MEDIA
ACTION ALLIANCE
Resisting the Culture of Violence and Exploitation that
Surrounds Us
PO Box 391, Circle Pines, MN 55014-0391
612-434-4343
Our letter writing campaign protesting the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue is making a difference. We need your help--now! For 33 years, Sports Illustrated has legitimized the attitude that women are not human beings or serious athletes, but sex objects to gawk at. In a society in which inequality and violence against women and girls are rampant, fostering these attitudes is dangerous. Now is the time to hold Sports Illustrated and its advertisers accountable and demand that all people be treated with dignity and respect.
This year the swimsuit issue is a large stand-alone "men's" magazine titled, "Nothing But Bikinis," containing 250 pages compared to 200 pages last year. It does not include other sports news besides articles about bikinis, the models, beach volleyball, and approximately 100 pages of ads. Also, this year's issue includes photos of professional women athletes like tennis player, Steffi Graf, in cheesecake photos.
Our tally--the 1997 swimsuit issue contained approximately 19 new advertisers (4 more than last year) and 33 repeat offenders (8 more than last year). On the bright side, 18 of the 1996 swimsuit issue advertisers dropped out! You can bet that a good share of these drops was due to the many protest letters advertisers received last year.
To help flush the exploitation of women from America's leading sports magazine, write protest letters to both repeat offenders and new advertisers. Then send a short thank you note to the deserving companies that pulled out of the 1997 swimsuit issue.
To help you articulate reasons on how the swimsuit issue discriminates against all women and girls, see this list that was prepared by Men Against Pornography, PO Box 150786, Brooklyn, NY 11215-0786.
Note: List of advertisers was compiled from a Minnesota issue. Swimsuit issues from different regions or states may have some different advertisers.