Kate Moss i Playboy under Hugh Hefner, 2013 – Bretman Rock i Playboy, 2021)

Hugh Hefner døde i 2017, og mon ikke det var MeToo-bølgen der pressede Playboy væk fra hylderne. Nu har de så smidt en 23-årig mand på forsiden af magasinet, og det skal nok vinde kernelæserne tilbage. Fra Dolly Parton over Kate Moss til en mandlig filippinsk youtuber. Sidste mand slukker lyset. Fra CNN – Bretman Rock is Playboy’s first openly gay male cover star.

“Bretman Rock has donned Playboy’s famed bunny ears and become the first out gay man to star on its cover. The 23-year-old Filipino beauty influencer, who rose to fame on YouTube before landing his own MTV show, is one of the few men to ever wear the Playboy ears, joining actors Ezra Miller and Paul Rudd. And he follows in the footsteps of Bad Bunny, who made history last July as the magazine’s first male cover star (besides its late founder, Hugh Hefner).

‘For Playboy to have a male on the cover is a huge deal for the LGBT community, for my brown people community, and it’s all so surreal,’ Rock is quoted as saying on Playboy’s Instagram page. Rock has worked with the brand before, producing clothing with them, but it’s his first time posing in an editorial for the magazine. …

The shoot is digital-only, as the brand dropped its print magazine in March 2020 after 66 years, citing ‘disruption’ in production and supply chains caused by the coronavirus pandemic The new digital cover was photographed by Brian Ziff and features Rock in the Playboy Bunny ears, necktie and cuffs — which have also been worn by icons including Kate Moss and Dolly Parton — in addition to a black corset and black platform heels. Ziff also photographed a second set of glittering, retro-looking images featuring Rock with gem-encrusted lips and slinky velvet black gloves.”

“Man skal ikke undervurdere virkningen af sådan nogle billeder, og at de optræder i noget mainstream og et kommercielt medie. … Det er post-MeToo, og det skal ikke længere være det gamle, traditionelle male gaze, hvor alt handler om røv og bryster. Vi skal ud i noget mere eksperimenterende, som passer med nutidens strømninger.” (Kenneth Reinicke, Mandeforsker, RUC; DR, 13. oktober 2021)