Now that Sports Illustrated’s latest swimsuit issue has hit the shelves, feminists have once again renewed their cries of pornography and that the magazine objectifies women.

Like always, the feminist anti-swimsuit bunch misses the point: SI is geared towards men. In 1996, Sports Illustrated was rated as one of the top four magazines in male advertising for the eighth year in a row (source: Time Warner).

If SI thinks it can reach male readers by having a swimsuit issue, then they have the right to do that. Obviously the idea works, since year in and year out that issue outsells all others by tens of thousands. Is it SI’s fault that men like to look at scantily-clad women?

SI could ask its female readers whether or not they want the swimsuit issue. This might placate some of those who find that issue objectionable. It makes good business sense and might increase their female subscribers. Still, it probably wouldn’t be enough for the anti-swimsuit clan.

Despite the fact that women subscribe to the magazine, they do not constitute a large enough percentage of the readership to change SI’s policy.

While most of SI’s subscribers are men and mainly men’s sports are covered, some women’s sports do receive coverage. Tennis, women’s pro basketball and female olympians have all been covered in SI. However, SI will cover more men’s sports simply because that’s who their readers are, and that’s what men want to read about.

Time Warner, the parent company of SI, has tried to change this. In 1997, they launched Sports Illustrated Women/Sport, a magazine specifically tailored towards women and women’s sports.

Let’s carry the swimsuit idea over to Women/Sport. Have a yearly feature issue of Women/Sport that includes various pictures of muscular men in little clothing. I can’t see many people who would have a problem with the objectification of men in such a magazine, especially women.

The bigger debate here is whether publications like SI really objectify women. This may be true to some extent, but no more so than any other magazine.

The magazines most guilty of the objectification of women are women’s magazines. Wait a minute, you might say. How does that make any sense? Well, let’s look at the topics of some recent magazines.

Allure, October 1997: “The 164 Best Shampoos, Eye Shadows, Fragrances, Lipsticks, Concealers, Hair Straighteners and Everything Else.” Marie Claire, November 1997: “Beauty Special: Shortcuts to Perfect Hair and Makeup.” Marie Claire, October 1997: “The Secrets of Perfect Skin.” Real thought provoking subject matter, isn’t it?

The topics for other women’s magazines like Glamour, Cosmopolitan and Vogue are no different. Written specifically for women, these periodicals are infested with numerous articles on how women can look perfect, act perfect and be perfect. The advertisements include pictures of disgustingly thin women like Kate Moss and infer to women that they cannot be beautiful if they weigh more than 90 pounds.

Why do feminists ignore these magazines, yet blame SI, Playboy and Esquire for the perpetuation of female stereotypes? Why is it bad for SI to publish photos of semi-nude women while the women’s magazines publish photos of women, sometimes semi-nude, and ask them to fork over hundreds of dollars to buy name brand fashions?

If you are a female subscriber to SI and you don’t like the SI swimsuit edition, don’t read it. If you still have philosophical differences with the magazine, then cancel your subscription and start a magazine without swimsuit models.

The swimsuit edition neither objectifies women nor is it pornography. Men have for one reason or another liked to look at women. Men are visual creatures. Yes, a periodical with beautiful women in bikinis will arouse men’s sexual thoughts. However, a story about beach volleyball and pictures of Gabrielle Reece fully clothed may incite the same sexual thoughts in a man that a swimsuit issue could.

The real question is: Should we be asking Sports Illustrated to make an excuse for its male readership? Absolutely not. Maybe we should ask the women’s magazines to stop promoting their ideal woman before we ask the men to.

Robert Zeis is a senior in finance from Des Moines.