Down The Rabbit Hole

Mean Girl Vicky makes an intriguing statement when she talks about one of the women who successfully becomes a Playboy Playmate. “You know,” says Vicky, “for a girl to want to pose nude, there has to be something wrong with her, right[?]” (91). This is one of the many ironies in Holly’s story: Each of the girlfriends, along with many others who want to be Hefner’s girlfriends and models, is willing to appear nude for the opportunity to have a Playboy pictorial.

But why are all these women so intensely interested in posing nude? The reality is not that these women have a perverse desire to take off their clothes for millions of readers. Rather, the common denominator among all of these women is ambition—and a motif of powerful ambition runs throughout this narrative. Each of these women is young, attractive, and intensely driven to succeed. If they are girlfriends, they must also be willing to have sex with Hefner. During Holly’s time in the mansion, she notes that virtually every Playmate of the month had a sexual experience with Hefner. Perhaps, then, it is not so much that these women want to be naked as much as it is that nude modeling is something that they are physically and emotionally qualified to do, and which they believe will eventually open doors to new careers.

Ambition drives these women, but many are stymied by Hefner’s unwillingness to give them a chance at Playmate fame. As one of the lucky ones whom Hefner picks out for a pictorial, Holly’s willingness to pose nude translates into fame, public adulation, and wealth. It does not, however, soothe her insecurities: She confesses that, for someone who has appeared nude before cameras, she is still extremely self-conscious about taking her clothes off in front of people.