Hefner’s magazine also regularly published some the best writers of our generation. Norman Mailer, Ray Bradberry, Kurt Vonnegut, Jack Kerouac, Gore Vidal, Joseph Heller, Ian Fleming among others. It also had articles on science, food, art, theater, politics, men’s fashion.
That’s why Hugh Hefner was considered a cultural icon. His was the first magazine of its kind to liberate men from societal expectations.
And his magazine also featured photos of lovely women, smiling, playful, appearing happy and well adjusted. Not at all like the pornographic, drugged out appearance of the women of Penthouse and other pretender magazines.