沒了裸女照的《花花公子》還剩下什麼

Last month, Cory Jones, a top editor at Playboy, went to see its founder Hugh Hefner at the Playboy Mansion.

上月，《花花公子》(Playboy)雜誌的頂級編輯科利·瓊斯(Cory Jones)去花花公子大廈探望了雜誌的創始人休·赫夫納(Hugh Hefner)。

In a wood-paneled dining room, with Picasso and de Kooning prints on the walls, Mr. Jones nervously presented a radical suggestion: the magazine, a leader of the revolution that helped take sex in America from furtive to ubiquitous, should stop publishing images of naked women.

《花花公子》雜誌曾在性解放運動中充當領軍角色，從那以後，美國的性文化就從遮遮掩掩變爲無處不在，然而，在花花公子大廈鑲嵌木板，懸掛着畢加索(Picasso)與德·庫寧(de Kooning)作品的餐廳裏，瓊斯卻緊張地提出了一個激進的建議，這本雜誌不應該再刊登裸體女郎的照片了。

Mr. Hefner, now 89, but still listed as editor in chief, agreed. As part of a redesign that will be unveiled next March, the print edition of Playboy will still feature women in provocative poses. But they will no longer be fully nude.

89歲的赫夫納仍在雜誌上被列爲總編，他同意了這個建議。新設計將在明年三月曝光，屆時紙質版的《花花公子》上仍將有擺出挑逗姿態的女郎，但她們不再是全裸的了。

Its executives admit that Playboy has been overtaken by the changes it pioneered. “That battle has been fought and won,” said Scott Flanders, the company’s chief executive. “You’re now one click away from every sex act imaginable for free. And so it’s just passé at this juncture.”

雜誌高管們承認，雜誌已經被自己倡導的種種變革所壓倒。“戰鬥已經打過，並且已經取勝了，”公司首席執行官斯科特·弗蘭達斯(Scott Flanders)說。“現在你可以免費點擊獲取各種可以想到的性行爲內容。所以在眼下，性內容已經成了落伍的東西。”

For a generation of American men, reading Playboy was a cultural rite, an illicit thrill consumed by flashlight. Now every teenage boy has an Internet-connected phone instead. Pornographic magazines, even those as storied as Playboy, have lost their shock value, their commercial value and their cultural relevance.

對於一代美國男人來說，閱讀《花花公子》雜誌是一種文化儀式，一種不正當的刺激，要打着手電看才行。如今所有男孩子都有了可以聯網的手機。色情雜誌已經失去了震撼性的價值、商業價值與文化影響，就連《花花公子》這樣歷史悠久的雜誌也不例外。

Playboy’s circulation has dropped from 5.6 million in 1975 to about 800,000 now, according to the Alliance for Audited Media. Many of the magazines that followed it have disappeared. Though detailed figures are not kept for adult magazines, many of those that remain exist in severely diminished form, available mostly in specialist stores. Penthouse, perhaps the most famous Playboy competitor, responded to the threat from digital pornography by turning even more explicit. It never recovered.

根據審計媒體聯盟( Alliance for Audited Media)統計，《花花公子》的發行量已經從1975年的560萬冊跌到如今的80萬冊。許多它的效仿者們更是已經消失不見。儘管關於男性雜誌沒有細節統計數字，但其中很多雜誌的規模都已經大大縮減，主要只能在色情商店才能買到。《閣樓》(Penthouse)或許是《花花公子》最著名的競爭者，面對數字色情內容的威脅，它的對策就是內容更加露骨。它倒閉後再也沒能復原。

Previous efforts to revamp Playboy, as recently as three years ago, have never quite stuck. And those who have accused it of exploiting women are unlikely to be assuaged by a modest cover-up. But, according to its own research, Playboy’s logo is one of the most recognizable in the world, along with those of Apple and Nike. This time, as the magazine seeks to compete with younger outlets like Vice, Mr. Flanders said, it sought to answer a key question: “if you take nudity out, what’s left?”

三年前，爲了振興《花花公子》採取的一系列舉措均未能持續收到良好效果。那些指責它剝削利用女性的人們對雜誌上出現的溫和遮掩也並不滿意。但是，根據雜誌自己所做的研究，《花花公子》的logo仍然同蘋果和耐克的商標一樣，是世界上最易辨識的標識之一。這一次，弗蘭德斯說，雜誌希望同Vice等更年輕的傳媒競爭，它希望能回答這樣一個關鍵的問題：“如果把裸體撤掉，那麼還剩下什麼？”

It is difficult, in a media market that has been so fragmented by the web, to imagine the scope of Playboy’s influence at its peak. A judge once ruled that denying blind people a Braille version of it violated their First Amendment rights. It published stories by Margaret Atwood and Haruki Murakami among others, and its interviews have included Malcolm X, Vladimir Nabokov, Martin Luther King Jr. and Jimmy Carter, who admitted that he had lusted in his heart for women other than his wife. Madonna, Sharon Stone and Naomi Campbell posed for the magazine at the peak of their fame. Its best-selling issue, in November of 1972, sold more than seven million copies.

