• by Erik Sass , Staff Writer @eriksass1, April 5, 2016

In an earlier, simpler time, nobody really bothered to ask what exactly women in bikinis have to do with guitars (or cars, or guns, or skateboards). In those days, it was accepted that if you wanted to connect with young male readers, the best route was the reptilian brain stem, positively aglow in a warm bath of hormones.

Never guilt of over-estimating their audience, publishers and advertisers employed platoons of hot chicks to flog every product under the sun.

But with an ocean of free porn available online the basic rationale (unmentionable in a family newsletter) behind the more modest babes in enthusiast publications ceased to exist. Changing social mores have left bodacious humans ornaments, which are pretty much the gold standard of female objectification, on the wrong side of political correctness – never a good place to be in the media business.

That’s why the Guitar World and Guitar Player annual guides, which are merging to form a single publication both online and print, are also dropping bikini babes from their pages as part of the transition.

Previously, the lovely ladies of these publications graced its pages to show off guitars and related goods reviewed and recommended by the magazines, including the annual buyers’ guides.

In addition to merging the print guides, Guitar World publisher NewBay Media is also launching a new combined online version — sans babes.

NewBay music vice president and general manager Bill Amstutz explained the decision to Reverb News, which first reported the story: “The main driver of this decision was economic, but bikini models were outdated, and we didn’t want to associate the brand with what could easily be viewed as sexist, as a misrepresentation of women guitar players, or that women in general may find offensive.

"The number of women players is growing and we want to support them.” Amstutz said the publisher also had some complaints from retailers that refused to carry the guides.

This seems to be part of a larger trend.

Last year, Lowrider magazine announced that it would no longer feature female models as part of its automotive photography, in favor of a new identity that celebrates Hispanic American culture and a greater focus on related interests and social equality.

 Playboy touched off a brief flurry of conflicted nostalgia when it dropped nude photos in favor of models in bikinis.