Hugh Hefner is not a dirty old man.

Back in 2000, when the Chicago City Council proposed naming a street after him, activist groups screamed and protested, completely dismayed at the suggestion. Women’s rights organizations argued that Hefner has made his fortune at the expense of women and that he profits daily from abuse and exploitation.

I guess they forgot that the legal costs for Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court case that legalized abortion in the U.S., came from Playboy. Jan. 22 marked the case’s 35th anniversary.

His industry is built on skin. But if women are in the American porn industry, they want to be there. Just like in Hollywood, actors have to go through an audition process, which requires that they exercise personal will to go audition and to accept a role. No one’s forcing them to do anything. They could find another job.

In the land of the free, women star in sexy films, pose with little-to-no clothing for magazines — Victoria’s Secret included — and yet there are shows on TV with even more women begging for the opportunity to strut their own stuff.

On Hef’s very own reality show, “The Girls Next Door,” the girls are portrayed as playfully flashy passers-by, are hardly put off by the idea of sharing their man with two other girlfriends and are portrayed as loving and sweet. None of them are on house arrest. They do all this of their own accord.

One of his greatest supporters is his daughter, Christine. If she disagreed with his portrayal of women, I doubt she would have hopped onboard his femme-fest as CEO of Playboy Enterprises. Tying oneself to a lifetime of sex, skin and debauchery wouldn’t sit well with any self-respecting, moral-toting human being unless they knew they weren’t exploiting anyone for it.

Don’t misunderstand; I most definitely have not forgotten the Women’s Rights Movement. I’m not saying he’s not a womanizer. I’m not saying Hefner hasn’t made billions of dollars thanks to women wanting to bare all. I point out, however, that he’s made money off men wanting to bare all, as well, for his publication “Playgirl.” This issue isn’t one-sided.

Some argue sexual freedom and being “pro-sex” are euphemisms for those who are promiscuous or slutty. The human body, however, is beautiful. Hefner is hardly dragging women in off the streets, like businessmen do in other countries. Sex has become so taboo in America that we no longer think of nakedness as natural.

While he isn’t the patron of monogamy and pureness, he’s celebrating the human form and sex in ways that force audiences to be honest with human nature.

Not so clean, but not so dirty after all.