In an effort to attract “younger readers” Playboy’s newest edition features the cartoon mom from one of the longest running TV shows of all time—Marge Simpson.
The cover of the magazine features a nude Marge, partially concealed by the infamous Playboy Bunny head, with the words “The Devil in Marge Simpson” next to her image. A three-page spread inside the magazine features Marge in “sexy cartoon lingerie.” James Jellinek, the magazine’s editorial director, says, “It’s very, very racy.”
The 7-Eleven Controversy
That Playboy might collaborate to celebrate the popular cartoon’s 20th anniversary is not surprising. Jellinek reports the magazine’s founder, Hugh Hefner is “a huge ‘Simpsons’ fan.” Hefner even appeared (in cartoon form) on the show back in 1993 to for Krusty the Klown’s comeback special.
The controversy in today’s news is not over the objectification of the cartoon homemaker but over the stores that will be carrying the magazine. 7-Eleven ran into this same controversy in 2003 when they decided to carry the 50th anniversary edition of Playboy on its newsstands. Today the same sort of controversy brews as the American Family Association (AFA) called on 7-Eleven to reconsider selling the Marge collectors item.
Randy Sharp, AFA special projects director, said, “It’s irresponsible of 7-Eleven to display porn in front of boys who pop into 7-11s for a hot dog or a Slurpee.”
Theresa Hennessey, Playboy spokeswoman, says this special edition is an effort to attract younger “readers.” I guess people do read those things for the articles.
“We knew that this would really appeal to the 20-something crowd,” Henessey said. But the AFA is concerned about readers of a younger demographic. Randy Sharp added, “The cover will create the kind of curiosity that can easily lead [children] into an addictive porn habit. This is not what American families want to see in their neighborhood convenience store.”
thanks and God bless much needed info for our society esp our youth we pray amen