Despite its lad mag namesake, Playgirl magazine was founded entirely independently of Hef and his bunnies. In fact, the publication’s original target audience was second-wave feminists, those liberated ladies of the early 1970s that founder Doug Lambert believed were aching for the corniest kind of equality: pictures of naked “himbos” in between articles on abortion rights and Bella Abzug! Of course, Playgirl never really took off the way its counterpart did. The magazine is still going as a quarterly, but it has always circulated as much if not more so among gay men than women, who perhaps prefer their porn a little more subtle and discreet, and their lifestyle magazines a little less hokey.

Nonetheless, Playgirl has left us with some absolute treasures in its attempts to capitalize off of the modern woman, and you need only to watch this 1984 “video magazine”—again, an attempt to emulate similar projects by Playboy—to be reassured of its entertainment value. In another flailing attempt to brand the liberated lady lifestyle, the video combines on-the-street interviews, fashion/lifestyle editorial-style shorts, political segments and yes, fabulously corny softcore. Probably not SFW—there’s no frontal nudity, but you might die of shame.

Celeb appearances include Mark Harmon (who was then a big deal on St. Elsewhere), centerfold Steve Scott (later porn star Mark Davis), and even Geraldine Ferraro and future San Francisco mayor Willie Brown!
 

 
Via Network Awesome