Twelve members of the Australian women's national
soccer team officially unveiled their nude calendar at a
ceremony yesterday in Sydney, and the MORNING HERALD's
Michael Cockerill writes that the event generated
"unprecedented hype," as 150 promotional copies "were
snapped up within minutes by the largest media contingent
the team has ever seen." While the publisher "is prepared"
to increase the calendar's print run from 45,000 to 70,000
copies "if demand reflects the level of interest," Cockerill
notes that the women's photos "are more stylised than
confronting." The Australian team will host the U.S., the
Czech Republic and Sweden in the Australia Cup in January
(SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, 12/1). In Sydney, Louise Evans
writes that the members of the team "did not dissolve into
blushing models but stood tall and proud" of their work in
front of the media. Australian F Katrina Boyd: "I have no
problem with nudity and I am happy and proud of the
calendar. ... I think it's art. If people want to call it
porn, that's their problem." More Boyd, responding to a
feature in the latest issue of Cosmopolitan showing naked
male athletes with "props to hide genitalia": "I don't know
why guys are so shy but, honestly, their private parts are
probably not the most attractive thing to show anyway."
Australian Women's Soccer Association President Shirley
Brown called the calendar a way to "raise the [team's]
profile" because they don't "get recognised for their
athletic achievement" (SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, 12/1).
