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One of the
most common misconceptions held by those who know little of Playboy
and it's history is the belief that Playmates are Bunnies and
vice-versa. The term 'Bunny' or 'Playboy Bunny' is often used
synonymously as a descriptive term for any woman who has appeared au
naturel in PLAYBOY. But Bunnies are distinct from Playmates who in
turn are different from Playboy models.
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A
Playboy Bunny is strictly speaking a woman who has worked in a
Playboy Club wearing the Bunny uniform. In the 31-year reign of the Playboy Clubs
over 25,000 women wore satin ears and fluffy tails. Although many
were asked, very few chose to become Playmates or models for the
numerous 'Bunnies of... " pictorials which appeared in PLAYBOY.
They were cotton-tailed queens. The world may never see their like
again... Pedantry alert: When referring to Bunnies and their
environment use capitalization since the terms are proper nouns.
Thus: Playboy
Bunny, Playboy
Bunnies,
Bunny, Bunnies,
Playboy
Club, Bunny
Girl and not Playboy bunny,
Playboy bunnies, bunny, bunnies, Playboy club, bunny girl. Of
course Playboy should always begin with a capital 'P' if you are
directly referring to the magazine, the company, the Bunnies, the
Clubs, the philosophy, the founder (Hugh Hefner), or the
Playmates, models, staff, etc.
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A Playboy Playmate
is a woman who has appeared in the centerfold pictorial of PLAYBOY
magazine. A Playmate can only be correctly called a Playboy Bunny
if she has worked in one of the Clubs. These ladies were called
Playmate Bunnies (and they were paid a higher basic wage than
non-Playmate Bunnies). Quite a few Playmates donned the Bunny ears
and tail. There were over 25,000 Bunnies in Playboy's history and
there are over 550 Playmates. The roll call of Playmate Bunnies
includes
Helena Antonaccio,
Dianne Chandler,
Carol Vitale,
Karla Conway,
Heather Van Every,
Deanna Baker,
Dolly Read,
Connie Mason,
June Cochran,
Karen Christy,
Lannie Balcolm,
Kai Brendlinger,
Terri Kimball,
Avis Kimble,
Jennifer Jackson,
Laura Lyons,
Janis Schmitt,
Candace Collins,
Laura Misch,
Delores Wells,
Patti Reynolds,
Shay Knuth and
Janet Lupo. Pamela Anderson and Marilyn Monroe were Playboy Playmates
but NOT Playboy Bunnies. View the complete list of
Playmate Bunnies.
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A
Playboy Model is a lady who has posed nude in a Playboy
pictorial (but not the centerfold), or has been featured in one of
Playboy's many secondary publications / news stand specials. Many
Playmates have appeared in Playboy pictorials and other official
publications before and after posing for the centerfold. Farrah
Fawcett, Bo Derek, Cindy Crawford, etc. have all appeared in the
pages of Playboy but are neither Playmates nor Bunnies. In the
strictest sense, a Playboy Model is a woman contracted to the
Playboy Modeling Agency. It is therefore not strictly accurate to
call celebrities by the term Playboy model if they have posed for
Playboy Back in the days when the Playboy Clubs were in their
prime many Bunnies went on to work for the Playboy Modeling
Agency, based in Los Angeles.
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 To confuse matters
further, many recent Playboy Playmates and models have worn the
Bunny costume for Playboy promotional events such as the
Dewar's Playboy Lounge, the LA Lakers NBA celebration
party, Hard Rock cafe openings, Playboy Golf Scrambles,
numerous Playboy Mansion events (including as Bunny Ring Girls at
boxing exhibitions), Spring Break festivities and the cancelled
2000 Democrat Presidential Fundraiser at the Los Angeles Playboy
Mansion. Last, and certainly not least, the
lovely Playmate Deana Brooks is adorable in her red Bunny costume
as the online hostess ('Betting Bunny') for Playboy's sports and
gaming websites. View the list of
Current Playmate Bunnies.
 The Rabbit Head Design Logo, created by original PLAYBOY
art director Art Paul is also referred to as the Playboy Bunny. So
too the Rabbit in a tuxedo archetype-Playboy who featured on many
PLAYBOY covers (mostly in the 1950s issues but also many subsequent
January issue Playmate reviews down the decades). PLAYBOY
successfully marketed this character as a stuffed collectible. For
more on Playboy collectibles see the article
The Rabbit In Your Attic.
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