Gloria Steinem’s 11-day undercover stint as a Bunny in Playboy’s New York City club was the subject of a bombshell essay that changed her career. The impacts of her exposé absolutely impacted the Bunnies working across clubs – from the pay discrepencies, mandatory gynecological exams, and regular harassment from customers. However, a lot of the women working alongside Gloria, while she was posing as “Bunny Marie,” had mixed feelings on her essay, as their experiences at the clubs may not have aligned with the cruel workplace described in the essays. Kathryn Lee Young (Scott), author of The Bunny Years, collects stories from women with very different memories of the clubs – including the author herself, who worked alongside her as Bunny Kay. Later, this piece inspired a 1984 made-for-TV film starring Kirstie Alley as Gloria (and I am reviewing it!). We’re overviewing the complicated legacy of this exposé – its immediate reception, the changes Bunnies experienced as a result, the contradictory tales from other Bunnies, and Gloria Steinem’s own regret about her time undercover at the NYC Playboy Club.
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Time stamps:
00:00 Intro
00:53 Gloria goes undercover
02:16 The bombshells from “A Bunny’s Tale”
06:01 Disappointing earnings
07:26 Workplace harassment
08:32 Subpoenaed and making changes
09:11 Revisiting in 1980s (and my thoughts)
12:34 “All women are bunnies.”
13:16 Reactions from “real” Bunnies + The Bunny Years
18:01 My reflections
18:40 Debating Steinem
20:57 Would Hugh Hefner and Gloria Steinem dated?
22:00 Why Gloria Steinem regrets being a Bunny
23:31 Kirstie Alley as Gloria in A Bunny’s Tale (1984)
28:59 Final thoughts
Watch…Women of Playboy/Girls Next Door Laura Diez hosts guest conversations and shares stories and pop culture history…on SloppBoxx.Com.
a 27 unit building in Lincoln Park for $175 a month??? get real woman
I’d be down for a playboy real estate episode!!
on my list!! <3
💛💙♥️
I don’t think Gloria was being fair about the amount of money she earned at the club. Anyone who’s ever worked as a server knows that some people make great tips and some don’t, it’s all about personality and the server’s ability to engage and or flirt with the customer. Gloria appears to have the flirting ability of a hospital blanket…just saying.
The Playboy Club’s operating style is quite similar to that of a strip club.
Would love a video about Playboy real estate-the Zoo, the Grotto! Also Stacey Burke, one of Hefner’s girlfriends, is a fascinating person.
on my list! <3
I think that a woman with wealth and privilege would most definitely see a middle class broke woman’s job stepping stone much differently than she would.
I love Gloria
The playboy club opened back up in nyc in 2018 – its facinating that some of the same themes were seen into present time!!
oh YES this is interesting to me + the casino deal with the Palms during Girls Next Door
Bettie Page would be a great subject for you. Very interesting life that intersected with playboy after she had been long thought dead. Hugh Hefner actually helped her quite a lot in her later years.
great suggestion!
@lauraediezthanks, Im enjoying your channel. I like how nuanced your takes are. Sometimes Im really exhausted by all these creators that are so black and white, good vs. evil. People are complicated and rarely ever one or the other.
crazy your channel hasnt blown up. Looooove your content.
Great vid as usual! Sidenote what lip colour is that?
I didnt know she died
I love your videos! You should look into Gloria’s association with the cia as a covert operative. She would try to prevent people from focusing on socialism and banding together as a community and instead was trying to separate us based on gender politics. This is interesting bc she was an awful person, but obviously this expose was a good thing. And that just leads into the whole dichotomy of the playboy world in general. Most people having those two sides. A video from that viewpoint and acknowledging the damage she did and how that mirrors the playboy world that she was trying to help would be very intriguing. Love your work so much, as a woman who is also fascinated by the women of playboy . Thank you for the work you put into these <3