Playgirl 2

One thing I've always appreciated about Playgirl is the particular image of men it chose to celebrate. Most of the models weren't bodybuilders, and very few looked overly groomed or manufactured. 

1. David White was on the cover of Playgirl in October 1976.

2. White appeared in several other adult magazines through the early '80s and was featured in GQ magazine.

Body hair was left natural, physiques were athletic rather than exaggerated, and the photographs usually favored relaxed, everyday situations over elaborate fantasy.

3. Rock (Rushton) Pamplin was a Playgirl centerfold in the May 1976 issue and modeled for Winston Cigarette ads.

4. Pamplin was a college football player who was drafted into NFL team, New Orleans Saints, but never played for them. Pamplin was also a warden for Beach Boys lead Brian Wilson and briefly joined the band American Spring as a lead vocalist in 1977.

Today's lineup includes David White, Rock Pamplin, David Haskell, Bill Davidson, and Phil Avalon. Whether they're lounging in a robe, pouring champagne, pulling on a rope aboard a boat, or simply soaking up the sun, the appeal isn't just their looks. It's that they seem approachable. They feel like men with lives beyond the photograph.

5. David Haskell was first featured by Playgirl in its April 1975 issue.

6. Haskell was then featured again in Playgirl in July 1977.

At the same time, it's worth remembering that this was still a constructed ideal. Playgirl wasn't documenting everyday life—it was producing its own version of attractiveness and gender, just as every magazine does. 

7. Bill Davidson was Playgirl's Man of the Month in March 1979.

8. Davidson was then selected as Man of the Year in 1980.

I happen to enjoy this particular aesthetic, especially because it reminds me of many of the men I grew up around in the Midwest. But it's one expression of masculinity among many, not the definition of it.

9. Phil Avalon was an Australian writer, producer, director and actor who posed for Playgirl in the November 1974 issue. His hit Summer City (1977) was Mel Gibson's first movie.

10. Avalon's hit Summer City (1977) was Mel Gibson's first movie. Avalon said he only posed for Playgirl for the money with the promise that his mother in Australia would never see the magazine.

Please drop your thoughts, questions or corrections in the comments. Thank you.