Christ Church’s naked charity calendar had to be hastily re-shot this week after the college censors deemed some photographs inappropriate.
The verdict on the calendar was delivered a few days before it was due to go to print, meaning three photos had to be retaken.
The calendar had been sent to the censors for approval a week before it was due to go to print and at an arranged meeting it was decided that certain photographs were inappropriate.
Organisers were told squashed bottoms were too erotic and the cover photo featuring a couple in Tom Quad had to be retaken with the pair standing up. The censors also told organisers that nudity should be a secondary feature in the photographs.
One student involved in the project pointed out that not everybody in the original photographs was able to make the retakes, meaning the calendar now has “a lot fewer people.” The student also commented that it was a shame as “people gave up their personal time” to the project and perhaps as a result of “bad experiences wouldn’t want to buy it.”
The student maintained this year’s photos were not “more explicit” than last year’s and that the censors had been “interfering”, especially considering organisers had “put thought into making it tasteful.”
The censors are expected to protect the image of the college. One fourth year Christ Church student thought that they had gone too far this year commenting, “I am outraged by the college’s act of pure despotic censorship of what can only perceived to be a work of art.”
Christ Church JCR President Evelyn Ashton-Griffiths remarked, “It was a shame that a couple of the photos were not approved, but the decision was taken to re-shoot these. All of the photos have been well received by the students at Christ Church, including the new ones. The outcome has been, I think, really positive despite the problems we faced.”
The censors were invited to comment, but have yet to respond.
Ashton-Griffiths added, “The naked calendar is supposed to be fun, and the decision to retake the photos as opposed to cause further tension seemed to be the best option therefore.”
Another student involved in the project said the calendar is “still very good” and in fact “better than last year” despite these setbacks.
This year’s naked calendar for RAG follows Christ Church’s successful calendar last year. Ashton-Griffiths says she hopes the calendar will be “just as successful this year” and that all the photographs are “witty, artistic and creative”.
The calendar will go on sale in seventh week and proceeds will go towards charities GUA Africa and Breast Cancer Research.
