dead trees, time, time inc, lisa takeuchi, lisa takeuchi cullen, sports illustrated, porn

Porn Money Fine With Time Writer, But Not Actual Porn

Time writer Lisa Takeuchi Cullen thinks her publisher is obnoxiously proud of its Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition, which it slipped into everyone's office in the dead of night, and which contains, gasp, pictures of young women in various states of undress. The women don't even look real, and the bikinis are of no interest to Cullen because she's pregnant, so Cullen shouldn't even have to be bothered to throw away what she accurately describes as "porn." But she'll happily cash her paychecks every few weeks, even though they come from the annoying porn; according to Time Inc. and Cullen's own blog post, the "Swimsuit Edition franchise... is the most profitable of any single magazine-branded franchise." Basically, the Time writer doesn't want to have to come face to face with how her publisher makes its money. And who can blame her: if she took a hard look and started engaging that topic a bit more closely on her blog, there would be no office to come back to. [Folio]

3:11 AM on Thu Feb 14 2008
By Ryan Tate
1,129 views
3 comments

Comments

Furious George at 06:45 AM on 02/14/08
Reply by Email
*
Connectedness Index: 709

I've always hated Lisa Takeuchi Cullen, just because it seems like the "Takeuchi" part might be affected, or at least emphasized for shameless self-promotion. It's as if she sat down one day and thought to herself, "I bet no one will find me exotic or interesting enough if I'm just Lisa Cullen!" Mind you, even if Takeuchi is her maiden name or something, it's still cheesy as hell.
PRIsNotJournalism at 08:42 AM on 02/14/08
Reply by Email
*

The brand of feminism she's carting is so cliche: criticizing the objectification of women's bodies.

Supporting fellow women regardless of the profession they choose -- now that's feminism.
Fishman at 09:41 AM on 02/14/08
Reply by Email
*

So average women feel inferior to the women in the swimsuit issue, and it exacerbates their body insecurity issues?

News flash for Cullen, a lot of men dream of being professional athletes, but obviously most men will never achieve that dream because they don't have the talent to play in the NFL, but the fact that SI covers the Super Bowl and puts those images on the cover does not make most men feel inferior.

Cullen should quit crying over the fact that she, and most women, are not supermodels. However, she should cry over the fact that she's an idiot.