Playboy might backtrack on no-nudes stance

Playboy magazine made a big deal about its business decision to stop printing nude pictorials starting with its March 2016 issue.
Now word is circulating that the company that owns Playboy magazine is for sale and the new owners might bring back pictures of naked ladies in the print edition.
Playboy management has said its move away from full frontal nudity has increased the magazine’s advertising and newsstand reach. But it also broke with its long tradition, dating back to its first issue in 1953, which featured naked pictures of actress Marilyn Monroe, of presenting naked pictures of famous women.
The first nude-free issue of Playboy featured Instagram-famous model Sarah McDaniel as its cover model.
Ironically, five months later, McDaniel posed nude for Treats! magazine.
Playboy has gotten press from some of its recent pictorials, but the coverage seems to be trading off Playboy’s past reputation not its current status.
For instance, for the first time, Playboy featured a woman wearing a hijab in its October issue. Playboy interviewed and photographed 22-year-old Muslim-American journalist Noor Tagouri for the issue.
This would not be controversial at all, expect for the fact that Playboy used to post nude pictures. (See articles by USA Today, CNN, AFP and the Daily Mail.)
And actress Bella Thorne appeared in the November issue for a pictorial.
That would have been big news when Playboy posted nude pictorials, but not now. Now it just competes with Maxim and other men’s magazines for non-nude sexy pictures of famous women.
The old Playboy also would have been first in line to bid on recently surfaced nude photos of smoking hot actress and model Emily Ratajkowski. (See article by the Daily Mail.)
It remains to be seen whether Playboy will go back to nudes. But judging from its magazine covers lately, Playboy is pushing the no-nudes thing as far as it can, with photos showing side boob, under boob, cleavage and butt cheeks.
Meanwhile, foreign editions of Playboy continue to feature full-frontal nudity. (See article by Quartz.)

Photos: Playboy issues from June, September and November 2016.

Related reading:

Are naked pictures returning to Playboy? Hugh Hefner is replaced at the magazine by his son who blasted no-nudity policy when it was announced (Daily Mail)

Harry Sloan and Jeff Sagansky in Talks to Acquire Playboy (THR)