Playboy Celebrates International Women’s Day as Only They Can!

Celebrating International Women’s Day has become a massive movement and nobody does it better than Playboy…forget the pictures for a moment, let’s talk about the unique manner in which they pull together a story to celebrate women both in front of and behind the camera. This year they did something extra special with the story AND the photos…see the official line below:

Playboy celebrated International Women’s Day with an original story and photoshoot collaboration featuring a trifecta of powerful female voices, including Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Lynsey Addario, renowned photographer Ellen von Unwerth and iconic model and former adult-film star Lana Rhoades–all of whom have come together to challenge stigmas surrounding women, nudity and sexual expression. As Addario addresses in her profile of Rhoades, the harsh reality is that we live in a society that can’t seem to let go of someone’s sexual encounters once they have been viewed publicly.

Addario’s piece is accompanied by a beautiful high-art (Guess Jeans-inspired) pictorial of Rhoades shot by legendary photographer Ellen von Unwerth at Suze Randall’s ranch (Randall was Playboy’s very first female staff photographer). While pairing Unwerth, Rhoades and Addario doesn’t feel like an obvious choice, that is precisely the point. By uniting this group of distinct, powerful female voices, Playboy’s goal is to contradict the sex-shaming misconception that adult work doesn’t deserve sophistication and thoughtful examination. “Both the photoshoot and interview were arranged exclusively by female editors and creatives, so this is a very Playboy story on many levels,” says Playboy Executive Editor Liz Suman.

Among other things, what Addario discovered in the editorial piece, is that Rhoades’ rising popularity, thanks in large part to social media, has reinvigorated her porn career long after she left the industry behind. After making the choice to transition from the adult film industry and become a mainstream entertainment personality and social media influencer, Rhoades has not only has seen her social media grow in popularity, but she has also seen a resurgence of interest in the adult film world as well. In fact, Rhoades has become the most searched for porn star on Pornhub, with more than 345 million views.

Even though Rhoades has retired from the adult film business, she still generates explicit content for her OnlyFans account, where she can create and own content on her own terms. She also hosts a successful podcast called 3 Girls 1 Kitchen, which doubles as a show on YouTube and is continuing to grow in popularity. While her mainstream star continues to ascend, Rhoades still constantly battles judgement about her past professional career from virtually anyone she encounters including being harassed from men on the street touching her inappropriately, to the elephant in the room in every one of her relationships and more. Today, she is focused on growing her podcast and continuing her life in a positive direction and isn’t looking back.

CLICK HERE to read the full story on Playboy.com and view the beautiful images from the shoot by Ellen von Unwerth. Please let me know if you would like for me to send any hi-res images your way for editorial use. I’m also happy to see if anyone from Playboy could offer any commentary on this story about Rhoades discussing her career trajectory and contradicting the sex-shaming misconception that adult work doesn’t deserve sophistication and thoughtful examination.

Featured Image Courtesy of Playboy by Ellen von Unwerth

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Tags: Ellon von Unwerth, International Women's Day, Lana Rhoades, Lynsey Addario, Playboy

About the Author

Dr. Jerry Doby Editor-in-Chief of The Hype Magazine, Media and SEO Consultant, Journalist, Ph.D. and retired combat vet. 2023 recipient of The President's Lifetime Achievement Award. Partner at THM Media Group. Member of the U.S. Department of Arts and Culture, the United States Press Agency and ForbesBLK.