Playboy returns to nudity in new issue

Playboy's no nudity experiment ends

Men's magazine teases upcoming 'Naked Is Normal' issue

Playboy is bringing nudity back.

After the men’s lifestyle magazine stopped featuring nude pictorials in 2015, the nude shots are making a comeback with Playboy's March/April 2017 issue featuring topless Playmate Elizabeth Elam as Miss March 2017, along with the headline “Naked is normal.”

“I’ll be the first to admit that the way in which the magazine portrayed nudity was dated, but nudity was never the problem because nudity isn’t a problem,” Playboy’s Chief Creative Officer Cooper Hefner said in a statement. "Today we're taking our identity back and reclaiming who we are."

Cooper Hefner, the 25-year-old son of Playboy founder Hugh Hefner, shared the message on Twitter and it was also shared by the offiical Playboy account.

“This is a remarkably special moment personally and professionally that I get to share this issue of Playboy magazine with my Dad, as well as with readers,” he stated. “It is a reflection of how the brand can best connect with my generation and generations to come.”

In addition to Playboy returning with nude pictorials, the publication also reinstated the “Party Jokes” feature, which serves to “provide a quick beat of humor and celebrates the playful side of the brand.” Cooper Hefner also brought back "The Playboy Philosophy" with a column penned nearly 40 years after his father’s last installment in the 1960s. He said it is meant to explore “the current political and cultural climate in the US.”

One thing Playboy did eliminate with the latest issue is the phrase “Entertainment for Men” from the cover.

“Playboy will always be a lifestyle brand focused on men’s interests, but as gender roles continue to evolve in society, so will we,” explained Cooper.

The new issue also featured pictorials of April Playmate Nina Daniele and Scarlett Byrne, who also wrote an essay "on the importance of owning female sexuality" as well as “the double standards that still exist between women and men.”

Playboy’s March/April 2017 issue is available for download on the Playboy website and will hit newsstands nationwide on February 28th.