在媒體市場已經被互聯網變得日益碎片化的當今，要想象《花花公子》當年的影響之廣是很困難的。一個法官曾經判決雜誌拒絕爲盲人發行布萊葉盲文版是違反了憲法第一修正案賦予盲人的權利。它刊登過許多著名作家的小說，其中包括瑪格麗特·阿特伍德(Margaret Atwood)與村上春樹的作品，它曾經採訪過馬爾科姆·X(Malcolm X)、弗拉迪米爾·納博科夫(Vladimir Nabokov)、小馬丁·路德·金(Martin Luther King Jr.)和吉米·卡特(Jimmy Carter)，卡特承認自己在心裏對別的女人比對妻子更有慾望。麥當娜(Madonna)、莎朗·斯通(Sharon Stone)與娜奧米·坎貝爾(Naomi Campbell)都曾在自己的全盛時期爲它拍照。1972年11月刊是它最暢銷的一期，共賣出了700萬冊。

Even those who disliked it cared enough to pay attention — Gloria Steinem, the pioneering feminist, went undercover as a waitress, or Playboy Bunny, in one of Mr. Hefner’s spinoff clubs to write an exposé for Show Magazine in 1963.

就連那些不喜歡它的人也不得不關注它。1963年，爲了給《Show Magazine》雜誌寫一篇揭露文章，女權主義先驅格勞麗亞·斯泰納姆(Gloria Steinem)甚至曾經去赫夫納旗下的夜總會臥底，做起了花花公子兔女郎。

When Mr. Hefner created the magazine, which featured Marilyn Monroe on its debut cover in 1953, he did so to please himself. “If you’re a man between the ages of 18 and 80, Playboy is meant for you,” he said in his first editor’s letter. “We enjoy mixing up cocktails and an hors d’oeuvre or two, putting a little mood music on the phonograph, and inviting in a female acquaintance for a quiet discussion on Picasso, Nietzsche, jazz, sex ...” He did not put a date on the cover of the first issue, in case Playboy did not make it to a second.

1953年，赫夫納創辦了這本雜誌，創刊號封面上是瑪麗蓮·夢露(Marilyn Monroe)的照片，他這麼做是爲了取悅自己。“《花花公子》適合所有18歲到80歲的男性，”他在第一篇總編髮刊詞中寫道。“我們喜歡調雞尾酒，吃一兩道開胃小菜，在唱機上放點有情調的音樂，邀一位女性熟人來安靜地聊一聊畢加索、尼采、爵士樂與性愛……”創刊號封面上沒有寫日期，因爲他不知道《花花公子》還能不能出第二期。

Mr. Hefner “just revolutionized the whole direction of how we live, of our lifestyles and the kind of sex you might have in America,” said Dian Hanson, author of a six-volume history of men’s magazines and an editor for Taschen. “But taking the nudity out of Playboy is going to leave what?”

赫夫納“徹底改變了我們生活的方向，我們的生活方式，以及美國的性愛方式，”迪安·漢森(Dian Hanson)說，他著有一部六卷本的男性雜誌歷史，是Taschen出版社的編輯。“但是把裸體照片從《花花公子》上拿掉，還會剩下什麼呢？”

The latest redesign, 62 years later, is more pragmatic. The magazine had already made some content safe for work, Mr. Flanders said, in order to be allowed on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, vital sources of web traffic.

雜誌走過了62年的歷程，如今的改版是出於實用主義。弗蘭德斯說，雜誌已經調整了一些內容，可以安全地在工作場合觀看，這是爲了雜誌可以在Facebook、Instagram和Twitter等重要的網絡社交媒體平臺上傳播。

In August of last year, its website dispensed with nudity. As a result, Playboy executives said, the average age of its reader dropped from 47 to just over 30, and its web traffic jumped to about 16 million from about four million unique users per month.

去年8月，雜誌網站上開始提供裸體內容。公司高管們說，由此帶來的是讀者的平均年齡從47歲降低到了30歲左右，它的網站流量從每月400萬次瀏覽升高到1600萬次。

The magazine will adopt a cleaner, more modern style, said Mr. Jones, who as chief content officer also oversees its website. There will still be a Playmate of the Month, but the pictures will be “PG-13” and less produced — more like the racier sections of Instagram. “A little more accessible, a little more intimate,” he said. It is not yet decided whether there will still be a centerfold.

