However, over the course of the last 30 years, Playgirl faced adversity and many obstacles of opposing opinions in the media that ranged from feminist sex wars to pornography, prostitution, and lesbian politics. During its height, publisher Ira Ritter took the magazine to an even more sophisticated arena that included political articles to strengthen the editorial content, and featured influential figures of that time. Playgirl from inception to recent years was intended to be a women's magazine and an outlet for women to explore their sexuality (very similar to the popular men's magazine Playboy), purportedly an expression of sexual equality in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

As of 2016, the magazine was believed to have had only approximately 3,000 subscribers. The magazine returned to print as a sometime quarterly beginning with its March 2010 issue. From March 2009 to February 2010, Playgirl appeared only online. The magazine covered issues like abortion, equal rights, interspersed with sexy shots of men, and played a pivotal role in the sexual revolution for women. In 1977 Lambert sold Playgirl to Ira Ritter who took over as publisher.

The magazine was founded in 1973 by Douglas Lambert during the height of the feminist movement as a response to erotic men's magazines such as Playboy and Penthouse that featured similar photos of women. In the 1970s and 1980s, the magazine printed monthly and was marketed mainly to women, although it had a significant gay male readership.

Playgirl was an American magazine that featured general interest articles, lifestyle and celebrity news, in addition to nude or semi-nude men.

Playgirl magazine first issue