More Finger-Pointing and Name Calling from Hugh Hefner and Crystal Harris

According to this article on CNN, Hugh Hefner is claiming that his ex, Crystal Harris, lied about their sex life when she went on the Howard Stern show a few months ago.  Now Hef has gone on record, also on Stern's show, to defend himself and his bedroom prowess.

In truth, I'm not even sure what the public is supposed to do with this information. Is there anyone who actually believes that Hefner still has the stamina of a 25 year old? I almost feel sorry for him because it seems he's the last one to be let in on the joke, you know the joke being him, an 80 something year old man who still believes his own hype and thinks everyone else does too. It's just pathetic.  Of course he's made millions allowing and encouraging women to do the same to themselves for his benefit, so I guess I don't feel all that bad for him after all.

I also find it interesting that women are beginning to come out and say what's it's really like behind closed doors at the Playboy Mansion. I wonder if things have always been that way or if the younger women feel more free, or even enticed by publicity, to talk about it. There's definitely money and attention to be gained by spilling the beans about their experiences there, whether positive or negative, but I think it's also more safe and acceptable to speak out about the truth of what happens behind the scenes, too, nowadays.

I saw a show recently that featured a number of older women who had posed in the magazine back in the 70's and  80's gathered at a convention, signing autographs and talking with the public. They seemed to have a high regard for their experience with Playboy, which makes me wonder if things were different back then (not that it would change my opinion of the organization) or if they just put up with the same stuff and accepted it without complaining?

Thoughts?

Comments

[Thomas Babcock]

I find it hard to pity an old man who wasted his life on self-indulgence and promotion of his indulgent life style. It is unfortunate for society that it took Bob Guccione and Larry Flynt to ecclipse him and make him irrelevant. It may be justice that some of the women he used as objects for his gratification have turned on him. But I sense that some are merely turning the tables and expressing a female (I think "feminine" should be reserved for more modest activities) sexual liberation. The Paris Hiltons of the world may prefer that they, not their male partner, be the center of attention. As you say, "He's made millions allowing and encouraging women to do the same to themselves," but they are no longer doing it for his benefit.

The true losers may be those of either gender that mistake the "fun" in Hef's life style, or that of a Charlie Sheen or a Lindsay Lohan or Casey Anthony as "joy" when it is merely a biochemical reaction in the brain's pleasure center. They may also end up like a decrepit old man who, after speding a lifetime using others for his own purposes, finds few people lavishing him with praises, a crowd pointing at him in ridicule, and most people merely ignoring him because his life did not contribute anything meaningful to anybody.

[Celeste]

I definitely agree that Playboy isn't what it used to be. Just like any company it ages and goes through transformations in order to keep up with the times. Posing for Playboy back then was definitely far more daring and liberating for women than it would be now. Back then, regardless of your moral stand-point on the issue of nudity, it was a liberation for women in a sense. Now, however, it's been turned into a mass-marketing carnival side-show where you can't swing a cat and not hit a girl ready to bare it all. It was definitely a defining moment in the growth of women's liberation. But, it seems that once we hit that point, the media, society, men and women, whoever, hasn't let go and as such growth seems to have been stunted as far as women's liberation is concerned. Being liberated and owning your sexuality isn't about taking your clothes off for people to see. It's about knowing yourself, being comfortable with who you are, and not giving into the social demands made on you if it changes who you really are. In my opinion, there seems to be a great many more liberated women who dress more modestly than those who bare-all for the world to see. I see it slowly happening that women are edging towards this idea more, that they don't need to be naked to be justified as a woman. It's slow work.

As far as Hugh Hefner goes, who cares?