In an era of student power, women were still pretty powerless when it came to their bodies. How much has changed? Playboy Magazine, September 1969. Sex on Campus Issue. Playmate Bunny Shay Knuth, a saucy south of the border sweetie, is “one of Mexico City’s comeliest coeds”

With the dialogue about college sexual assault very much on the public consciousness, I decided to pull out this vintage Playboy from September 1969 -its Sex on Campus Issue.

It’s as bad as you might imagine. In our culture, with its long history of male entitlement, it shouldn’t be surprising that a mid-century Playboy Magazine once featured a guide for scoring some action at colleges.

It’s hard to imagine there was a time when this sort of behavior was played for laughs.

For better and for worse getting action and college have long been linked.

“Campus Action Chart” Playboy Magazine September 1969 illustration by Bob Post

In this 1969 guide for the horny young man, the best prospects for scoring some action were college.

Boola Boola!

Reporting from the front lines of the sexual revolution, Playboy’s 1969 “Campus Action Chart” rated 25 different schools as it did the year before. Playboy explained:

“In descending order of permissiveness- the chart’s upper reaches being mecca for the scholarly hedonist, it’s lower depths monasteries for the sexually meek.”

“Campus Action Chart” Playboy Magazine September 1969 illustration by Bob Post. Stanford makes the top 10.

Playboy continues:

“As our campus action chart reveals politics hasn’t usurped the attention of all students. (Not all students were out protesting the war, anti establishment). The survey imaginatively illustrated by Bob Post, Playboy’s assistant art director, proves that far friendlier extracurricular activities are also on the rise. Many male students, we found, prefer to occupy coed beds rather than administrative buildings but each school imposes its own restrictions on undergraduate freedoms.

“Campus Action Chart” Playboy Magazine September 1969 illustration by Bob Post

The 25 schools span a cross-section of types ( Ivy mega-university, state, small, sexually segregated, etc) and represent every demographic area of the U.S.

“Campus Action Chart” Playboy Magazine September 1969 illustration by Bob Post

Each schools ratings was derived from a number of variables some tangible ( dorm hours, availability of women on and off campus) and some intangible ( mod of the students atmosphere generated b the faculty etc). What we’ve done is save you the trouble of plowing thru sociological journals to extract pertinent nuggets.

Depending on your personal proclivities and your academic status at the moment, a perusal of the chart will tell you where to go to college or where you should have gone if you had known.

Interspersed with the articles are some good hearty college laffs:

“Don’t any of you leave until you each promise not to tell.” Vintage cartoon, Playboy Magazine, Sept. 1969 by Buck Brown

Sex in Academe

Playboy Magazine September 1969 illustration Bob Post

Revolting

In that era of free love and student revolting,  sex was often not so free and often had a steep price to pay, the haunted memories lasting a lifetime. It was revolting.

Be Prepared. Vintage ad Mr Hicks Casuals from Playboy Sept. 1969

It is only now that young women can give voice to the rapes and sexual assaults that have been occurring for decades on college campuses.

There was no name for “date rape” before the 1980s, but how many women of a certain age are haunted by memories of waking up in a stranger’s room, naked, disoriented, realizing they’d been sexually assaulted. Hungover from a boozy party, they blame only themselves and the alcohol for the assault that was perpetrated on them.

There was no outrage because no one would listen. In an era filled with protesting, their voices of protest were ignored.

In an era of student power, women were still pretty powerless.

The hallmark of a rape victim.