Group launches bikini-clad "˜backlash'

About 25 Ohio University students donned their best swimsuits Friday afternoon to march across campus with a single message "” love your body.

Some of the protesters were part of a new group, Backlash Magazine, which was formed to promote positive body image and produce a student publication that provides a more inclusive definition of beauty, organizer Bethany Francis said.

The name of the publication grew out of a photo spread in the most recent issue of Backdrop Magazine, an OU student publication, but Francis said Backlash Magazine is more broadly protesting all media images that hold a narrow definition of beauty.

"To attract "˜readers' to their publication, (Backdrop Magazine) had this scantily clad, very thin model on the cover, and something about it struck me the wrong way,"� Francis said.

Francis, a senior theater performance major, said when she opened the magazine to the photo spread, she found a photo layout in which the models were almost all of a uniform type.

"They all looked very similar except the brunette in the corner,"� Francis said. "They were all very thin, athletic, long, blonde, white, female... By making a homogenous shoot like that, not only does it take away from all of these models' individual identities by presenting them as all the same, it reinforces a standard of beauty, a distorted image of what beauty is that's unachievable for a lot of people."�

Backdrop Magazine Editor-In-Chief Anne Beecham said she had no comment about the photo spread or the Backlash event. She posted a statement on Facebook May 24 acknowledging that the shoot spurred controversy.

"The reaction to our five-page swimsuit essay has been critical, and I would like to respond to the university community by providing a transparent explanation,"� Beecham wrote. "The selection of models of a very similar appearance was not intentional, nor were the women typecast to fit a predetermined look."�

She said the open audition that encouraged both men and women to participate had a low turnout, with about half of the participants being male.

"After the audition, we decided to use only females for the photo shoot, selecting the women we felt were the most comfortable in front of the camera,"� Beecham wrote. "As I and several other members of the staff are varsity athletes, we did invite our teammates to audition, and five of the eight women in the photo shoot are current Ohio University athletes, contributing to the homogeneity of their body types. We did not name the models as a small act to respect their privacy."�

Beecham said the cover model did not wear makeup, her hair was not styled and her body was not modified through Photoshop "to match the beauty ideal that so many professional magazines intentionally perpetuate."�

"These are small details that do not make up for the greater oversight of not including a variance in body types and race,"� she wrote. "In our first attempt at a pseudo-fashion photo spread, we have learned an invaluable lesson"¦ In the future, Backdrop will certainly attempt to reflect the diversity of a college campus within the pages of the magazine."�

Francis alleged that by leaving the women nameless, although it may have protected their identities, it also seemed to objectify them more.

"I wanted to create something that's positive and empowering for men and women of different colors, different gender identities and different abilities,"� she said. "You are beautiful. You are perfect just the way you are."�

Alicia Erben, a freshman from Columbus, and Brynn Shuller, a freshman from Cincinnati, said they heard about the protest on Facebook.

"I read Backdrop"¦ I thought they were beautiful, but they all looked the same,"� Erben said. "I like the idea that we're trying to promote different body types."�

Francis' younger brother, Ben, a freshman, and Zane DeLong, a freshman painting major, filmed the march as a promotion for Backlash Magazine. They also filmed reactions of people on Court Street as the group passed, chanting, "Media it is your duty to embrace all types of beauty,"� and encouragements to passersby.

"I heard one catcall, but the majority of (the reactions) were positive,"� Ben Francis said. "People were just interested to learn more about it"¦ We saw this one, a little bit older man, who was a bit confused about the situation while he smoked his cigar. But it was the most peculiar confusion on a face I've ever seen."�

Bethany Francis said an e-mail address, backlash.ou@gmail.com, and a blog, backlashou.blogspot.com, have been set up for people to submit stories, poems and photos for the publication, which she hopes will be produced in the fall. She'll return as a fifth-year senior to head up the project.