Word: si
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...course, there will always be many more offensive publications, films, and attitudes in American culture. So many that by comparison, SI looks pretty innocent...
Sure, compared to Screw magazine and the underground porn film industry which sometimes gets its "talent" by kidnapping, drugging, and then raping women on film, any mention of SI as "sexist" or "harmful" can be seen only as misplaced zeal, making the mag a victim of the anger and resentment it never imagined it would engender. And there are those who will find SI's title, "Ornaments of Society", a lighthearted, self-conscious joke--a joke on all who would take it seriousy as anything other than a shot of midwinter warmth, not to mention an ad-revenue extravaganza...
...again, it's the context that's significant. It's true, as Mr. Ross says, that SI's swimsuit issue is pornography. It's also true, as Mr. Zucker says, that SI is relatively harmless. The fact remains that this single photo spread is getting blown far out of proportion by both sides (and perhaps, therefore, this response is doomed to futility...
...male acquaintance, finding himself in the midst of this newly chic debate, was confused, rather rightly, about why there was such a furor over SI. He asked, "whom does this issue hurt?" As a single, sans-nudity, sans-violence "tribute to swimwear," probably no one in particular. Elle Macpherson was not only willing and happy to pose; she probably made a mint. And as Mr. Zucker suggests, those who don't like it aren't forced to read...
Zucker is right when he says that SI has "just given us what we asked for." And the fact that this harmless issue is, in fact, so harmless, by comparison, is closer to what is truly wrong with our society...