Feminists have led the backlash against Playboy mogul Hugh Hefner claiming he treated women like ‘consumables.’
Critics have called the magazine publisher, who has died aged 91 at his infamous $100million Beverly Hills mansion, a ‘sleazeball who made millions from the objectification of women.’
TV writer Alex von Tunzelmann wrote on Twitter: ‘Surely the sexual revolution had far more to do with readily available reliable contraception than porn? And Hefner didn’t invent porn.
Feminists have led the backlash against Playboy mogul Hugh Hefner claiming he treated women like ‘consumables’
‘Women, in this scenario, are merely consumables: life-support systems for the boobs it is so immensely liberating to look at pictures of.
‘Hefner in fact worked with a precisely anti-sexual revolutionary mindset. He reinforced the subjugation of women at every turn.
‘To the point of literally locking them up. Huge metal gates at the Playboy Mansion, 9pm curfew, strict rules.
‘There was nothing revolutionary & certainly nothing feminist about him: he was just into a different style of patriarchy from 1950s puritans.
‘He published a lot of pictures of boobs, and in doing so made a lot of money and got away with some really grotesque behaviour. That’s all.’
Writer Laurie Penny said: ‘Unsure how to feel about Hugh Hefner? Make a donation in his name to the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network.’
TV writer Alex von Tunzelmann wrote on Twitter: ‘Surely the sexual revolution had far more to do with readily available reliable contraception than porn? And Hefner didn’t invent porn’
Lunga Biyela added: ‘ Hugh Hefner was not great. Hugh Hefner was a sleazeball who made millions from the objectification of women. How can anyone celebrate him?
Ryan Simpkins wrote: ‘Maybe I’m just ignorant… but was Hugh Hefner not a major misogynist? Ive only heard stories of him mistreating women…’
In 1963 leading feminist Gloria Steinem went undercover as a bunny waitress in one of Hefner’s clubs and wrote an expose about her experience that was published in Show magazine.
In ‘A Bunny’s Tale’ Steinem describes how employees were banned from having relationships and had to undergo examinations for sexual diseases before they could work, which caused public outcry.
Writer Laurie Penny said: ‘Unsure how to feel about Hugh Hefner? Make a donation in his name to the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network’
And in 2011 documentary about his life, Hugh Hefner: Playboy, Activist and Rebel, Hef controversially said: ‘Women are sex objects. If women weren’t sex objects, there wouldn’t be another generation.’
Former Playboy bunny Holly Madison lifted the lid on what really goes on in the Playboy mansion and the depression she suffered while being married to Hugh Hefner in her book, ‘Down the Rabbit Hole: Curious Adventures and Cautionary Tales from a Former Playboy Bunny’.
She detailed how, as a 22-year-old college dropout and struggling Hooters waitress, she first met Hefner in 2000 and, after a night out clubbing with his ‘girlfriends’, realized that she was expected to sleep with him.
The posse were out at a club in LA and Madison’s first encounter with Hefner – now 89 – was him offering her a Quaalude from a tissue in his pocket.
‘Usually I don’t approve of drugs, but you know, in the ’70s they used to call these pills ”thigh openers”,’ Hefner told her.
‘I knew when I accepted the invitation to go out with them that I was getting into something racy,’ Madison writes in the book.
In the limo on the way home, Madison was told by one of Hefner’s seven girlfriends that after clubbing, the party continues in the bedroom
Madison said Hefner’s room was dark and cluttered with furniture and video tapes.
‘Ceiling-high piles of videotapes, stuffed animals, art and gifts littered the room. It was like an episode of Hoarders,’ Madison wrote.
The only light was coming from two massive televisions that were playing porn.
In 1963 leading feminist Gloria Steinem went undercover as a bunny waitress (pictured) in one of Hefner’s clubs and wrote an expose about her experience that was published in Show magazine
Former Playboy bunny Holly Madison lifted the lid on what really goes on in the Playboy mansion and the depression she suffered while being married to Hugh Hefner in her book
She detailed how, as a 22-year-old college dropout and struggling Hooters waitress, she first met Hefner in 2000 and, after a night out clubbing with his ‘girlfriends’, realized that she was expected to sleep with him
‘The girlfriends, in various stages of undress, were sitting in a semicircle at the edge of the bed — some kneeling, some standing, some lying down,’ she writes.
‘I sat myself on the edge of the bed — unsure of what to do next
One of the girl’s whispered: ‘Fake the f—.’
The aging house was in various stages of disrepair, and the carpet was permanently stained with urine from Hefner’s dogs.
The bedrooms had old, cheap beds and dressers.
The girlfriends – who had a strict 9pm curfew on nights they didn’t go clubbing with Hefner – secretly kept boyfriends on the side, and would tape up the air vents in their room so they could smoke meth without anyone knowing.
Every bathroom had a tray with Vaseline, Johnson’s Baby Oil and Kleenex.
Hefner had an open account at the José Eber Salon in Beverly Hills, where the girls could go to get their hair done and have beauty treatments whenever they liked.
He would also pay for any plastic surgery they wanted, and gave them a $1,000-a-week clothing allowance.
‘Frankly speaking, I’ve always been pretty uncomfortable with Hef’s fascination with extremely young women,’ Madison writes in the book.
‘He was obsessed with women looking as young as humanly possible. Everything — absolutely everything — about that skeeved me out.’
Part of the rules of the house was that the girls could not work, and Madison soon became incredible bored, which started a spiral of depression.
One day, in an effort to do something with her time, she decided to clean up Hefner’s filthy room.
The girlfriends – who had a strict 9pm curfew on nights they didn’t go clubbing with Hefner – secretly kept boyfriends on the side, and would tape up the air vents in their room so they could smoke meth without anyone knowing
As time went on, Madison became more depressed. ‘There were days I woke up and just felt like falling to the floor because I felt so depressed,’ she wrote
However in her organizing she came across a video that was labeled ‘Girl and Dog’.
‘My stomach turned,’ Madison said. ‘I was like, ‘What the hell is this?”’
As time went on, Madison became more depressed. ‘There were days I woke up and just felt like falling to the floor because I felt so depressed,’ she wrote.
Hefner would not let her see a psychiatrist, fearing the doctor would just tell Madison to leave the mansion.
She ended up seeing one behind his back, and realized that Hefner chose girls that were vulnerable. ‘We were all young,’ Madison says. ‘He wasn’t interested in women over 28. None of us were from a big city or affluent backgrounds. None of us had ever seen the darker side of the entertainment industry.’
Madison also said that Hefner became emotionally abusive toward her. Eventually she left the mansion, starting a relationship with magician Chris Angel.
During her depression, Madison thought about ending her own life,according to Us Weekly.
‘Life inside the notorious Mansion wasn’t a dream at all and quickly became her nightmare,’ the release continued.
‘After losing her identity, her sense of self-worth and her hope for the future, Holly found herself sitting alone in a bathtub contemplating suicide.’
The book also reveals the ‘oppressive routine of strict rules, manipulation, and [her] battles with ambitious, backstabbing bunnies.’