Scanner : controversial

College Sex Magazines Making Their Way Through Connecticut, Too

Brian Fairbanks — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 14:45:00 GMT

Wesleyan University-- notable for its beautiful campus, inspiring teaching staff, and carefully-cultivated crop of the generation's next leaders-- is about to be known mainly for having a sexy sex magazine filled with nude students and tips on buying condoms, among other "controversies."

The Hartford Courant looked at Unlocked's contents and came away with this impression:

Unlocked features photographs of naked and partly clothed Wesleyan students, campus sex polls, tutorials, articles, interviews with sex workers and counselors, and guides to condoms and sex shops.

Wesleyan students and faculty members have strained and broken sexual barriers before, with a course on pornography, student-hosted "moaning" sessions, a "gender blind" dormitory and a "queer prom," among other initiatives. [Courant.com]

We've located an original ad, which really makes us want to check this out. They seem to actually, honestly want "all shapes and sizes" (unlike Craig's List ads, which claim to want that, but end up only choosing too-skinny female models.)

WE WANT YOU
Thats right folks, Unlocked (the Wesleyan Sex magazine) is looking for models. We're looking for every possible gender, body type and sexual expression. Photo shoots may be explicitly sexual, rabidly political, or just fun and hilarious. Do it alone. Do it with a friend. Do it with a fuck buddy. Do it with your future partner for life. All you need is a sense of humor and a willingness to do something a little wild, and if you're not comfortable with what we propose, you can tell us to go fuck off.

If you're interested, email unlockedmag@gmail and yes, you can be totally anonymous if you'd like. [Wesleying]

Ben Kuller and Yannick Bindert, both of next year's graduating class, thought Wesleyan was "due for a good dose of artistic sexual expression in the print format." Hear, hear.

Their next issue will be out sometime this spring and we'll try to obtain a full-color copy. Via The Hartford Courant.

Rice University's Sex Magazine A Slap in the Face to Houston Elite

Heading to College? Hope It's Not to One of These Educational Wastelands

Expose The Cover Up-- This Saturday At The National Go Topless Day

Moran Stirring Up Controversy By Suggesting We Need To Get Rid Of Obama

Brian Fairbanks — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 15:31:00 GMT

We're trying to decide who's funnier: the guy above or the moran in this story...

The village idiot in Fort Walton Beach, Florida has spoken: he would like us to "get rid of" Obama, and will sit on his porch with his misspelled signs, waving the confederate flag until the Black Man is out of the White House.

We report on local Republican Larry Ford, who is causing guffaws all around the world with his special brand of populism... and this sign has gotta be seen to be believed...

Larry posted two copies of this sign in his front yard. And no, we're not going to make fun of a typo... just because it's a typo...

As for the misspelling, Larry says: "I think everybody knows who I'm talking about, don't you? American people are the stupidest people in the world, but something like that I think they can figure out."

Amen, brother, amen.

The local Democrats are taking it in stride: "(Obama) won, get used to it.... He won fair and square, unlike the election in 2000, when Bush didn't win fair and square. And we put up with him for many, many years."

The New Republic ends their story with this:

Ford said he will leave the signs up "until we get rid" of Obama.

Via TNR.

Related:

This Week In Gayness: Weddings in California Prisons

And We Thought Throwing Up in a Cab Was Bad

While You Were Sleeping: Westboro Stoops To New Low, Falls On Its Face

Topless Coffee Shop Opens In Maine, Not Without Controversy, Bottoms

Brian Fairbanks — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 21:37:00 GMT

We only wish the baristas resembled this 80's lady, but I'm sure they're not quite so "vintage," shall we say...

After months of controversy and protests, the simple coffee shop was finally allowed to open its doors this week in Vassalboro, Maine. The two-item* establishment features topless male and female servers, who are charming and bubbly and refuse to let us photograph them for this blog.

Nonetheless, we find that we can get behind the gimmicky joint...

