Outrage and Olive branches
Mens magazine, Zoo Weekly, is at it again. Now they’ve launched a competition to find Australia’s ‘sexiest feminist’.
There’s so many things wrong with this I don’t know where to start…
Search on for Australia’s ‘sexiest feminist’
By Alyssa Braithwaite
September 03, 2007
THE men’s magazine which sparked outrage when it offered a $10,000 boob job as a competition prize has responded to its critics by launching a search for Australia’s sexiest feminist.
Zoo Weekly magazine angered health and women’s groups when it urged men to “win” their girlfriend a boob job by sending in shots of her cleavage.
The lad’s mag today revealed its new competition – a search “for the hottest girl in sensible shoes” – promising the winner a year’s supply of deodorant and a sexy photo shoot.
“If you hate men, we want to see photos of you in sexy lingerie,” the ad reads.
Magazine editor Paul Merrill said the new competition was the magazine’s way of offering its critics an olive branch.
“We did get our fair share of complaints when we launched the search to win your girlfriend a boob job, so we thought the best way to handle this was to redress the balance by launching the Search for Australia’s sexiest feminist,” Merrill said.
“We’re calling for feminists all over Australia to show that women can be sexy even if they disapprove of sexy women.” Read the full article here.
I’m moving discussion to the blog and commenting on the outrage voiced about the new Zoo comp. Gals, you got to learn to recognise satire when you see it. If we all had half the understanding of how the world works as the Zoo editor does then we’d be running a best-selling magazine too.
I admit to appreciating his wit – what a great way of saying fuck you to all us feminists. Much more colourful and nice than getting nasty.
I think the best response would be for us to enter the comp. We should get dressed up looking our dowdiest and ugliest and write 50 words on why the lip team are the sexiest feminists around because we are smart, vibrant, socially-aware and know how to have fun, or something like that… Something satirical that makes its point anyway. Anyone up for a group photo?
If they were going to offer 10,000 as the prize money then I would happily enter a group photo – because I could then use that as print money and throw satire right back at them but for some deodarant and a photo shot, no thanks…
One really does have to appreciate the sense of humor of the Zoo editor. In fact, we might argue that our collective “outrage” is exactly what he was aiming for. Take a step back, see the funny side, and then bite him in the arse with it! Perhaps relations with Zoo could be improved? In fact, that might even help the lip cause. After all, feminism isn’t just for women!
On another note, looking forward to contributing to the mag… So hell yes! Dress me up dowdy and call me sexy! Group photos don’t scare me one bit!
they dont get it do they?
“If you hate men, we want to see photos of you in sexy lingerie,”
oh yes, coz if you hate men, yoru totally going to send a picture of yourself in lingerie to a MENS magazine so men will perve on you anytime the wont.
i mean, i dont hate men, dont get me wrong, just this mag shits me.
most strippers i know actually do hate men. but what can you expect from a magazine like this. This magazine degrades men more than women, coz men are the ones buying it. They probably thought it was pretty funny at the time, the wankers. respond with obscure art, or just ignore them. eve was framed, don’t buy it.