瓊斯說，雜誌會採取更乾淨，更現代的風格，他是雜誌的內容總編，也負責網絡的工作。他說，雜誌上仍然會有每月花花公子女郎，不過照片會是“PG-13”級別的，也不會再進行那麼多後期製作，而是更像一組活潑的Instagram照片。“更可親，更親密，”他說。雜誌上是否還會有中間插頁照片，目前尚未決定。

Its sex columnist, Mr. Jones said, will be a “sex-positive female,” writing enthusiastically about sex. And Playboy will continue its tradition of investigative journalism, in-depth interviews and fiction. The target audience, Mr. Flanders said, is young men who live in cities. “The difference between us and Vice,” he said, “is that we’re going after the guy with a job.”

瓊斯說，雜誌的性專欄作家會是一個“性方面非常積極的女人”，她會滿腔熱情地寫性。《花花公子》在調查新聞、深度訪談和虛構寫作方面的傳統還將延續。弗蘭德斯說，雜誌的目標讀者是居住在城市裏的青年男子。“我們和Vice的區別，就是我們更關注那些有工作的人，”他說。

Some of the moves, like expanded coverage of liquor, are partly commercial, Mr. Flanders admitted; the magazine must please its core advertisers. And all the changes have been tested in focus groups with an eye toward attracting millennials — people between the ages of 18 and 30-something, highly coveted by publishers. The magazine will feature visual artists, with their work dotted through the pages, in part because research revealed that younger people are drawn to art.

還有一些舉措部分是出於商業目的，比如增加烈酒的報道篇幅，弗蘭德斯承認；雜誌必須取悅自己的核心廣告客戶。所有這些變化都經過焦點小組的測試，目標是吸引千禧一代，也就是18歲到30歲的人羣，他們是出版商極度覬覦的目標。雜誌上還會刊登視覺藝術家的作品，散佈在不同頁面，部分是因爲調查顯示年輕人喜歡藝術。

The company now makes most of its money from licensing its ubiquitous brand and logo across the world — 40 percent of that business is in China even though the magazine is not available there — for bath products, fragrances, clothing, liquor and jewelry among other merchandise. Nudity in the magazine risks complaints from shoppers, and diminished distribution.

如今，公司的主要收入是靠着在全球各地出售自己品牌與logo的許可權，包括沐浴用品、香水、服裝，烈酒、珠寶和其他小商品，其中40%的業務在中國，儘管這本雜誌在中國買不到。雜誌上的裸體要冒着被購物者指責的風險，會減少分銷數量。

Playboy, which had gone public in 1971, was taken private again in 2011 by Mr. Hefner with Rizvi Traverse Management, an investment firm founded by Suhail Rizvi, a publicity-shy Silicon Valley investor, who has interests in Twitter, Square and Snapchat among others. The firm now owns over 60 percent. Mr. Hefner owns about 30 percent (some shares are held by Playboy management).

花花公子公司於1971年上市，2011年，又被赫夫納與里茲維·特拉維斯資產管理公司(Rizvi Traverse Management)收購，這家投資公司是由蘇海爾·里茲維(Suhail Rizvi)創立的，他是個外表羞澀的硅谷投資者，曾爲Twitter、Square和Snapchat等公司投資。里茲維·特拉維斯目前擁有60%股份，赫夫納擁有30%股份，其他部分股份由公司管理層持有。

The magazine is profitable if money from licensed editions around the world is taken into account, Mr. Flanders said, but the United States edition loses about $3 million a year. He sees it, he said, as a marketing expense. “It is our Fifth Avenue storefront,” he said.

如果把全球的各種授權版本算進來，這本雜誌仍然是盈利的，弗蘭德斯說，但是雜誌的美國版每年虧損300萬美元。他說自己把這當做市場營銷的開支。“它相當於我們在第五大道的門店，”他說。

He and Mr. Jones feel that the magazine remains relevant, not least because the world has gradually adopted Mr. Hefner’s libertarian views on a variety of social issues. Asked whether Mr. Hefner’s views on women were the exception to that rule, Mr. Flanders responded that Mr. Hefner had “always celebrated the beauty of the female figure.”

他和瓊斯覺得這本雜誌仍然有着重大意義，特別是因爲這個世界已經逐漸接納了赫夫納對各種社會問題的自由主義觀點。被問到赫夫納對女人的觀點是否是其中的例外，弗蘭德斯回答說，赫夫納“一直都讚美女人的美。”

“Don’t get me wrong,” Mr. Jones said of the decision to dispense with nudity, “12-year-old me is very disappointed in current me. But it’s the right thing to do.”

“別誤會我，”瓊斯在談到撤下裸體照片這個決定時說。“那個12歲時的我對現在的我非常失望，但這是一件正確的事情。”