Pioneering feminist Gloria Steinem's influential career began with an unexpected and challenging undercover assignment: working as a Bunny at the Playboy Club in New York City. The experience, though nearly career-ending, became a pivotal moment that launched her into the public eye.
In 1963, Steinem, then a 28-year-old reporter navigating the male-dominated journalism landscape, saw an advertisement for "attractive young girls" to work at the Playboy Club. She decided to go undercover for an exposé, adopting the name Marie Catherine Ochs and posing as someone younger than her actual age to meet the 21-to-24 age requirement for Bunnies.
For 11 days, Steinem worked the floor of the club in a tight costume and 3-inch heels. She soon witnessed and documented the misogyny and exploitation inherent in the job. Bunnies faced fines for minor infractions like dirty tails or crooked ears, were subjected to invasive physical examinations, and had most of their tips confiscated. Steinem recalled male patrons leering and calling out to the women in demeaning ways.
"Being a Playboy Bunny was like being hung on a meat hook," Steinem told Interview Magazine decades later, describing the difficulty of working in the restrictive costume and the overall degrading nature of the job. Despite not meeting Hugh Hefner during her brief tenure, she later interviewed him and found him to be "pathetic."
Her article, titled "A Bunny's Tale," was published in Show magazine weeks after she quit. The piece became a sensation, transforming Steinem from a relatively unknown reporter into a recognized name and marking her emergence as a significant voice.
The exposé also prompted changes at the Playboy Club, including the discontinuation of mandatory physical exams for Bunnies. However, the experience left a lasting personal and professional scar on Steinem.
She later confided to the Associated Press in 2011 that the assignment was "a professional error of gigantic proportions" and "personally and professionally a disaster." The notoriety from the article made it difficult to secure serious assignments, and critics frequently used her time as a Bunny to undermine her credibility and dismiss her as unserious. In 2016, she told The Times that even years later, opponents would introduce her as a "former Bunny" as a form of insult.
Despite the personal and professional challenges, Steinem remained committed to the impact of her work. "On the other hand, I did improve the working conditions for those women," she stated in reference to her fellow Bunnies.
The story of her time as a Bunny was later adapted into the 1985 television movie "A Bunny's Tale," starring Kirstie Alley. Steinem continued to be a leading figure in American feminism throughout her life, with her early undercover work serving as a complex and formative chapter in her journey.