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Angel in the Centerfold
Hugh Hefner, Harvey Weinstein and the real-life damage of male fantasy
[With the recent spate of sexual assault scandals among the likes of Danny Masterson and Russell Brand, it seemed like a good time to repost this article and the things I learned about how power works in the entertainment industry. This article was originally published in Athena Talks.]
In the brief gap between the death of Hugh Hefner and the exposure of Harvey Weinstein, I had a short-lived argument online about the significance of Hugh Hefner. My opponent was on the side of praise, seeing Hef as the founder of the sexual revolution, pointing out that he had supported several women in their business endeavors, and paved the way for our attitudes about sex in general to be more open and intellectual, breaking free of puritanical constraints.
I disagreed.
My initial argument was the same argument many others have made: Hefner simply found a way to profit off his own sex addiction, encouraged the objectification of women, and his support of abortion rights was purely self-serving. My opponent didn’t want to continue the argument, and frankly neither did I. We dropped it.
But of course I kept thinking about it.