Despite the fact that this place is nothing more than a meat market at discount prices (as opposed to other meat markets, such as strip clubs and brothels, which would pay the staff a living wage) can be overlooked for one indisputable reason: they are worth supporting because the Puritans are against it.

They aren't against it because people are fornicating in the alleys behind the store and that the property values are going down because of all the drug sales inside. There haven't been and aren't likely to be any of that kind of behavior. This is basically a Hooters with coffee and doughnuts instead of wings and celery sticks; topless waitresses instead of tight t-shirts that leave nothing to the imagination anyway. But check out the quotes a local paper was able to round up from the naysayers:

"I definitely think it's not a good idea. I've lived in town my whole life and we've never had anything like this," Furbush said.
"I don't believe it's going to pan out, not in a small community like this," Breton said. "People move to these small towns because they don't want to deal with bars and adult video stores and a topless coffee shop. It's important for towns to have an ordinance written so things like this can't happen." [Maine Today]

Ms. Furbush-- so, you're against New England Coffee because it represents a change in style from the other establishments in town? Then why do we get the feeling you wouldn't be against a Wal-Mart coming into town? Just saying.

Ms. Breton-- first of all, if you're betting against nudity, we'll take that bet... for any amount of money you're willing to waste. Also, last time we checked (the US Census) people are generally moving away from small towns, for cities more accepting of their liberal/open-minded values. Not everyone thinks God hates their bodies, Breton.

*not those two, silly. And yes, unlike most "topless" coffeehouses in the United States, these women are actually bare-breasted.

Related:

While You Were Sleeping: Kate Winslet's Other Sex Scenes

Topless Seattle Coffeehouse To Take Down Starbucks?

The Rise and Fall of Lindsay Lohan

Obama Crashes Carnival Party, Thanks to Naked Carnival Queen

Atheists in Italy Learn That God Hates Them

Brian Fairbanks — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 17:04:00 GMT

The atheist bus campaign rolls on.

Its latest victims and champions can be found in Italy, where the city of Genoa was supposed to be rewarded for its long ties to some small religion (it apparently involves worshiping an old kook in a big pointy hat) by facing off with the greatest of all evils: a billboard ad.

This time, however, the controversial slogan went unseen by the brainwashed/enlightened masses, thanks to either define intervention or faulty mechanics...

According to the UPI, the first bus to feature a hotly-contested ad ventured out into the streets this morning, only to be confronted by a dying battery. Within minutes, the public transit vehicle was back at headquarters for repairs, and Catholics (and, well, other religious people) were laughing and praising their Lord.

By the way, this is far from the end of the story. The bus should be back on the streets again soon, having survived only the latest of rounds in a long-running dispute. It originally was going to feature an ad reading "The Bad News Is God Doesn't Exist. The Good News Is You Don't Need Him," a much harsher version than the original atheist bus ad running in various parts of the world ('There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life.")

The new bus reads: "The Good News Is There Are Millions of Atheists In Italy; The Excellent News Is They Believe In Freedom Of Expression," which gives the impression we're going out with a whimper... and not with a big bang.

Via UPI. Photo via Flickr.

Related:

All Aboard the Atheism Bus

Exorcist: Keep It In Your Pants Or Beelzebub's Gonna Getcha

Christians Retaliate Against Atheists With Even Lamer Ad Campaign

All Aboard the Atheism Bus

Brian Fairbanks — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 20:34:00 GMT

The biggest story in Britain right now is the "Atheism Bus" campaign, which involves the rental of 800 billboard-size spaces on the sides of London's double deckers. The backers raised more than $200,000, most of it in just four days, and are now moving in to subway advertising, which we were lucky enough to get a full preview of.

“I think it’s dreadful,” said Sandra Lafaire, 76, a tourist from Los Angeles, who said she believed in God and still enjoyed her life, thank you very much. “Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but I don’t like it in my face.” But Sarah Hall, 28, a visitor from Australia, said she was happy to see such a robust example of freedom of speech. “Whatever floats your boat,” she said. [NY Times]

(Of course, Lafaire wasn't asked if she minded having the other, pro-Christianity signs in her face.)

