The great thing about being a Publicity Assistant at a book store like Book Soup is the amount of people and experiences you get to have. On Saturday one might have lunch with THE scream queen before sitting down to drinks with one of the most promising up and coming SciFi/Fantasy authors of today. But after last night, all that pales in comparison. Not that any of those guys are not totaly amazing and interesting to sit next to, but hanging out with a living legend is liable to change a person's view.
I'm from the ultra-liberal Bay Area of California, went to an ultra-liberal university and was taught by women who were not only students of the 'first-wave' feminist movement, but were the actual organizers of it. To them Hugh Hefner was Satan reincarnated. This demonizing always left a bad taste in my mouth; if someone brought so much joy to so many, how could that person be bad? If someone broke through the repression of female sexuality, and celebrated it, instead of shaming it into the thin stucco walls of the suburban bedroom, how can we call that person anything less than a liberator, a saint even?
No matter what your stance on Playboy Magazine (I personally think it is one of the best, most literate magazines available...and yes, I do just read it for the articles), there is absolutely no question that Hugh Hefner changed the face of America. Between Hef, Erica Jong and Helen Gurley Brown, the face of modern sexual politics in America were plunged into a new arena.
Personally, I say thank you Mr. Hefner (and Ms. Jong and Ms. Brown). Thank you for breaking through the surface of repression, maybe someday we'll be completely free of the crazy societal restrictions that still weigh on our collective psyche.
Happy Reading,
Julia
P.S. Also many thanks to Hef for giving us Marilyn Monroe. What a legacy!!!
