Site Meter Reflections on Playboy: Point of style: to italicize or not to italicize <i>Playboy</i>

July 8, 2008

Point of style: to italicize or not to italicize Playboy

I take logic, rhetoric, grammar, spelling, punctuation, and typography seriously as a writer, the way serious musicians make so much of the complexities of tonal harmony. There is no such thing as proofreading too slowly when I write this blog—or even a one-sentence email to a friend. It’s pride of craftsmanship, and I can’t help myself. Whether I italicize the word Playboy or not in any given instance here, I always think it through carefully on a few levels.

Generally, I restrict italics to the flagship paper magazine that is released month by month (not newsstand specials or online exclusives). Most other uses, whether official or unofficial, are denied italics (Playboy Enterprises, The Playboy Blog, the Playboy Mansion, Reflections on Playboy). A heartthrob known from newsstand specials (i.e. “Special Editions”) or the Internet but not the monthly magazine is a Playboy model rather than a Playboy model. The general term for both kinds of models goes without italics.

However, I’ve recently broken my own rule for the sake of a joke. I wrote “Playboy online and Playboy ondeadtree” to avoid distraction in the parallelism. You gotta do what you gotta do.

Also, it’s never appropriate to capitalize the b in the middle of Playboy. Hugh Hefner didn’t invent the term when he invented the magazine, so it doesn’t have the etymology to justify spelling it like YouTube, for instance, which is literally a brand new word.

Don’t forget my point about the b, or I’ll find you where you sleep and magic-marker the word DORK on your face. Shame is a powerful weapon.

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Posted by Brian Sorgatz at 11:47 AM

  • Anonymous R M Roxinger left this comment at July 9, 2008 9:15 AM  
    Another doozy I've noticed: AskMen.com, whenever it publishes an article about a female celebrity who has appeared in the magazine, refers to the magazine with a space between the syllables: Play boy. I'm puzzled as to why anyone would do that. Could it be to prevent trademark-infringement lawsuits, or to avoid appearing in search results when people Google the magazine? I guess I'll never know.

  • Blogger Brian Sorgatz left this comment at July 9, 2008 5:30 PM  
    Beats me.

  • Blogger "Jet" left this comment at July 9, 2008 8:30 PM  
    I remember I once wrote Playboy with a B and you educated me on this very topic!

    How are things?? I didn't see pics from the mansion.

    ~M

  • Blogger Brian Sorgatz left this comment at July 10, 2008 7:47 AM  
    Melissa,
    You’re a true friend to be so gracious with my education methods, which include threatening to vandalize people’s faces.

    Also, your tough love is reminding me to get those party photos developed already. Thanks again!

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