Why is it Called Bunny Girl? An In-Depth Look at the Playboy Bunny Phenomenon - 33rd Square (2024)

The iconic image of the bunny girl wearing a corset, ears, collar, cuffs, tights, and a fluffy tail has a rich and controversial history intertwined with changing attitudes around female sexuality. What factors led to the rise and fall of actual Playboy bunnies? And how does the modern bunny girl archetype still influence pop culture today?

Creating a Sensualized Service Fantasy

The origin of the bunny girl dates back to the opening of Hugh Hefner’s first Playboy Club in Chicago in 1960. According to historian Julia P. Gelardi, Hefner wanted Playboy Club waitresses to embody the carefree, sensual ethos of his brand. Costume designer Zelda Wynn Valdes looked to Playboy’s tuxedo-clad rabbit mascot for inspiration.

Hefner envisioned bunnies as “young, beautiful, appealing, and healthy” women providing charming hospitality. Bunnies auditioned for specific roles like Door Bunny, Cigarette Bunny, Floor Bunny, or Playmate Bunny. The revealing costume was meant to project sex appeal. Bunnies also had to master techniques like the “bunny dip” to serve drinks without revealing too much.

This created an environment catering to male sexual fantasy. Yet for some women, the chance to be a glamorous bunny in an upscale setting represented new career opportunities. Let’s look at how bunnies reflected both sexualization and liberation.

Bunnies by the Numbers: High Wages But Rigid Rules

Playboy Clubs with bunny waitresses expanded quickly across North America in the 1960s. By 1970, there were 23 Playboy Club locations and over 2000 bunnies. According to Gelardi, bunnies typically earned two to three times the minimum wage plus tips. Some women became bunnies to earn income for college or support families as single mothers.

However, bunnies also faced extensive rules regulating their behavior and bodies. Bunny uniforms were inspected for flaws. bunnies had strict limits on body weight and were fined for uniform infractions. Dating customers or being seen at competitors’ nightclubs could warrant termination.

This table shows key stats around Playboy bunny working conditions in the peak era of the 1960s:

These statistics illustrate a complex dynamic. Bunnies occupied an unusual role earning higher incomes in sexually appealing personas. Yet rigid rules limited their autonomy on the job.

The “Bunny Image” Provokes Controversy

By the late 1960s, feminist groups began protesting outside Playboy Clubs denouncing bunny costumes as demeaning symbols of female objectification. But not all bunnies felt exploited.

Former bunny Kathryn Leigh Scott called the image “a contemporary feminine ideal” where women used beauty and charm on their own terms. Feminist Gloria Steinem went undercover as a bunny and wrote a scathing exposé for Show Magazine in 1963 criticizing harsh work conditions and sexual harassment of bunnies.

According to historian Elana Shaprio, bunnies “represented both new possibilities and old constraints for women seeking to break with traditional gender roles.” As symbols of sexuality and servitude, bunny girls ignited larger debates around women’s liberation that still resonate today.

Lawsuits and Scandals Tarnish the Bunny Image

Behind the glamorous façade, some Playboy Clubs faced controversies around racism, harassment, and exploitation.

• African American women were initially barred from being Playboy bunnies, leading to racial discrimination lawsuits.

• Bunnies at the New York Playboy Club sued management over low wages and sexual harassment in 1982.

• Undercover investigations revealed offensive work environments at some clubs in the mid-1980s.

These scandals highlighted ongoing problems around labor rights and sexism. By the late 1980s, Playboy Clubs and their iconic bunnies had largely faded from prominence, failing to adapt to changing cultural tastes.

However, the bunny girl image itself persists in pop culture. Let‘s trace how her meaning has evolved over subsequent decades.

Tracking the Bunny Girl in Pop Culture Over the Decades

The rise of third-wave feminism in the 1990s reclaimed the bunny‘s sensuality as a symbol of women embracing sexuality on their own terms. Singers like Gwen Stefani channeled the bunny look in music videos as an icon of liberated femininity.

References to bunny girls abound across pop culture genres:

• Music: Tom Jones‘ "She‘s a Lady" (1971), Bow Wow Wow‘s "C·30 C·60 C·90 Go" (1982), Big Audio Dynamite‘s "C‘mon Every Beatbox" (1986)

• Film/TV: Boogie Nights (1997), The House Bunny (2008), Bridget Jones‘s Diary (2001), The Playboy Club series (2011)

• Costumes: Persistently popular sexy Halloween costume for women

• Advertising: Candies Shoes bunny campaigns in the 1990s-2000s

The bunny girl endures as a flexible image associated with female sexuality, nostalgia, and campy style. But some still argue it promotes the harmful sexualization of women.

Modern Anime Adds Layers to the Bunny Girl Archetype

While actual bunny girls in Playboy Clubs are long gone, the Japanese anime Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai (2018) gave the archetype a surreal twist. Puberty syndrome causes teenage girl Mai Sakurajima to randomly appear to people around her in a revealing bunny costume that only the male protagonist notices.

This invisible bunny girl outfit acts as a metaphor for the social anxieties and desire for connection teens experience in high school. The show uses magical realism to explore the fragility of identity and perception during the formative pressures of adolescence.

Bunny Girl Endures as an Ambiguous Symbol in Pop Culture

So why does the bunny girl motif – controversial yet compelling – stubbornly endure over decades? As a tech expert fascinated by media trends, I think certain imagery sticks around because it becomes ingrained in our collective pop culture DNA.

The bunny represents an uneasy fusion of male sexual fantasy and female empowerment. She continues to spike debate around how society views women’s sexuality and agency. Rather than disappearing, the meaning of the bunny girl shifts across eras as attitudes evolve.

But her allure as a symbol of youthful sensuality persists. As long as pop culture remains enchanted by the bunny’s potent blend of innocence and eroticism, I suspect some form of the bunny girl will hop on.

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