From the Lindy Hop to the Bunny Dip: Hugh Hefner's Jazz Age Redux

As a jazz enthusiast, Hugh Hefner transferred the hedonistic dreams of the Jazz Age into a Playboy ethos. Most curious about Hefner's Jazz Age redux, however, is what is missing: the Flapper. This essay compares the Flapper, the Playboy, and his playmate the Bunny and argues that, in Hefner's re-creation, the figure of the Flapper has been consumed and recast as both the Playboy and the Bunny. We locate our analysis in backlash theory, which helps explain the panic midcentury men experienced as women increased their power in the social, economic, and political realms. Comparing these twentieth-century icons reveals the depths of cultural work done under the guise of mere "entertainment for men."