That's the bus ad, obviously. Here are three of the four or five subway posters that are about to launch:

Meanwhile, activists all over the world have taken up the call and people in other countries should expect to see atheist messages on public transit as early as Monday. Meanwhile, claiming the ads "discriminate" against religious people (again, that didn't stop them from running pro-religious ads), a Tasmanian transportation company withdrew plans to allow for a similar campaign, and is now facing a lawsuit to reverse that decision.

Australian partners, unsurprisingly, also face tremendous public opposition to their plan:

They hoped to put adverts on the back of buses with slogans stating "atheism – celebrate reason" or "atheism - sleep in on Sunday mornings".
But the proposed campaign was rejected by APN Outdoor, the country's biggest outdoor advertising company.
David Nicholls, president of the Atheist Foundation of Australia, said: "I am flabbergasted. This is extremely disappointing and a severe blow to freedom of expression in Australia. [Telegraph]

Related:

FOXNews Claims Jesus Will Guard Your Daughter's Vagina

This Blog Has Been Rated NC-17

Muslim In Red Dress Controversy Responds

Hey Ladies: This Is Why You Aren't Enjoying Sex...

Brian Fairbanks — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 15:45:00 GMT

...and, no, there aren't pics of big dicks after the jump...

According to a new survey released by the Kinsey Institute (yep, those pervs are still around), women who used hormonal contraceptives had the lowest overall sexual satisfaction score, while those who used both condoms and hormonal methods actually reported the highest levels of satisfaction.

Does that surprise you? Here's the full report:

If you've never had an STD: you're much more likely to be using a contraceptive method that has decreased your sexual enjoyment. [Scanner reminds you not to have unprotected sex.]

If you use hormonal contraceptives only: you are highly unlikely to report decreased pleasure, but your sex life is sorely lacking...

If you use both condoms and hormonal contraceptives: you are somewhat more likely to have explosive orgasms from intercourse, your overall sex life is probably much better. Then again, it's not just guys who complain about condoms: if you use rubbers (or rubbers and hormonal helpers), you are " six to seven times more likely to report decreased sexual enjoyment compared to those who used hormonal methods only."

These are strange but interesting findings (what do you except from Kinsey?) What can we make of them?

Related:

And The Bad Sex in Fiction Winners Are...

NYU Class Teaches You How To Have Sex

Teen Sex Most Popular In Kentucky... And Other Global Sex Trends

Even Sex Fairs Are Weirder In China

Do You Want To Watch Weird Swedes Put On Condoms?

Brian Fairbanks — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 16:14:00 GMT

Full-blown sexual mania has descended over the great country of Sweden, and with it, those who fear honesty and openness in our society have swooped in to muck things up for the rest of us.

According to The Local, our favorite daily news source in the entire world (since it's chock full of sex-- even more obsessed with it than The Sun), a public transit ad asking "Do you want to see us put on a condom?" has been banned because it made whiny old geezers uncomfortable. Or something. The ad

is part of a campaign for UMO.se, a new web-based helpline for young people.

[It] features two young men and provides a text messaging code which allows people to download a short film featuring a tongue in cheek demonstration of how to put on a condom.

According to Västtrafik, the ad has been banned because it could be considered offensive, reports the newspaper Metro.

Wait, because it could be considered offensive? No one actually complained? It was just you, wasn't it, Vasttrafik, you closeted virgin. Or maybe... closeted homosexual. After all, the ad featured two men (see above/top right photo) and not the now-approved followup ad, featuring only a female, who asks, "Do you want to see me do something I like?"

Yes, but it also involves a condom...

Via The Local.

Related:

Tips From A Stripper: On Saving The Environment

Thirtysomething is the New Stupidsomething

Yes, We'd Like A Lifetime Supply of Pronto Condoms, Please

Yes, Virginia. You can have your own face in your vagina. And the FDA approves it!

