Here at PLAYBOY, we’re feeling good. We’re closing out our 65th year with an issue dedicated to pleasure. It is a celebration of the things that bring us joy: sex, art, food, music, spirituality, travel, cannabis and community. And did we mention sex?

Half a century ago, our society was in a state of upheaval, and we were helping usher in the sexual revolution—a new era of freedom, expression and love. Today, we’re calling for a new revolution: the pleasure revolution—an era in which embracing and indulging in the arousal of the senses without precondition or shame is not only acceptable but something to shout about from the rooftops. In this cultural and political moment (and let’s make sure it’s just that—a moment), there are so many forces that seek to deny us pleasure.

Our 2019 call to arms is founded on the principle that pleasure is a human right. We want everyone to be free to pursue pleasure. And when we say everyone, we really, genuinely mean everyone.

In this issue, we aren’t only showcasing the artists and creators who bring us joy; we’re also shining a light on visionaries and revolutionaries who are fighting to expand access to pleasure for all.

In these pages, we’ll introduce you to King Princess (School of Pop), who is promoting a new kind of sex positivity through her music. We also profile Anand Giridharadas (The Repairman), who is taking on America’s 0.1 percenters about the damage they’re doing to democracy.

We welcome wunderkind playwright Jeremy O. Harris, subject of the Playboy Interview, who blew the roof off the New York theater scene before turning 30. We hear from Silicon Valley’s Thomas Middleditch (20Q), who puts more faith in sex than in the afterlife. Thank the Lord. And in The Pleasure of Not Being Respectable, Jelani Cobb confronts the historical injustices of being a black man with the unexpected power of not giving a fuck.

Hedonism takes a culinary turn in High Dining, a story about cannabis chef and activist Andrea Drummer, who will soon open the nation’s first cannabis café. Meanwhile, journalist Michelle Janikian sheds her ego in the Yucatán jungle (Bliss Your Heart); Edward Norton finds his bliss in his latest directorial effort (Norton’s Noir Nouveau); and Daisy Alioto ponders the relationship between pleasure, art, consciousness and corporate influence (This Is Your Brain on Euphoria).

Of course, we couldn’t assemble a 234-page dedication to pleasure without celebrating the human form. We’re proud to reveal never-before-published work from ground-breaking artist Marilyn Minter. Alongside Minter, we offer the titillating creative collaborations of three of our favorite photographers—Ali Mitton, Kanya Iwana and Jennifer Stenglein—and our newest Playmates, Hilda Dias Pimentel, Gillian Chan and Jordy Murray. Each pictorial takes the idea of beauty in electrifying new directions.

Which brings us to.…

Business mogul, Instagram icon, television star and now playboy cover woman Kylie Jenner. Wild in Love, shot by Sasha Samsonova, is an eight-page dedication to Jenner’s relationship with partner Travis Scott, who creative-directed her pictorial. When it comes to pleasure, love is paramount.
As we close out our 65th year, we invite you to join our pleasure revolution. We hope you enjoy.

The pleasure is ours.