To: pml1@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [PML1] Classic Centerfold: Kaya Christian
From: Mark Tomlonson
Date: Fri, 03 Oct 2003 10:05:45 -0400

Ah, the traditional den! Deep overstuffed red-leather wing chairs, a 
massive wooden desk, leather-bound books lining the walls and a fire in 
the grate to round out the picture. It's a Man's retreat from a Man's 
world. A place where the Master Of The House can go to re-gird his loins 
to face the Beasts Of The Workplace. Timeless literature, 25-year old 
brandy and fine cigars are the standard, and women are present strictly 
by invitation. For most of us, alas, this is destined to remain a 
fantasy. But what better woman to invite into our fantasy than Miss 
November 1967, Kaya Christian, to live out the Classic Centerfold 
created by Bill Figge and Ed Delong?

First a note about the setting - my guess is that it's Hef's den at the 
Playboy Mansion in Chicago. I can't be sure, but the proportion and the 
arrangement of the shelves look like some of the shots in the 1966 tour 
of the Mansion. I think the den was also used in Barbara Hillary's April 
1970 Playmate of the Month feature. Of course, both times a set could 
have been constructed to look somewhat like Hef's den.

The color scheme is a very important element in the centerfold. 
Comparing Kaya's skin tone in the foldout to the first photo in her 
Playmate of the Month feature, we know that either Kaya got one heck of 
an over-all tan in between the times the pictures were taken, or, as 
seems more likely, Messrs. Figge and Delong used orange filters to warm 
the scene. This overall warm coloring heightens the cozy, retreat feel 
of the foldout. It's easy to believe that the viewer is standing in 
front of a fireplace that's casting its glow throughout the room and on 
the lovely Kaya.

Kaya herself helps to make this centerfold a Classic. First in the way 
she's posed - the overall composition of the photo and the background 
are all very square and angular, but Kaya is almost all curves. By 
bringing her left knee even with her waist, Figge and Delong have 
accented the shapeliness of her thighs and the roundness of her hips, 
and by posing her on her elbows they have done the same for her breasts. 
Her right foot is extended both to fit on the flat desk and to accent 
the curves in her right leg. Her head is positioned to allow her hair to 
frame and compliment her beautiful face. It is hard, if not outright 
impossible, to imagine a pose that would flatter Kaya more than this 
one. Secondly, her skin is lighter than anything in the background and 
almost everything in the foreground, and a strong highlight above brings 
out the roundness of her thighs and hips even more. Both effects make 
her the lightest-toned, and therefore the dominant element in the 
picture. I am unaware of any complaints on this!

Next to Kaya on the blanket-covered desk (I'm assuming it's a desk) is a 
sportcoat, hat and tie. It's fairly certain that she's not alone in the 
den, and that a man is with her in some sort of undress. Perhaps wearing 
more than she is, but no longer wearing the trappings of the outside 
world. This is an internal moment. We, the viewers, have invited this 
lovely, lovely woman into our retreat.

But why has Kaya been invited? (I mean, besides the obvious!) Is she 
part of the decorating scheme? Is she a toy to amuse us at the end of 
the day? Is she like the books or the brandy, to be kept on a shelf and 
only brought out when needed?

The eroticism of this foldout is understated - but very, very strong - 
as befits a centerfold of the '60's. The most overt sexual statement is 
the position of Kaya's left leg. It hints at the wandering hand finding 
what the wandering eye can't see. From Kaya's posture and expression, 
the picture could represent either pre- or apres-sex. Since it is so 
ambiguous, I'd say it's not really important. I think the likely key to 
the "meaning" of this centerfold is in the cigar that Kaya is holding. 
The cigar could be a phallic symbol. But as Freud said, sometimes a 
cigar is just a cigar.

Cigars have traditionally been a man's smoke (the man's hat has an 
opened cigar box under it), just as the den is traditionally a man's 
retreat. But here is Kaya, sharing both the cigar and the den. Maybe I'm 
projecting my own feelings here, but I feel that Kaya is not meant to 
represent a plaything, but a partner. A Playmate to be sure, but the 
emphasis here is on the "Mate". At this point in time she is in our 
retreat, helping us deal with our Beasts of the Workplace, but I can 
find nothing implied in the centerfold that at some point we wouldn't be 
in her retreat, helping her deal with her Beasts. That photograph would 
more likely be in Glamour than in Playboy. And Kaya probably wouldn't be 
nude in that one.

I'll stick with the Playboy interpretation!

Playboy's detractors accuse it of objectifying women. Personally, I take 
the opposite view - that by recognizing that women have the same desire 
for sex women are elevated to man's equals. Both 1867 and 1967 (and 
2003!) men would have or want to have a room like the den where Kaya 
Christian reposes, but the 1867 man never would have invited his mate to 
join him there.

Mark Tomlonson
Kalamazoo MI