The naked truth about Girls Gone Wild

Campus groups were able to stop Girls Gone Wild from holding an event in Bloomington in January 2007, but Girls Gone Wild camera crews will still be in the most popular spring break destinations next week searching for women from IU and other colleges who are willing to bare it all for the camera.
The tactics used to obtain material for Girls Gone Wild products have sparked the most controversy surrounding the franchise.
Choosing to make pornography is different than a girl, “being coerced when drunk and someone getting rich off of it,” said Carol McCord, assistant dean for the Office of Women’s Affairs, in a Jan. 25, 2007 IDS article.
Leland Zaitz, managing editor of Girls Gone Wild Magazine (the newest addition to the franchise) said he believes Girls Gone Wild crews merely document the hypersexuality associated with spring break.
“There are people who have the perception that Girls Gone Wild preys on drunk, stupid and young girls,” Zaitz said. “The simplest point is that girls who appear in our videos all want to do it.”
The franchise met opposition from members of the Bloomington and IU communities when Jake’s Night Club and Bar planned a Girls Gone Wild event, according to the Jan. 25, 2007 IDS article. The event was canceled after more than 125 people signed a petition that caused administrators within city government to meet with the nightclub’s owners.
The franchise met national controversy when allegations of rape were brought against creator Joe Francis, according to the Jan. 25, 2007, IDS article.
Despite this history of both national and local controversy, the Girls Gone Wild franchise is scheduled to expand in April when the Girls Gone Wild magazine becomes available to the public.
Zatiz believes the Girls Gone Wild franchise is not the cause of the behavior documented in its products. The current generation of college students is such a sexual one that women are bound to expose their breasts, and men are inevitably going to watch, Zaitz said. He said this will happen regardless of the presence of Girls Gone Wild.
“We don’t exploit women; we celebrate women,” Zaitz said.
Celebrating women takes a lot more than getting them naked while they are drunk and filming them, said Courtney Wennerstrom, an IU graduate student. Zaitz explained that the cameramen are under strict orders not to film girls who appear to be too intoxicated.
“We don’t want any girl to regret it,” Zaitz said. “And, it’s just not sexy to watch a girl who is too drunk.”
Zaitz also said women actively seek out Girls Gone Wild for validation and attention.
“It’s very rare that any girl has any regrets or tells us not to use it, because we don’t coax anyone into anything,” Zaitz said.
Wennerstrom thinks most women who are proud of their bodies do not equate that pride with exposing themselves for someone else’s profit. Although she hasn’t personally spoken to any women she knows were in “Girls Gone Wild” videos, she said her hunch is that exposing their breasts on camera might not be as “meaningful” as they initially hoped.
“Being in control of one’s sexuality means being in control of one’s pleasure – not merely being the object of someone else’s,” she said.
While organizations and individuals around campus feel Girls Gone Wild is inappropriate, not all students feel the same.
“I think we all make choices, and as long as you’re proud of your choice and you’re willing to live with it, (then) it’s your thing,” junior Courtney Biddle said. “I would never do it because I would never want my father to see it.”
Other students feel that Girls Gone Wild walks a fine line between appropriate and inappropriate.
“I wouldn’t say exploiting is the right word; I’d say it’s disrespectful,” junior Ben Tousley said. “It’s fine if women want to be in them, but after enough of that stuff happens, it does begin to objectify women. But I wouldn’t look down upon a woman who wanted to do it or (women who) are part of it.”
The first issue of Girls Gone Wild magazine is going to be a glossy publication containing lifestyle articles including “Wildest Spring Break Moments,” reviews of the best bars and spring-break hot spots and experiences of the Girls Gone Wild camera crew, according to a press release.
The magazine will also have columns by women that offer a glimpse into the female mind for men, Zaitz said.
“The magazine is an obvious way to expand into a new medium,” Zaitz said. “A lot of people enjoy the Girls Gone Wild DVDs, and the magazine will allow people to enjoy the images and the excitement of Girls Gone Wild at length.”
Girls Gone Wild has tour buses on the road all year round, and Zaitz said that during spring break the Girls Gone Wild team will be in popular destinations such as South Padre Island, Texas; Daytona Beach,Fla.; and Cancun, Mexico.
Spring break is an important time for the Girls Gone Wild crew, Zaitz said, because it tends to be a week when girls feel comfortable to let loose and express themselves more freely.
He said camera crews will be looking for college girls who are confident in their bodies and excited to be on camera.
“The girls in our magazines are real college girls, and we photograph them where we meet them,” Zaitz said. “They’re the girl next door; they are just college girls who are proud of their bodies and happy to let other people appreciate their bodies.”
Wennerstrom, however, stated that modern pop culture has made women believe that “the masculine gaze” is a means of self-justification.
“This is not about being ‘proud’ – it is about being ‘validated.’ But the validation is ultimately empty,” she said.
Zaitz said the girls in “Girls Gone Wild” videos are just looking to get a free T-shirt and have a good time. And even though Girls Gone Wild founder Joe Francis is currently in jail, he is making sure this will continue.
“Where there is action, there is Girls Gone Wild; and where there is Girls Gone Wild, there is action,” Zaitz said.