Site Meter Reflections on Playboy: <i>Playboy</i> is supposedly irrelevant—even though it outrages sorority presidents

December 11, 2008

Playboy is supposedly irrelevant—even though it outrages sorority presidents

For posing for the “Girls of the Big 10” pictorial in the October 2008 Playboy, Michigan State University student Ryan Lovette was kicked out of Zeta Tau Alpha sorority by no less than the organization’s national leader.


This kind of thing is never supposed to happen to a Playboy model anymore. The magazine has been dismissed as pointless kitsch over and over again. Ten years ago, a column in Salon declared it dead as a target of significant feminist outrage:
Sadly for Playboy, those ralliers of 1977 left the sheltered environs of the campus and went on to discover that the world outside, with its hard-core porno films and its third world child prostitution, was so downright nasty it made Playboy seem almost harmless, like the dirty old man at a party who pinches your ass and runs away.
Lovette has every right to call the ZTA president a “50-year-old has-been fugly lady.” The true embarrassment to feminism is not Lovette but the group of women that slut-baited her so spitefully and hypocritically. Who needs a patriarchy when women oppress each other?

Posted by Brian Sorgatz at 2:32 PM

  • Anonymous sunseeds777 left this comment at December 14, 2008 6:08 PM  
    Wonder did she swear or pledge to that sorority, to act in a responsible manner so as not to bring disgrace on their organization.

    It's easy to knock the organization, but why did she even have to say anything at all. No doubt, she felt honesty was the best policy.

    Playboy Enterprizes was acting in good faith in offer a young lady a medium of self expression. No telling how many soroity girls work as strippers across the land.

    Wouldn't that be cool if some of those strip clubs pooled their information on who was working it and are now leaders/movers and shakers in the organization.

    Course, Strip clubs come and go, the only people that'd know anything would be the IRS and probably the FBI.

    But, the girl should have known better, if your going to give your word to somebody, one must live up to those words.

    Ya know, this is quite ironic as not to long ago, I was at a college bar and told a striking young lady she ought be Playboy Model. She instant said, no way and I am going to defame my soroity. But, one has to wonder does the sorority pledge last a lifetime.

    Say for instance one day, this young lady can't find any work at all. Only to approach Playboy Magazine for job.

    Do you think the Soroity pledge will be enforced ? Just how strong are these sororities, with their rules?

    No doubt, the soroity is just trying to be a good guide for all those who have pledge to their system.

  • Blogger Brian Sorgatz left this comment at December 15, 2008 12:53 PM  
    How do you really feel about Playboy, Sunseeds? I ask because you express some ambivalence. On the one hand, you think women should be flattered when you call them Playboy material. On the other hand, you seem to agree with the sorority that posing is irresponsible and disgraceful (your words). You can’t have it both ways. I think you have some virgin-whore issues to work out.

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