If you hadn’t heard already, Playboy recently revealed that they would no longer be publishing nude or retouched photos in their magazines. Given the history of this publication, it’s a drastic change—but a welcome one. If we’re entering a stage where even Playboy isn’t retouching its models, this hopefully means natural beauty is slowly become an industry standard.
A preview of the March issue shows the magazine has gotten a lot more tasteful. The publication has always featured written piece alongside its provocative images, but now that they’re not nestled between photos of nude women, the essays, interview and articles with people like Rachel Maddow, Ilana Glazer, Abbi Jacobson and James Franco will likely play a larger role in the magazine.
Of course, a lack of nudity doesn’t mean Playboy is doing away completely with its suggestive, provocative photos. Model and Instagram celeb Sarah McDaniel covers this new issue, which is clearly aiming to keep up with the times with a reference to Snapchat and selfies on the cover. “The idea was to look at me from a boyfriend’s perspective,” McDaniel explained of the shoot.
We’re interested to see how this change plays out, and can’t help but wonder: Is this true feminism making moves, or merely a company’s attempt to gain approval from new audiences?