Ultimately I feel that any true fan of Playgirl-with an interest in its history-would want to invest in this book. Yes it’s far from comprehensive. But are we ever likely to get that book? If that one ever comes out, I’ll be the first in line to get my copy, but I’m not holding my breath. I’d love, of course, to be proven wrong!
The pics are fine IMHO and more than serve my memories of the originals. It’s not like they’re blurry or anything. I personally don’t actually want or need a remastered version of what are already classics.
To me the best writing on Playgirl by far-especially from the queer angle- is Matthew Rettenmund’s Esquire mag article that came out in 2017. It’s basically just an oral history told in interviews by some of the key players involved through the years. Now if he decided to write a book, expanding on his original article, with even more insider anecdotes, outtakes, and historical perspective, I think we might have that book some of us have been waiting for.
There are other books written about Playgirl of course. But most of them are written by people like Jessanne Collins-once one of it’s editors-with a decided invested interest in down-playing the gay angle. I mean, I somewhat get it. Playgirl was supposed to be a feminist answer to Playboy. But LORDY, that’s not how it turned out. And that’s what makes PG a fascinating pop-culture artifact to this day.
Anyway, THOSE books I’m not particularly interested in investing in!
The pics are fine IMHO and more than serve my memories of the originals. It’s not like they’re blurry or anything. I personally don’t actually want or need a remastered version of what are already classics.
To me the best writing on Playgirl by far-especially from the queer angle- is Matthew Rettenmund’s Esquire mag article that came out in 2017. It’s basically just an oral history told in interviews by some of the key players involved through the years. Now if he decided to write a book, expanding on his original article, with even more insider anecdotes, outtakes, and historical perspective, I think we might have that book some of us have been waiting for.
There are other books written about Playgirl of course. But most of them are written by people like Jessanne Collins-once one of it’s editors-with a decided invested interest in down-playing the gay angle. I mean, I somewhat get it. Playgirl was supposed to be a feminist answer to Playboy. But LORDY, that’s not how it turned out. And that’s what makes PG a fascinating pop-culture artifact to this day.
Anyway, THOSE books I’m not particularly interested in investing in!
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