No Playboy?

From the Wikipedia article on Hugh Hefner: "After serving in the subscription department and as a copywriter for Esquire, he left in January 1952 after being denied a $5 raise. He worked at Children's Activities, then took his biggest gamble in 1953 by lending his furniture for $600 and raising $10,000 from 45 investors - including $1,000 from his mother ("Not because she believed in the venture," he told E! in 2006. "But because she believed in her son.") - to launch Playboy."

Who would US society (or at least publishing) be different if Hefner had been given his five dollar raise and stayed on at Esquire.
 
Hefner "non pink" concept caught on in the mainstream because his magazine offered non porn interviews and commentary. giving it a legit feel. that hardcore porn shop at the airport will still be there with or without Hefner
 
It depends on how far through Esquire's chain Heff manages to get. Also in that wikipedia article, it states Heffner wrote a paper in 1949 talking about sex laws in the US in light of the Kinsey Report.

I think that if Heff manages to make it to the position of editor, he would move the magazine in more of a Playboy-esque direction. However, as the magazine was a part of the Hearst empire, he'd be under the thumb of the Hearsts. This might inspire/force him to branch out own his own, then again it might not.

Penthouse Magazine, launched in the 1960s, was far racier in terms of content but because Playboy aimed at the "gentleman" market, it was more socially acceptable to buy Playboy. It's quite conceivable that Penthouse would have cornered the US market until the rise of Hustler magazine. Without Playboy magazine, it's questionable as to whether there would have been a Playboy club franchise or a television programme giving Heffner's growing empire exposure.

I think that without Playboy, America would have had to wait a decade for pornography to go mainstream. Wikipedia says that many "men's lifestyle" magazines are quite conservative in their articles which could have helped influence three generations of male voters in the USA. With Hustler launching a few years after Penthouse and as with a strong left-wing viewpoint, it might have a small impact on the US political landscape.
 
Hefner, as editor/editor-in-chief might have been able to effect a spin-off of Esquire, but it would have taken quite a while to do so: the spin-off probably wouldn't have been in effect until about 1960 or so. The spunoff magazine would probably have been relatively cautious in its approach as well: perhaps the only real skin in the Playboy sense of the term would have been in the gatefold (perhaps Jayne Mansfield as the first Playmate of the Month?).

Also, I suspect the so-called sexual revolution would have been delayed noticeably; i.e., well into the 1970s. As a corollary, don't forget that Playboy didn't show a pubic hair on a gatefold until about 1971 in OTL; in the spun-off Esquire, that might not have happened until about 1980. In short, the sexual mores of US society of the '50s in OTL might well have lasted until the mid-to-late 1970s.
 
That would be after Hustler started IOTL, as was said. WI Hustler was founded before? Maybe this would deter upper and middle class men to consume pornography openly, seeing it as a kind of "prolefeed", as George Orwell would say.
 
Hefner is so talented that he would either end up at the helm of Esquire, or be given his own new magazine within the corporate family. Either way, he still has the shareholders over his head, so the photos are probably more like those in today's Maxim or other lad mags, but the articles are probably very sophisticated, like, well, like Playboy or Esquire at their height. But remember this -- in the 50s, Maxim-style photos would still be shocking, so Hef would still make a name for himself on some level.
 
It was Heff's decision to diversify into clubs and TV which made Playboy such a recognisable brand. If he doesn't do that, Hustler might get the drop on him as it was originally set up to promote Larry Flynt's 6 sex clubs in Ohio.
 
Also, I suspect the so-called sexual revolution would have been delayed noticeably; i.e., well into the 1970s.
I think you vastly overestimate the influence of Playboy. The Pill had more to do with it, & it came out in '56. Which makes me wonder if an earlier Pill might not have meant an even earler Playboy equivalent...
 
This would mean no Illuminatus! Trilogy (Shea and Willson got the ideas in part thanks to working in the editorial department of Playboy).
In addition, Jack Cole could have gone on to do his own comic strip, "Betsy and Me", though I'm not sure if he still would have committed suicide. (Cole did a series of "Females" for Playboy.)
Shel Silverstein may not have much of a change, though I'm not familiar with his personal life...
 
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