At about 8 p.m. on Thursday, March 30, I was in a chartered shuttle bus traveling from one of the parking lots at UCLA to the residence at 10236 Charing Cross Road. We twisted and turned through the narrow, dark, tree-lined roads of the exclusive neighborhood for a few minutes. Then there was a gap between the trees through which I saw the distinctly Tudor architecture of a certain rooftop. I gasped in amazement. It was the Playboy Mansion.
We, the guests of a benefit party for the Marijuana Policy Project, stepped off the bus and were led through a doorway in an open-air wall on the Mansion grounds. On the other side was the swimming pool area, where a bar and a small stage for music and comedy had been set up. On each side of a very short staircase descending towards the pool stood a row of three or four gorgeous young women in black dresses. As each of us passed, they would say, “Welcome to the Playboy Mansion.” I studied their faces for a few seconds and, sure enough, I recognized them from their centerfolds. Playmates!
Finally seeing these icons in person was something like getting to see the dinosaurs for the first time in Jurassic Park (the friendly herbivores, mind you, not the predators). As a paleontologist catching his first glimpse of living dinosaurs, Sam Neill says, “They’re moving in herds. They do move in herds.” The moment held something of that Spielbergian sense of wonder for me.
I was fortunate enough to spend several minutes in conversation with Miss May 1998, Deanna Brooks, and later on with Miss November 2002, Serria Tawan. Brooks and I discussed the philosophical underpinnings of the sexual revolution. A self-described feminist, she objected to the frequent claim that her posing for Playboy was in any way anti-feminist. I’ve said essentially the same thing here. But we politely disagreed on whether people’s anxiety and awkwardness about sexuality are learned through social conditioning or at least partly inborn. I argue the latter.
During my chat with Tawan, a tall, leggy, cute black woman, I was reminded of the mixed blessings of being a sex symbol. A male party guest pinched her backside as he walked by. (I wouldn’t have known it had happened if she hadn’t told me.) Some men behave that way towards Playmates, she explained, because “they think we’re whores.” Playboy shows respect for women, but some guys don’t get the message. Don’t feel too sorry for Tawan, however; she can reportedly kick ass [not work-safe] when she needs to.
Tawan and I were soon joined by Libertarian (yay!) political candidate Edward Teyssier. “Your mission,” he told me, “is to find a libertarian Playmate,” since an endorsement of libertarianism by a Playmate would help the movement. If, by chance, any actual or aspiring Playboy models are reading this, I invite them to take this very short political quiz. They may be libertarian without knowing it.
Playmates at the party included Cassandra Lynn (Miss February 2006), Christine Smith (December 2005), Julie Cialini (1995 Playmate of the Year), Scarlett Keegan (September 2004), Jillian Grace (March 2005), Athena Lundberg (January 2006), Tina Jordan (March 2002), and Marketa Janska (July 2003). I think I probably saw Pilar Lastra (August 2004) and Julie McCullough (February 1986). (Several of the female guests, I might add, looked good enough to be Playmates.) Adam Carolla showed up. My fellow stoners might have recognized cultivation expert Ed Rosenthal, who wore a wizard costume with images of cannabis leaves sewn on it. Tommy Chong dropped by for a while, but, regrettably, I didn’t see him there. Worse yet, I didn’t see Hugh Hefner, even though he’s in one of the photos on the MPP page on the event. So near and yet so far! When I think of it, this makes my memory of the event somewhat bittersweet.
Party guests were not allowed inside the Mansion itself, but we had access to most of the grounds, through which the Playmates led tours. We saw the pens housing many animals, including birds, monkeys, and rabbits. We could play billiards, pinball, and video games for free in the game room. At one point, I wandered into a guest bedroom with mirrors covering two walls and the ceiling (wink). For the wild party capital of the world, though, much of the property has a surprising air of tranquility. When I wanted a break from the party, I could easily find peace and quiet in a garden path. Playboy often impresses me with this kind of balance of yin and yang.
Four hours was too short a time to spend in such a delightful place. Ask for my snapshots through the email link on my Blogger profile page, and I’ll gladly send them to you.
A related earlier post:
I’m going to Disneyland the Playboy Mansion
A related subsequent post:
Want to go to the Playboy Mansion? Start saving your money.
The same event in 2007:
Hope for all women everywhere: Bunnies can be upstagedLabels: Cintv, DruPo, He, Lib, Mansi, Mil, Ph, PJ, PM, TaoGlam
Posted by Brian Sorgatz at 10:16 PM
February 28, 2006
Belated good news
I’m sorry I didn’t report it sooner, but I sent a letter with a sample of my writing to Hugh Hefner, and he wrote me back:
February 2, 2006
Dear Brian423:
Thanks for the piece on Playboy. I appreciate it.
Sincerely,
Hugh M. Hefner
Ain’t it cool?
Update, November 5, 2007, 4:20 p.m.: It may be ambiguous because of Hefner’s use of “Brian423” in the salutation, but our exchange took place entirely through snail mail, not email.Labels: He, Mil, PJ
Posted by Brian Sorgatz at 10:55 AM
January 17, 2006
I’m movin’ on up
Not to the East Side, but to a new domain.
I’ve finally got a piece of the pie.
Here’s an idea for a fun activity: Post a comment with complete parody lyrics for the theme from The Jeffersons.
Addendum, January 18, 2006, 1:15 p.m.: The old domain was reflectionsonplayboy.blogspot.com.Labels: Cintv, Mil, PJ
Posted by Brian Sorgatz at 11:52 AM
January 9, 2006
If anyone asks, I have a job now
I am a freelance writer. My current project is a weblog called Reflections on Playboy.
By making the two statements above, I boost my self-confidence and self-respect. From now on, it won’t be so awkward when the person I’ve just met says, “What do you do?” My writing doesn’t pay at all, but I nonetheless feel justified in calling it a job rather than a hobby. I have proven myself willing to commit to the project. I don’t need to work for a living, because I live off a legal settlement.Labels: Mil, PJ
Posted by Brian Sorgatz at 10:19 AM
October 17, 2005
Please don’t assume I’m a pig
When I tell you that I’m a devoted fan of Playboy magazine, please don’t leap to any hasty conclusions. Please don’t assume that I’m a male chauvinist pig who believes that women should subordinate themselves, sexually or otherwise, to the will of men. Please don’t think that you can instantly guess my point of view on such issues as sexual harassment or rape. And please don’t condescend to regard me as a simpleton who gullibly absorbs all the “materialist” or “consumerist” messages of popular culture.
If I sound defensive, it’s because I commonly find all the above implications in boilerplate criticism of Playboy among self-described liberals. I consider myself a liberal in the rather old-fashioned sense of one who affirms the dignity of individual choice. As a matter of self-respect, I affirm the dignity of my tastes in entertainment. NASCAR fans might well resent the redneck stereotype; Star Trek fans, the nerd stereotype; opera fans, the stuffy stereotype. For my part, I’m tired of being told that I’m a misogynist or a dupe of Madison Avenue if I truly admire Playboy. The Playboy Philosophy [not work-safe] has its problems, and I intend to acknowledge them. But I also intend to defend Playboy as something beautiful and humane.Labels: ArtEnt, ArtPic, Mil, PJ, UCL
Posted by Brian Sorgatz at 7:14 PM
Let’s all admit it: one of the greatest joys of every hobby and every profession is the chance to intimidate the squares with pedantic distinctions in language. Strictly speaking, a Playmate is one of the monthly foldout models, while a Bunny is a waitress or croupier in a distinct costume. (To avoid another common misunderstanding, the Playmate of any given month is almost never that month’s cover girl.)
