Since Hefner’s death, many have debated whether he should be remembered as a feminist icon and leader in the sexual revolution of the 1960s, or as a sexist who exploited women to sell his magazines.
“Both things are true,” said Shira Tarrant, a professor of women’s, gender and sexuality studies at California State University, Long Beach. “He had feminist elements, in some measure a voice for sexual liberation, and he was also misogynist. We as a culture need to be able to grapple with that nuance.”
