Newspaper refuses to run 'Vagina Monologues' ad

The Seattle Times has refused to carry a print ad for The Vagina Monologues on the grounds that the ad is unsuitable for publication.

On February 24, in honor of "V-Day," the National Council of Jewish Women Seattle office is co-sponsoring two performances of the Eve Ensler's Vagina Monologues at the Museum of History and Industry. To publicize the event, the group produced a print ad for placement in the Seattle Times, among other publications. But, much to the group's chagrin, the Times declined to run it unless the sponsors altered the artwork (pictured above) — which they refused to do. "The artwork was something we didn't feel was appropriate for our audience," says the Times' VP of advertising, Mei-Mei Chan.

Of course, the whole purpose of the Vagina Monologues is to challenge the attitudes which have made it taboo to even acknowledge the existence of the vagina, lest you send certain people to the fainting couch.

How ironic is it, then, that an abstract artistic representation of the vagina is rejected for publication on the grounds that it might send certain people to the fainting couch?