ThePubic Wars, apun on thePunic Wars,[1] was a rivalry between the Americanmen's magazinesPlayboy andPenthouse during the 1960s and 1970s.[1][2] Each magazine strove to show just a little bit more nudity on their female models than the other, without getting too crude.[2] The term was coined byPlayboy ownerHugh Hefner.[1] In 1950s and 1960s United States, it was generally agreed thatnude photographs were notpornographic unless they showedpubic hair orgenitals. Mainstream mass-market photography was careful to come close to this line without stepping over it. Consequently, the depiction of pubic hair wasde facto forbidden in U.S. pornographic magazines of the era.[1]
Penthouse originated in 1965 in Britain and was initially distributed in Europe.[1] In September 1969, it was launched in the U.S., bringing new competition toPlayboy, which had dominated the niche since its 1953 debut.[1] Due to more liberal European attitudes to nudity,Penthouse was already displaying pubic hair at the time of its U.S. launch.[1] According to Penthouse magazine's ownerBob Guccione, "We began to show pubic hair, which was a big breakthrough."[2]
In order to retain its market share,Playboy followed suit, risking obscenity charges, and launching the "Pubic Wars".[1]Playboy started showing wisps of pubic hair about nine months afterPenthouse (June 1970).[2] As competition between the two magazines escalated, their photo shoots became increasingly explicit.[1]Playboy, however, had actually first showed a very slight glimpse of any pubic hair onMelodye Prentiss'centerfold (Miss July 1968), some 15 years after the magazine's introduction. WithPlayboy Playmates, it was usually the case that the pubic area would be obscured by an item of clothing, a leg, or a piece of furniture. The first appearance of real pubic hair inPlayboy actually occurred in August 1969 in a pictorial featuring dancer/actressPaula Kelly. A few more glimpses of pubic hair appeared in some later pictorials and centerfolds, but it was not until January 1971 whenLiv Lindeland showed clearly visible pubic hair in her pictorial. The first Playmate to clearly have the first full frontal nude centerfold was Miss January 1972,Marilyn Cole. Both went on to become Playmate of the Year, respectively 1972 and 1973. WhenHustler was launched in 1974, it outdid bothPlayboy andPenthouse in explicitness by showing more graphic photos of the female sex organs.[1]
Eventually, the two magazines moved their content in opposite directions.Playboy positioned itself as the less explicitsoftcore alternative to be "read for the articles".[1]Penthouse gravitated towards raunchier images, ultimately arriving athardcore pornography andphotographs of women urinating, in the mid-1990s.[2] Under new ownership since 2004,Penthouse began to steer toward a more softcore direction as well.[2]