Initiatives

The Rabbit’s fight for individual rights, women’s healthcare choices, civil rights, and cannabis usages, among other topics, are felt and seen day to day throughout Playboy’s point of view in content and across media.

First Amendment
First Amendment

First Amendment Protection + Freedom of Speech

Since Hugh Hefner founded Playboy in 1953, the brand has been at the forefront of First Amendment protections. In one of his first installment of Playboy Philosophy, Hefner summarized his mission best: “By keeping open all lines of communication in our culture, every new idea–no matter how seemingly perverse, improper or peculiar, has its opportunity to be considered, to be challenged, and ultimately to be accepted or rejected by society as a whole or by some small part of it.” It is the publication’s fiercely progressive approach to sexuality, humor, literature, politics and more that earned Hefner both the Award of Honor and the First Amendment Award from the distinguished PEN Center USA organization in 2010. While the world has made great strides since the 1950s, the company continues to fight for freedom of speech via bold storytelling, The Hugh M. Hefner Foundation and the foundation’s Hugh M. Hefner First Amendment Awards—a ceremony that celebrates and empowers hundreds of teachers, students, lawyers, librarians and journalists who make an impact in this necessary effort.

Military Service
Military Service

Support for Active Military and Veterans

Playboy’s support of the United States Armed Forces originates with founder Hugh Hefner’s two years of Army service during World War II. Today, Playboy’s Chief Content Office Cooper Hefner continues that legacy, serving in the California State Military Reserve, as does the company, having supported and honored the sacrificed of our troops for decades, including when Playmate of the Year 1965 Jo Collins and other Playmates travelled to Vietnam to meet with soldiers. As the New York Times’ Amber Batura reports, “It’s hard to overstate how profound a role Playboy played among the millions of American soldiers and civilians stationed in Vietnam throughout the war: as entertainment, yes, but more important as news and, through its extensive letters section, as a sounding board and confessional.” Our correspondents have reported on issues affecting the U.S. military every war since. Meanwhile, Playmates and Bunnies continue to fund-raise for veteran organizations like the Wounded Warriors Project, visit USO Centers and send care packages to troops abroad. Playboy will always support patriotism through military service.

Civil Liberties
Civil Liberties + Sexual Freedoms

Supporting Equality in and out of the Bedroom

Providing a voice for the underrepresented since its inception, Playboy has a proud history of supporting artists of color and cultural dissidents, from Ella Fitzgerald singing at the inaugural Playboy Jazz Festival in August 1959, to Dick Gregory performing at the Playboy Club in the early 1960s. The Playboy Interview has offered a platform for discussion to such important civil rights figures as Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X and Ai Weiwei, while Hugh Hefner fought against Jim Crow-era laws in the South by integrating Playboy Clubs in Miami and New Orleans. Playboy also stands for sexual freedom for everyone, and the company is proud to have nabbed a 2018 nomination for a British LGBT Award following our announcement of the first transgender Playmate, Ines Rau. This tradition of granting power to all continues to this day, most recently in the form of Playboy's donation to and support of the Time's Up Legal Defense Fund.

Climate Action
Climate Action

Action on Climate Change + Bipartisan Support for Green Policy

In his 2017 installment of the Playboy Philosophy on conservationism, Chief Content Officer Cooper Hefner references the magazine’s 1983 Playboy Interview with photographer and environmentalist Ansel Adams, who argued the most critical fight facing the environment was the loss of our country’s wilderness. More than 30 years later, serious leaps have been made in the conservation of America’s natural beauty but a new threat, unforeseen then, has risen to be the next big challenge. Climate change endangers the health of our planet and our future generations and Playboy aims to be a leader in confronting this growing problem head-on. Our recent Creatives for Climate art auction brought art and activism together by selling artists’ takes of our iconic Rabbit Head, with the proceeds benefiting pro-environment organizations around the world. By working alongside artists, activists and storytellers, Playboy hopes to continue its decades-long legacy of championing Mother Earth.

CIVIL LIBERTIES & SEXUAL FREEDOM

Providing a voice for the underrepresented since its inception, Playboy has a proud history of supporting artists of color and cultural dissidents, from Ella Fitzgerald singing at the inaugural Playboy Jazz Festival in August 1959, to Dick Gregory performing at the Playboy Club in the early 1960s. The Playboy Interview has offered a platform for discussion to such important civil rights figures as Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X and Ai Weiwei, while Hugh Hefner fought against Jim Crow-era laws in the South by integrating Playboy Clubs in Miami and New Orleans. Playboy also stands for sexual freedom for everyone, and the company is proud to have nabbed a 2018 nomination for a British LGBT Award following our announcement of the first transgender Playmate, Ines Rau. This tradition of granting power to all continues to this day, most recently in the form of Playboy's donation to and support of the Time's Up Legal Defense Fund.

CLIMATE CHANGE ACTION

In his 2017 installment of the Playboy Philosophy on conservationism, Chief Content Officer Cooper Hefner references the magazine’s 1983 Playboy Interview with photographer and environmentalist Ansel Adams, who argued the most critical fight facing the environment was the loss of our country’s wilderness. More than 30 years later, serious leaps have been made in the conservation of America’s natural beauty but a new threat, unforeseen then, has risen to be the next big challenge. Climate change endangers the health of our planet and our future generations and Playboy aims to be a leader in confronting this growing problem head-on. Our recent Creatives for Climate art auction brought art and activism together by selling artists’ takes of our iconic Rabbit Head, with the proceeds benefiting pro-environment organizations around the world. By working alongside artists, activists and storytellers, Playboy hopes to continue its decades-long legacy of championing Mother Earth.

FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHTS

Since Hugh Hefner founded Playboy in 1953, the brand has been at the forefront of First Amendment protections. In one of his first installment of Playboy Philosophy, Hefner summarized his mission best: “By keeping open all lines of communication in our culture, every new idea–no matter how seemingly perverse, improper or peculiar, has its opportunity to be considered, to be challenged, and ultimately to be accepted or rejected by society as a whole or by some small part of it.” It is the publication’s fiercely progressive approach to sexuality, humor, literature, politics and more that earned Hefner both the Award of Honor and the First Amendment Award from the distinguished PEN Center USA organization in 2010. While the world has made great strides since the 1950s, the company continues to fight for freedom of speech via bold storytelling, The Hugh M. Hefner Foundation and the foundation’s Hugh M. Hefner First Amendment Awards—a ceremony that celebrates and empowers hundreds of teachers, students, lawyers, librarians and journalists who make an impact in this necessary effort.

MILITARY SERVICE

Playboy’s support of the United States Armed Forces originates with founder Hugh Hefner’s two years of Army service during World War II. Today, Playboy’s Chief Content Office Cooper Hefner continues that legacy, serving in the California State Military Reserve, as does the company, having supported and honored the sacrificed of our troops for decades, including when Playmate of the Year 1965 Jo Collins and other Playmates travelled to Vietnam to meet with soldiers. As the New York Times’ Amber Batura reports, “It’s hard to overstate how profound a role Playboy played among the millions of American soldiers and civilians stationed in Vietnam throughout the war: as entertainment, yes, but more important as news and, through its extensive letters section, as a sounding board and confessional.” Our correspondents have reported on issues affecting the U.S. military every war since. Meanwhile, Playmates and Bunnies continue to fund-raise for veteran organizations like the Wounded Warriors Project, visit USO Centers and send care packages to troops abroad. Playboy will always support patriotism through military service.