Playboy's attack on Michelle Malkin
The blogosphere's reaction to a Playboy writer's love-hate fantasies about conservative women
In the latest sign that Playboy "should just fold up and go away," said Bonnie Erbe in U.S. News & World Report, the magazine's website recently posted an article containing a list of conservative women "the author said men would like to, er, have sex with but hate at the same time." The "disgusting, sexist" article, which Playboy has taken down, insulted upstanding conservative women—although it's hard to get incensed about the inclusion of the "venomous" Michelle Malkin.
Imagine the outrage, said Chip Hanlon in The Huffington Post, if Playboy's article, "So Right It's Wrong," had involved wanting to "hate f***" not a conservative blogger like Michelle Malkin "but someone on the Left." Anyone genuinely "dedicated to the empowerment of women" should be offended by this lame, "rancid" drivel.
So much for Playboy's ludicrous claim that it empowers the women who appear nude in its pages, said Ed Morrissey in Michelle Malkin's website, Hot Air. "The fact that the magazine published this piece of effluvium" shows that people at Playboy, from Hugh Hefner on down, want women to be "silent sex objects, and when confronted with women whose opinions differ from theirs, want them humiliated."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Maybe, but getting the offending article removed doesn't help anyone, said Susannah Breslin in Double X. It doesn't erase the "politically incorrect" thoughts of the writer, Guy Cimbalo, who was branded as a wannabe rapist by the chorus of bloggers who threatened Playboy with a boycott if they didn't remove the piece. This just shows that "free speech is so over" for anyone who's politics don't please the blogosphere.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
What should you be stockpiling for 'World War Three'?
In the Spotlight Britons advised to prepare after the EU tells its citizens to have an emergency kit just in case
By Elizabeth Carr-Ellis, The Week UK Published
-
Carnivore diet: why people are eating only meat
The Explainer 'Meatfluencers' are taking social media by storm but experts warn meat-only diets have health consequences
By Elizabeth Carr-Ellis, The Week UK Published
-
Scientists want to fight malaria by poisoning mosquitoes with human blood
Under the radar Drugging the bugs
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
The JFK files: the truth at last?
In The Spotlight More than 64,000 previously classified documents relating the 1963 assassination of John F. Kennedy have been released by the Trump administration
By The Week Staff Published
-
'Seriously, not literally': how should the world take Donald Trump?
Today's big question White House rhetoric and reality look likely to become increasingly blurred
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Will Trump's 'madman' strategy pay off?
Today's Big Question Incoming US president likes to seem unpredictable but, this time round, world leaders could be wise to his playbook
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Democrats vs. Republicans: who are the billionaires backing?
The Explainer Younger tech titans join 'boys' club throwing money and support' behind President Trump, while older plutocrats quietly rebuke new administration
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
US election: where things stand with one week to go
The Explainer Harris' lead in the polls has been narrowing in Trump's favour, but her campaign remains 'cautiously optimistic'
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Is Trump okay?
Today's Big Question Former president's mental fitness and alleged cognitive decline firmly back in the spotlight after 'bizarre' town hall event
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
The life and times of Kamala Harris
The Explainer The vice-president is narrowly leading the race to become the next US president. How did she get to where she is now?
By The Week UK Published
-
Will 'weirdly civil' VP debate move dial in US election?
Today's Big Question 'Diametrically opposed' candidates showed 'a lot of commonality' on some issues, but offered competing visions for America's future and democracy
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published