Column: Statesman Soapbox; Six inch woman just isn’t worth the fuss, unless you’re Calvin

In Wednesday’s Utah Statesman, there was a letter to the editor complaining about pornographic images in the newspaper.

As I eagerly flipped through the pages of Monday’s edition I found photographs of both former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein and current ASUSU President Quinn Millett … fully clothed.

So I kept turning the pages.

And then there it was on the left side of page 6 — the Baby Your Baby advertisement featuring two topless infants.

Shameless? Yes. Tasteless? Undoubtedly.

I spent the rest of the day in an uproar, furious that someone would exploit these children in such an offensively erotic way. Then someone told me the letter to the editor was complaining about the Persian Peacock ad on the same page.

The ad features a drawing, a caricature, a 1940s pinup girl stripped straight from the side of the Memphis Belle.

Other letters have made their way to the newsroom.

Some are complaints that the image creates a false ideal, or an unrealistic standard that men will hold women to. I assure you that this is not true.

She’s cute enough, but she can’t be more than, say, 6 inches tall. It’s a well-documented fact that most men, myself included, prefer their women to be at least 8 inches tall. Still, I empathize with these concerns; there are plenty of billboards that make me feel insufficient as a man for standing less than 13 feet tall.

Perhaps some solace can be taken in the fact that she’s clearly sucking in her stomach.

Other letters voice concerns that the image is offensive, pornographic and distracting. I have a harder time sympathizing with these complaints.

First, the girl in the advertisement is covered up more than almost anyone you’d see at a community swimming pool. Second, it’s a drawing.

While I can see how the advertisement might rile up the likes of Calvin, Hobbes and Mickey Mouse, it doesn’t do that much for me.

I guess I’m just not a well-shaded-thigh man.

Every year that I have worked at this publication, the Persian Peacock has taken out space to advertise its selection of lingerie, lotions and whatever it is they sell in that adults-only section of the store.

And every year that I have worked at this publication, students write letters to the editor complaining about how shockingly offensive they find advertisement.

For those of you outraged by the ad, I’d highly suggest that you get over it.

Both the Statesman and the Persian Peacock are well within their legal rights to publish the ad.

Valentine’s Day is less than a week and a half away and then the ad will disappear, surfacing the same time next year.

For those of you who can’t get enough of the Persian Peacock’s ad, Google image search Betty Boop.

Now there’s a hottie.

Aaron Falk is the news editor for the Utah Statesman. Questions and comments can be sent to acf@cc.usu.edu