This Week In Gayness: We Say No To That Yes On Prop 8

Controversial "Courting Condi" Cancelled By Cronies

Brian Fairbanks — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 14:54:00 GMT

The 2008 election year may have ended, but Bush & Co. aren't splayed out on the front steps of 1600 Pennsylvania, waiting for the Obamas to roll in.

Condoleezza Rice, for one, hasn't resorted to phoning it in. She shows up for work every day in classy Saks, brushes the Katrina victims aside, and strides through the front gate to the White House, where her boss, her hero, awaits with a non-alcoholic beer and a bag of pretzels. Together, they are Nixon and Kissinger, circa 1974, with the fireplace ablaze and the rocks in a glass of whiskey clattering back and forth, hashing out their escape plan.

Part of that plan is to ensure their legacy and making sure, for starters, that any revealing documentary films are dead in the water before they're even released...

We're not sure we buy the filmmakers claim that Karl Rove asked the Discovery Company to rescind its promise to fund the film or that the State Department had their hotel rooms bugged, but it may be true friends of or even Condoleezza Rice herself asked that Stanford University cancel an advance screening of "Courting Condi," a documentary following an actor-musician's quest to at least go on a date with Madame Secretary.

The Stanford Film Society (SFS) today cancelled a screening of a controversial documentary about Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and a debate on whether Stanford University should welcome her back to its faculty when she leaves office in 2009.

The film’s director, Sebastian Doggart stated: “This has all the hallmarks of Rice’s cronies scaring the Stanford Film Society into pulling the screening.”

The movie, Courting Condi, is a documentary about Condoleezza Rice, charting her life and career from her birth in Alabama, through her time as Provost at Stanford, to her tenure as Secretary of State. Contributors include close friends of Rice, her top biographers Marcus Mabry and Glenn Kessler, and senior Republican politicians such as Brent Scowcroft and Lawrence Wilkerson... [it] is due for general release in February 2009.

We'd like to add that the film also co-stars Adrian Grenier and Steve Earle's music, plus its lead by the kid (now grown) who played Macaulay Culkin's demented brother in Home Alone.

The SFS at first offered no explanation for the cancelation; after some prying, the President claimed a Professor had asked to use the space and his agenda took priority. But the SFS added that they didn't think the post-screening debate would be balanced and that that fear factored in their decision. Doggart chalks all this up to a, well, not-so-vast right-wing conspiracy:

“Our documentary has seen these tactics of obstruction and intimidation before,” Doggart states. “Eighteen months ago, Discovery committed to financing $600,000 for the movie. One week before shooting, they pulled out. We subsequently learned that Karl Rove found out about the deal and advised the CEO of Discovery it would be bad for their ‘good relations with government’ to proceed. Discovery pulled out the next day, leading to legal wrangling and a final settlement of a $150,000 ‘kill loan’ from Discovery, and forcing us to make the film on a shoestring.”
Doggart continues: “The obstructive measures got worse. Her supporters did all they could to stop us securing archive materials of Rice’s time at both Denver University and Stanford. And then her agents raided our inn when we were filming in Washington DC.”

Here's the film's trailer. Tell me-- is this a documentary or more likely a mockumentary?

Via Courting Condi.

Related:

While You Were Sleeping: Obama Narrows His Choices

Top 5 Celebrities Who May Or May Not Be Attractive

Get Your Muslim On

Sloppy Seconds: Photos of New Planets...

Jim Beam Peeping Tom Ad Too Naughty, Even For Australia

Brian Fairbanks — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 18:32:00 GMT

Man... Jim Beam thinks he can go on over to Australia, where no one shaves any part of their body and topless whores fornicate with eight-year-old cigar-chomping schoolboys in broad daylight, and just ram their arrogant American pseudo-comedy down the (deep) throats of the TV-viewing public.

Well, they got another thing comin'...

According to Food Week, this is the least offensive ad of the campaign:

The bourbon maker's campaign, The Neighbours, includes TV and internet ads showing two blondes in G-strings applying sunscreen, bouncing on a trampoline and finally stripping naked as they're watched through a hedge by "Stevo next door" and his mates.

