Playboy - Bans On The Sale of Playboy

Bans On The Sale of Playboy

Many in the American religious community opposed the publication of Playboy. The Louisiana pastor and author L. L. Clover wrote in his 1974 treatise Evil Spirits Intellectualism and Logic that Playboy encouraged young men to view themselves as "pleasure-seeking individuals for whom sex is fun and women are play things."

In many parts of Asia, including India, mainland China, Myanmar, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore and Brunei, sale and distribution of Playboy is banned. In addition, sale and distribution is banned in most Muslim countries (except Lebanon and Turkey) in Asia and Africa, including Iran, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. Despite the ban on the magazine in these countries, the official Playboy brand itself can still appear on various merchandise such as perfume and deodorants.

While banned in mainland China, the magazine is sold in Hong Kong. In Japan, where genitals of models cannot be shown, a separate edition is published under license by Shueisha. An Indonesian edition was launched in April 2006, but controversy started before the first issue hit the stands. Though the publisher said the content of the Indonesian edition will be different from the original edition, the government tried to ban it by using anti-pornography rules. A Muslim organization, the Islamic Defenders Front (IDF), opposed Playboy on the grounds of pornography. On April 12, about 150 IDF members clashed with police and stoned the editorial offices. Despite this, the edition quickly sold out. On April 6, 2007 the chief judge of the case dismissed the charges because they had been incorrectly filed.

In 1986, the American convenience store chain 7-Eleven removed the magazine. The store returned Playboy to its shelves in late 2003. 7-Eleven had also been selling Penthouse and other similar magazines before the ban.

In 1995 Playboy was returned to shelves in Republic of Ireland after a 36-year ban, despite staunch opposition from many women's groups.

Playboy was not sold in the state of Queensland, Australia during 2004 and 2005 but returned as of 2006. Due to declining sales, the last Australia-wide edition of Playboy was the January 2000 issue.