Bunnies of 1971

Playboy's bunny beauty contest, now entering its third year, mirrors the mobility of today's freewheeling society. Finals of the first contest, at which the Bunny of the Year--1970 was chosen, were held at the Playboy Club-Hotel at Lake Geneva, Wisconsin; the following year, the arena was switched to the newly acquired Playboy Towers hotel in Chicago, where the pageant served as an opening celebration for our refurbished hostelry. And the Bunny of the Year--1972 will be named at a gala spectacle next March in the Playboy Club-Hotel at Great Gorge, New Jersey, which is scheduled to open in mid-December of this year. The Bunnies also reflect the liberated life style of the Seventies--Jane Fonda is gradually replacing Jackie Onassis on their list of most admired women--but they exhibit a heightened interest in educational and career advancement, too, says Toni LeMay, Playboy's International Bunny Director and a Bunny Mother since 1963. Toni credits much of this development to Playboy's tuition-reimbursement program and its policy of promoting Bunnies to management positions--as Bunny Mothers, catering managers, room directors and the like. One cottontail constant, however, is beauty, as evidenced by the selections on these pages. Playboy keyholders will vote for their contest nominees early next year; herewith we present a preview of the probable competition. After you've scrutinized these likely candidates and their hutchmates at the Clubs, you be the judge: Who would be your Bunny of the Year?