A 30-second TV version, first shown on Fox Sports, features one semi-naked women stating: "We say, Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, take off your cozzie." Viewers are then directed to a website with a longer ad in which the women are spied on as they undress.

The camera zooms in on their breasts and backsides before ending with a close-up of one topless woman washing dishes at the kitchen sink.

Australian cultural critics and consumer advocates have attacked the campaign for making light of stalking and perverted peeping, and quite rightly. Jim took down his ads and removed them from every available source-- except YouTube, where we found the above video, untouched (for now.) It may remain there, since it seems relatively harmless... and pointless. The Brisbane Times has a screenshot of the video, but it tells us nothing. If anyone locates an embeddable copy or even a link to the complete 30-second spot, please send and we'll update this.

Via Food Week.

Sony Video Game To Feminists: "Let Them Eat Cake" (Literally)

Brian Fairbanks — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 14:59:00 GMT

Sony apparently forgot that there are, surprise, women who play video games. More importantly, they forgot that feminists play video games and can raise a big stink on the interblogs if they they think your game is unfunny, sexist, and more out of touch than George W. Bush...

Fat Princess is a capture-the-flag game with a twist: you can thwart capture attempts by locking the once-thin princess in a dungeon and stuffing her full of cake, thereby increasing her girth and making her harder for your enemies to haul back to home base.

The ladyblogs had trouble deciding what to attack first...

Melissa McEwan of Shakesville writes: "Congrats on your awesome new game, Sony. I'm positively thrilled to see such unyielding dedication to creating a new generation of fat-hating, heteronormative assholes."

Zing! Wait, what does that mean?

Feminist Gamer's "Mighty Ponygirl" suggests a simple gameplay switcheroo would solve the problem (and change the title). "Instead of running out into the forest to find cake to fatten up the princess with, why not go out and find gold (which is a lot heavier than cake) to stuff into a treasure chest," she says, adding, "The more gold in the chest, the heavier it would be, and the harder it would be to carry."

That's a great idea! Then again, Sony isn't interested in having their video games make sense or insulting fewer than half the population of the world. Nope, they just say "let those feminists eat cake-- literally." And male gamers are apparently backing them up-- check out the comments on Joystiq:

Fat women would be better served by getting up and exercising and eating less. They would have more energy, better self image and feel more confident. They might find a boyfriend, even perhaps, love. But you know, its like hard to do that stuff, and its easy to complain on the internet!
Women will cry about anything.
They are piss because they lack a penis.
If it were "Fat Prince" and you had to carry an obese dude around nobody would care. Except maybe Prince.

However, a female commenter had a reaction similar to ours:

If anything, I think they're attacking the wrong concept. Who cares if she's fat or gets fed? It's way more offensive that the princess is treated as an object (in replacement of a flag) and helpless (she can't even move on her own) and unable to do anything about her situation (or refuse food). But I know that the designers weren't being pig-headed, they were just trying to be creative, and they succeeded.

There are far too many memorable (but not necessarily intelligent) comments to post here, so check out the original post.

Via Joystiq and Yahoo!

Scanner Controversy: The Most Controversial Posts Of The Past Two Weeks

Brian Fairbanks — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 20:30:00 GMT

We thought we'd spice up your Friday with the Scanner equivalent of jalapeño peppers.

1) Scanner Roundtable: Let's Settle This Whole 9/11 Thing Once And For All...

With this post, we swear, we didn't plan it in advance or have any knowledge what would happen would happen.

2) This Week In Gayness: My Boyfriend Won't Put Out

Apparently, Googling "homosexualmania" does not get you this post. Shame.

3) Was Nicole Kidman Ever Really Pregnant?

Didn't she try for a decade with Tom Cruise? Hasn't she been trying for years? Aren't celebrities so strange they might fake a pregnancy to a) help their careers and/or b) cover for the fact that they adopted/cradle-robbed/did something else to obtain a baby, thinking that, somehow, their box office will plummet if they don't have a "real" birth soon?

