I applaud Greens Senator, Sarah Hanson-Young for her decision to sue over a photo-shopped image of her in Zoo Magazine. The magazine demeaned the Senator and by extension all women seeking to make a serious contribution to public debate. Zoo magazine is appalling and the staff there are obviously short of ideas and creativity, so they simply decided they could separate the senator’s head from her body and replace her body with that of a bikini model.
Who gains from this? Zoo magazine must think they do.
Who loses? Well, apart from the obvious victim of disrespect, Ms Hanson-Young, every other Australian woman, old and young alike, who aspire to be taken seriously in their chosen profession.
But it’s not just the serious issue of objectifying women that needs to be pointed out here. Not only did the cut-and-paste photographic job demean Ms Hanson-Young, it also demeaned one of the most important issues facing our country. The article, titled “ZOO’s Asylum Seeker Bikini Plan” was published in July 2012, a week after the Senator, with great emotion, addressed the Senate regarding Australia’s humanitarian intake of asylum-seekers.
Shockingly, NSW Supreme Court Justice Lucy McCallum does not agree with the Senator and said this week at the hearing into the matter that she did not believe the photo made the senator look incompetent or immature. Justice McCallum, however, granted Sarah leave to argue her case in front of a jury. The case is going to be heard at a later date.
Meanwhile Zoo magazine continues to corrupt our society with immunity.