Representation of Women in Playboy Magazine

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Representation of women in Playboy magazine In this essay, I will analyse the representation of women in playboy magazine and how the world reacts to it. I will talk about how women are treated as a sex symbol and are made to potray themselves in a particular way to please others. “The meaning of the concept of representation is that of a set of processes by which signifying practices appear to stand for or depict another object or practice in the ‘real’ world.” (Barker, 2004). Gill Branston and Roy Stafford emphasise that however realistic or compelling some media images seem, they never simply present the world direct. They are always a construction, a re-presentation, rather than a mirror, or a clear ‘window on to the real’. (Branston & Stafford, 2006). Representation is sometimes mistaken to have the same meaning as reflection. “Representation is a different notion from that of reflection. It implies the active work of selecting and presenting of structuring and shaping: not merely the transmitting of already existing meaning, but the more active labour of make things mean.” (Hall, 1982). Playboy Magazine was founded by Hugh Hefner and his associates who formed Playboy Enterprises, Inc. In December 1953, the first issue of Playboy was published which featured Marilyn Monroe as the centrefold which was originally intended for a calendar issue. The intention of Hefner was to publish a playful magazine, targeting men worldwide. “If you like your entertainment served up with humour, sophistication and spice, Playboy will become a very special favourite.” (Hefner, 1953). Earlier, conventional men's magazines rarely strayed into the dangerous area of sex. They subsisted on hollow-chested advertising. Women hardly made an appearance in the editorial columns up until Hefner decided to change things. According to him, the one thing that intrigues men is

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