4) Is Batman's Crime-Fighting Simply A Cry For Help?

Scanner Nicole muses...

5) "Just A Fun Loving Nerd!!!" Just The Man For Us

Yeah, but those photos gotta be -shopped, right?

6) Who Would You Rather: Michelle Pfeiffer vs. Julie Newmar?

Some are saying Eartha Kitt.

7) Crush of the Week: Gitty Grunwald, Fighting An Hasidic Cult For Her Daughter

It turns out the original New York article has become the the source of the most letters to the editor in that magazine's history...

8) "I Had Sex With My Brother" One Woman's Blue Lagoon

Some questioned our historical accuracy (Brooke Shields was that dude's cousin, after all), some just questioned.

9) Today in WTF: Guy Gets Off (For/On) Getting 14-Year-Old Girl Drunk, Violating Her

We were setting ourselves up for this one. There's still a debate on legal issues in the comments-- wait, it's interesting, we swear!

10) Watch the Homophobic Snickers Ad Pulled From TV

We're not controversial for posting it, we're controversial for associating ourselves with the fellow countrymen who produced it.

Newspaper Runs Topless Photo of 13 Year Old Girl

Brian Fairbanks — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 19:12:00 GMT

Above model is NOT the subject of this story and is probably over 18. We hope.

A German newspaper has caused a huge uproar after "mistakenly" publishing a topless photo of a thirteen-year-old girl on its front pages.

Bild, the country's #1 newspaper, which often puts naked women on its covers, ran a photo of a local girl as part of a contest to determine "the hottest girl of the summer." Someone nominated the young woman, who was then photographed by a freelance photographer...

...the minor was paid a fee for the photo and it was published with her mother's written consent. The paper's editor, the company said, had not been aware of the girl's age at the time. Bild said it has removed the image from its archive in order to ensure that it would not be published again.

Wait, her mother signed off on this?! Holy shit-- who knew Warren Jeffs had moved to fucking Germany?

By the way, the newspaper is not going to escape blame in this. Not after this little "snafu":

Generally, the newspaper includes the age of the models it uses on its front page, but on that date, it was conspicuously absent.

Hmmm....

Via Spiegel.

Australia's "Spirit Dwarf" Actually Pisses Fox News Off

Brian Fairbanks — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 15:30:00 GMT

We don't like the D-word either, but that's what one Australian bar has been using as a promotional mascot: a so-called "Spirit Dwarf." Fox News, of all people, has the story:

An Australian bar promotion involving a bare-chested, top hat-wearing little person walking the length of a bar pouring free booze down the throats of patrons has drawn protests from alcohol education campaigners.

The Jagermeister "Spirit Dwarf" promotion has been on one night a week at The Saint in St. Kilda, Melbourne, the Port Phillip Leader reported.

Jagermeister distanced itself from the promotion, which follows the Federal Government's campaign to clamp down on binge-drinking.

To which we can only add these lines, straight from the script for "Living in Oblivion," pictured above:

   TITO

                         Why does it have to be a dwarf?

                                     NICK
                         What?

                                     TITO
                         Why does my character have to be a 
                         dwarf?

                                     NICK
                         He doesn't have to be a dwarf.

                                     TITO
                         Then why is he?! Is that the only 
                         way you can make this a dream; put a 
                         dwarf in it?

                                     NICK
                         No, Tito; that's not --

                                     TITO
                         Have you ever had a dream with a 
                         dwarf in it?! Do you know anyone 
                         who's had a dream with a dwarf in 
                         it? NO! I don't even have dreams 
                         with dwarves in them! The only place 
                         I've seen dwarves in dreams is in 
                         stupid movies like this! Make it 
                         weird; put a dwarf in it. Everyone 
                         will go "whoa whoa whoa, must be a 
                         dream, there's a fucking dwarf in 
                         it!" Well, I'm sick of it. You can 
                         take this Dream Sequence and shove 
                         it up your ass!

Via Fox News.