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Was Hugh Hefner A Liberator Or Oppressor Of Women?

NEW YORK (AP) -- Hugh Hefner's legacy for women is already the subject of intense debate, a little more than a day after the Playboy founder died at age 91. Was he an oppressor, a liberator, a feminist, an exploiter, or something else?

On one side are those who see Hefner's dressing women in bunny costumes with cottontails on their rears, or displaying them nude in his magazine with a staple in their navels, as simple subjugation of females, no matter how slick and smooth the packaging.

Others feel the Playboy founder was actually at the forefront of the sexual revolution, not only bringing sexuality into the mainstream but advancing the cause of feminism with his stand on social issues, especially abortion rights.

(© Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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