End of an era as Playgirl moves out of print

Lonely housewives and discriminating gay men will be sad to know that Playgirl magazine has decided to cease publishing in print.

The glossy soft-porn magazine will publish its last print issue in November before converting to an online-only format.

The revamped Playgirl.com website will feature more videos and pictorials and less editorial content, according to Nicole Caldwell, the magazine’s editor-in-chief.

“Playgirl is going all-Web,” Caldwell said in an email to MediaBistro.com.

“The last print issue will be the Jan/Feb 2009 magazine, which comes out Nov. 18.”

Playgirl Magazine debuted as the women’s alternative to soft-porn men’s magazines in 1973.

Although originally designed with the feminist in mind, the magazine quickly grew a gay male fan base as well.

Playgirl features pictorials of nude and seminude men in erotic poses, accompanied by articles on sex, lifestyle topics and celebrities.

Although marketed to women, Playgirl estimated in 2003 that gay men made up to 50 percent of the magazine’s readership, according to a report by Multichannel News.

The magazine has been published in numerous languages over the years, featuring international editions in Germany, France, Australia, Great Britain and the Netherlands.

Although celebrity pictorials are not frequent in Playgirl, the magazine has published nude and seminude photos of such Hollywood stars as Brad Pitt, Kevin Sorbo, Marcus Patrick, Fabian, Keith Urban and Scott Bakula.

Several openly gay models have also appeared within the magazine’s pages, including Playgirl’s 30th Anniversary centerfold Brian Dawson.

Ann Turner © 2008 GayWired.com; All Rights Reserved.