First things first, pornographic magazines, postcards, and cheap books have circulated in the United states for a very long time For example, Anthony Comstock during his crusade burned 15 tons of books, 284,000 pounds of plates for printing 'objectionable' books, and nearly 4,000,000 pictures in the late 1800s. So it is not like Hefner was doing anything revolutionary by printing a "dirty" magazine -- there were plenty of those going around and an enterprising individual or teenager could probably get their hands on them, especially if they lived in the city. However, these were extremely shoddy items, most of which do not survive today--the vew copies we do have exist in the Kinesy Institute at IU or in the British Library, but they are in poor and tattered condition, reflecting the poor construction.

What Hugh Hefner realized was that in the post WWII booming American economy there was a new class of people, a new segment that he could market to that no one else really seemed aware of: young male college students. Granted, this is because he himself had just graduated college -- Hefner graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign with a BA in psychology and a double minor in creative writing and art in 1949 -- so he was aware of this new market segment. Working at Esquire would also contribute to his awareness of how to market a lifestyle. In 1953, he published the first Playboy.

The gem of Playboys first issue, however, was its “ Sweetheart of the Month. ” As promised on the cover, it displayed the young Marilyn Monroe in all her glory and declared that "She's as famous as Dwight Eisenhower and Dick Tracy, and she and Dr Kinsey have monopolized sex this year... She is natural sex personified. It is there in every look and movement. That's what makes her the most natural choice in the world for our very first Playboy Sweetheart." But first Playboy was more than just that. It was apparent from the very moment that someone picked up a magazine that these were high quality items. And what's more they picked their advertisers well and smartly -- the advertisers of the golden era of playboy were selling a lifestyle, they were selling a dream lifestyle for both the Playboy Man and the Playboy Woman. For example, the Playboy Woman, the magazine said, worked hard in an office and came home to a tasteful apartment that she owned with several expensive accouterments (available from playboy advertisers), and she went out with her close male and female friends and had a good time, and was refined and put together, just like the magazine.

Playboy was very forthright that it was doing this -- in the very first introduction, Hefner and his team wrote:

If you’ re a man between the ages of 18 and 80, playboy is meant for you. If you like your entertainment served up with humor, sophistication and spice, playboy will become a very special favorite. We want to make clear from the very start, we aren’t a “ family magazine. ”

If you’re somebody’s sister, wife, or mother-in-law and picked us up by mistake, please pass us along to the man in your life and get back to your Ladies Home Companion . . . .

Most of today’s “ magazines for men ” spend all their time out-of-doors — thrashing through thorny thickets or splashing about in fast flowing streams. We’ll be out there too, occasionally, but we don’t mind telling you in advance — we plan on spending most of our time inside. We like our apartment. We enjoy mixing up cocktails and an hors d’oeuvre or two, putting a little mood music on the phonograph, and inviting in a female acquaintance for a quiet discussion on Picasso, Nietzsche, jazz, sex . . . .

Affairs of state will be out of our province. We don’t expect to solve any world problems or prove any great moral truths. If we are able to give the American male a few extra laughs and a little diversion from the anxieties of the Atomic Age, we’ll feel we’ve justified our existence

The articles were essential too, despite all the jokes of "reading it for the articles," playboy really did have some fantastic authors, writers, and critics. So when you ask

But was "Playboy" itself leading the wave of the '50s-'60s, or more just riding it and benefiting in the popular mindset due to its enduring place in the pop-cultural landscape

The answer is yes, they did both. Both my selling a lifestyle and image that young men and women attempted to model themselves around, and by profiting off that newly rising class of educated men and women, Playboy was both conservative and revolutionary. Hefner always pushed for propriety and correctness in his public behavior while at the same time being remarkably liberal about sexuality, and thrived off this scandal to sell more Playboys.

There is much more to write here, but I am unfortunately helping my grandmother move today, and don't have access to the two sources I need the most, but to which I will point you:

Playboy and the Making of the Good Life in Modern America by Elizabeth Fraterrigo

Mr Playboy: Hugh Hefner and the American Steven Watts