The Journal would like to clarify its policy of the in-house ads that appear in our publication.
Recently, complaints were lodged regarding the “Student body coverage” in-house ad that appeared in our paper. The ad featured three women covered from mid-thigh to chest wrapped in our newspapers. The double-entendre was clear, we assumed.
The ad was deemed inappropriate by the complaints. It was suggested we were exploiting female sexuality for cheap thrills.
As part of our continuing ad campaign, “Help Us Cover the Student Body,” we have featured PG-13 images of staff members and students posing with our fine publication. These photos have included both men and women posed in ways we believed to be both suggestive and humorous.
All of the female models in our ads willingly took part in the process and all stated they were comfortable with the final product.
In the interest of integrity, our models bodies were not altered in any way. Our decision was to disguise their faces and remove an individual identifing features to protect their future professional endeavors. These were the only physical alterations made to our models.
The ads themselves were designed to encourage application for editor positions at The Journal for the 2011-2012 school year.
The editorial board would never print an ad featuring unwilling or unknowing subjects, and the well-being of our staffers and would-be models is of great importance to us.
We encourage any and all criticism or comments regarding the content of our newspaper. We welcome a more open dialogue on the issue of the human body as presented in advertising. We do believe this debate is a valid one, and the concerns voiced to us are legitimate.
It has never been the intention of The Journal to degrade, insult or subjugate anyone by means of exploiting their gender. The women of our ads are legal and responsible adults, and their decision to take part in any creative process should be their choice to make.
Share this post
