You might have heard that two Grand Dames of the internet world had a rather public row a couple of weeks ago, when Boing Boing's Xeni Jardin deleted all the posts written or in reference to Violet Blue from the site. Whilst it got most of Silicon Valley hypothesising on the possible reason behind it, Playboy focussed on something else entirely.
When word got round to the Playboy office however, they focussed on the predictable: the two women used to be in a relationship, and there were photos! In their own words, "Two sexy, smart, web-savvy women -- together? We can't think of anything hotter."
And so, without further ado, they Google-imaged 'female bloggers' and put together a poll on who was the hottest, with the winner invited to pose nude for Playboy. Cue outrage etc.
Getting angry and indignant over such a move is easy, and quite possibly, justified. But there's really not much need - so far none of the women included have said that they'd take up the offer to pose.
It seems there may have to be an emergency centerfold editorial meeting.
Playboy have hit on a group of women who are used to having to outdo their male counterparts in order to be taken seriously. These are strong women who have weathered a crisis or two (Sarah Lacey's Mark Zuckerberg interview stands out) and whilst they might use their looks to their advantage they have the knowledge to carve out a career in a male-dominated industry.
I pray to god that none of these women think that by taking up the centerfold offer they're empowering women, or that it's going to introduce them to a whole new readership. I'd like to see whoever wins shrug, acknowledge it and get on with her job.
It's only an outrage when people start paying attention to this shit. Until then, it's just another page on the internet.
Susi Weaser is the editor of Shiny Shiny, and would say no too
Zara and Susi centrefold! Go on!