Acadia University’s student newspaper was unable to publish its latest edition when the printing company it uses decided not to print the issue because of sexually explicit images.
The cover of the Athenaeum’s Feb. 4 issue, focusing on sex, is a painting of a topless woman with her hand reaching into her blue panties. A depiction of a naked woman with her legs spread open accompanies one of the articles.
TC Transcontinental, the printing company, refused to print the Athenaeum’s sex issue for fear of litigation, according to spokesperson Jennifer McCaughey.
“We could be sued . . . just by whoever would find the images offensive,” she said. “We’ve told them our position, which is we decided not to print it just because there could be a risk of litigation. There’s nothing else to add.”
She said the content of the articles did not factor into the company’s decision.
McCaughey said this is the first time the company has refused to print an issue of the newspaper, and has not faced this problem with its other clients in the past. The company does not have a contract with the newspaper.
“I’ve been here for over 10 years and I haven’t heard of this happening before,” she said.
McCaughey said the company’s decision not to print this issue does not extend to future issues. The Athenaeum has published a PDF of the issue on its website. Its articles mostly revolve around female sexuality and sexual health.
The student newspaper at the University of Western Ontario also published a sex issue, as did the newspapers at the University of Windsor and York University.
The Western Gazette publishes a sex issue every year around Valentine’s Day, according to editor-in-chief Julian Uzielli.
The issue normally features racy images of students in various parts of Western’s campus, but this year’s issue includes pictures with full-frontal nudity.
“Our sex issue is meant to celebrate sex and the human body,” Uzielli said via email.
“I think we pushed the boundaries a little farther this year with the inclusion of nudity,” he said. “We wanted to include tasteful nudity from the outset, and I think we achieved that. The goal was not to be crude or offensive, but rather to show the bodies of a man and a woman as they naturally appear.”
Uzielli said nudity “shouldn’t be anything to be ashamed of.”
“Sex is an essential part of the human experience, and yet it’s still a topic that makes a lot of people uncomfortable, so one of the main goals of our sex issue was to address issues about sex and sexuality head on,” he said.
Uzielli said the Gazette wanted to make sex “an approachable topic.”
“Part of that means publishing informative articles on topics like STIs, sexual addiction and asexuality, but it also means publishing a few sexy photos and more lighthearted articles as well,” he said.
Uzielli said the Gazette faced no issues in printing its sex issue. He said it is unfortunate Acadia’s newspaper had trouble printing their issue.
“Sex is a natural part of life, and it’s not something that should be censored or suppressed,” he said.
