That idea of wholesome sexuality is what is in danger of being lost. Hefner helped make the sexual revolution, but the more radical factions took over. On one side, there are those who broke through the restrictions of Puritanism so they could present it with a mirror image in reverse: “Sex is dirty, disgusting, and mindless—and we’re for it!” That’s basically the sales pitch you will get from the notably unsophisticated corners of the Internet that have taken over from Playboy.

On the other side, there were those who wanted to break down, not just excessive restrictions on sexuality, but every basic concept relating to sex, including the very concept of “gender”—and who are now busy rebuilding their own quasi-puritanical codes of sexual conduct. And there is nothing more problematically heterocisnormative than Playboy.