ELLE Australia magazine editor Justine Cullen has spoken out today as two very different versions of the ELLE magazine have gone out to readers. The cover images feature model and new mum, Nicole Trunfio. In one image, she is breastfeeding her son, Zion, and in the other, she is fully clothed and Zion is facing the camera.
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Debate was sparked over the weekend as the magazine that went on sale today with the fully clothed Nic Trunfio was preceeded by the ‘Subscriber Only’ cover – with the breastfeeding image – that was sent out to people who subscribe to the magazine ONLY on Friday.
The editor of ELLE Australia had this to say about the covers today:
“While there’s nothing provocative about breastfeeding, it is a provocative image to see on the cover of a fashion magazine, and it’s enabled us to contribute to a necessary conversation around normalising breastfeeding and why that’s so important. That cover has been talked about all around the world, via more websites and media outlets than I can name, and the reaction has been overwhelmingly positive.
“The only real negative feedback we’ve had, in fact, isn’t from people saying they dislike or disapprove of the image, but of the decision I made to run it on a subscribers-only version rather than the one on sale in supermarkets and newsagents.
“But, yes, it was a commercial decision to run it on subscriber issues only.
“If we’re not willing to throw our entire business behind a message, does that mean we shouldn’t make the statement at all? That seems extreme and redundant to me. These are challenging times for magazines – we have to be smarter than ever, and more often than not that’s going to mean taking less risks, making less of a statement. But that’s boring.”
Images via elle.com.au
