A content analysis of playboy centrefolds from 1953 through 1990: Changes in explicitness, objectification, and model's age

Abstract

In this study, the magazine Playboy was subjected to a content analysis. Centrefold models in 430 issues from 1953 through 1990 were coded for explicitness, objectification (e.g., face not visible), and age. Curvilinear trends were observed for both explicitness and objectification, such that explicitness was found to increase over time until leveling off in the early 1980s, and objectification was found to decrease from the 1950s to the late 1960s and then increase slightly during the mid‐1970s. Overall, objectification level was low. The mean age of the models was 21.3 years and increased linearly over time. The results are discussed in relation to assertions that the sexual media not only serve as reflections of sexual standards and attitudes but also as agents in the development of sexual attitudes, including setting standards of attractiveness.