Playboy. Despite the fact that poor Pam is clearly using motivated reasoning to in part justify her career being built on proactivity instead of victimization, I think there's something to her off-the-cuff comments. We could go on and on in circles about who's benefiting the most; but there is something to be said about the fact that a good deal (close to 50%? don't quote me on that) of Playboy's subscribers are female (or were in the 1980's); something to be said that girls love wearing underwear with that goddamn bunny on it, and those bunny ears; something to be said that scores of women have used Playboy to rocket them to fame, and now use that notoriety for charitable causes.
There's something to be said for all of it, I guess. I started out watching Girls Next Door thinking that it was just so bizarre that I would be impervious to its sexual politics and antifeminist lessons; but the more I watch it, I've noticed that I'm starting to get more and more unsettled by it. It's still fun to watch; but I guess the fun is starting to be outweighed by the sadness of the fact of the matter: these girls lead a charmed life but probably don't value themselves on things independent from the male gaze, and you kind of hope that everybody bases their personality, self-esteem, and general sense of self on stuff just for them-- or at least, is able to incorporate chronic, self-approved traits into their person.
A sense of self independent of the male gaze... pretty hard, to say nothing of a sense of self independent of society's gaze. We're all would-be Playmates in the Social Playboy Mansion, I guess.
posted by The Huang at 10:50 AM
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