The pages of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue make it possible for female bodies to be ogled from coffee tables around the world. One would think that the internet, which allows people to pull up images of scantily clad women from anywhere at any moment, would fast render such a magazine irrelevant. But, a television host John Oliver reveals, the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue is still very much a thing.
In the first half of last year, Sport Illustrated itself only sold 68,000 copies per issue. But the swimsuit edition in February sold 800,000 copies.
It turns out Google might be a cheaper and more convenient way to find pictures of scantily-clad woman (not to mention naked ones), but controversy still sells. After all, replacing a human female model with Barbie on the cover (2014 edition) was a whole new level of objectification.
Let John Oliver’s latest Last Week Tonight episode tell you why the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue is still a thing:
– Featured image: Bikini models running on a beach in Florida in 1969. Via Wikimedia Commons.
