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PASTOR GENERAL'S REPORT, MAY 10, 1985
PAGE 11
The man who did much to make modern America the "liberated society" it is
today is Hugh Hefner, publisher of PLAYBOY magazine. Here is a profile of
Hefner which appeared in the LOS ANGELES TIMES, the issues of December 26,
27 and 28, 1984, written by staff writer Bella Stumbo:
Three decades after launching America's slickest, most successful
girlie magazine--shocking a prudish nation with simple nudes in
1953, advancing to graphic newsstand porn in 1984--Hugh Marston
Hefner, perhaps mellowing with age, now wants greater credit and
respect for his social contributions••••
As far as Hefner is concerned, there is no such thing as unac
ceptable sex unless it is "hurtful" to someone.
If it feels
good, do it. That is what's wrong with society today, he says-
still too many rigid, irrational taboos.
Therefore, although
Hefner disapproves of "hurtful" sado-masochism or sex with chil
dren, for instance, he unhesitatingly approves of bestiality.
"What I'm saying is, what difference does it make if it turns
somebody on? Isn't that a positive thing? The only thing I see
in bestiality that is hurtful to people is the fact that people
used to go to prison for it•••• I think that's a very sick atti
tude on sex!"•••
Hefner, who sometimes refers to himself in the third person,
is•••a man with a big ego. He has always regarded himself as an
idealist with� noble social mission,� of the 20th CenturyTs
� enlightened visionaries and� major force for social pro
gress through sexual liberation.
In Hefner's opinion, he has
probably enhanced the quality of American life more than some
Presidents.
Hefner also sees himself as a philosopher of consequence••.• He
explains that, through Playboy, he is "dealing with the great
moral issues that society has historically refused to deal with,"
freeing society from "its guilt over sex and images of the (naked
female) human body," thereby liberating us from "the historic
conflict between mind and body" to enjoy sex as "the most loving,
civilizing force on the planet."
Hefner has also courted legitimacy on a personal level for many
years. A committed political liberal--personally worth, by his
own vague estimates, "Oh, I dunno, around $200 million, I'd
guess"--he has supported, through donations and fund-raisers•••
nearly every liberal cause worth mentioning, from the equal
rights amendment and legalized abortion to handgun control and
the National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People••••
Lest posterity inherit an incomplete picture, he is building his
own monument to Hugh Hefner's life and times. It is inside a
small, unadorned room on the [ Playboy] mansion's second floor.
Here, Hefner keeps his personal scrapbooks. Hundreds of them.
So far, there are 353 volumes•••• Neatly bound and carefully in
dexed, the scrapbooks appear to contain practically every word
ever printed by or about Hugh Hefner, good or bad, starting with
his birth certificate and baby pictures. Hefner personally se
lects all entries and meticulously writes all captions him
self••••