The media industry went abuzz when Playboy magazine announced that it will stop publishing nude photos inside print editions of Playboy USA beginning March 2016. Notable individuals such as celebrity interviewer David Rensin and actress Kristy Swanson praised the change, with Rensin calling it a “good business move” that he believed “should have been done years ago.” In addition to the newly imposed ban, Playboy USA intends to pattern its magazines after the spreads of GQ and Esquire (specifically content wise) to attract higher readership, particularly from a younger demographic (people ages 18 to 30) and is even adding a column on the “sex-positive” female.When I initially read about this change I thought: This is groundbreaking. Maybe Playboy is championing feminism now. However, the more I read on the issue, the more I realize that Playboy is making these moves merely from an economic standpoint. With the proliferation of internet pornography, men need not go to the newsstands to get a hold of nude photos or sexual content; they can do it in the comfort of their own homes without being judged for it. As such, Playboy magazine has become increasingly irrelevant, forcing them to transition towards more compelling and profound publications.Moving forward, the question on everyone’s mind is, will Playboy actually succeed? Statistics show that since the Playboy website stopped posting nude photos in the beginning of August 2015, it has received more readers, particularly from Playboy’s intended age demographic of thirty-year olds. Playboy believes this is good news for both the magazine and its advertisers and hopes that its online success will translate into real life. However, this success is not certain. The magazine has always had somewhat of a bad reputation attached to it as Samir Husni, director of the Magazine Innovation Center at the University of Mississippi's Meek School of Journalism in Oxford aptly stated: "What's hurting Playboy today is, one, its name… What gentleman today wants to consider himself a Playboy?” This decades old stigma will stand in Playboy’s way of being taken as seriously as publications such as GQ and Esquire. Only time will tell just how thought provoking their articles are, or if they will truly be using sex as a tool for female empowerment (and not oppression). If so, then maybe they will finally succeed in making people proud readers of Playboy magazine. This article was written by Serena Uy. Send an email to [email protected] to get in touch. Photo Credit: Arshaun Darabnia