In the April issue of Playboy , former Vice President Dick Cheney is interviewed by Fox News’ Washington correspondent James Rosen on a variety of political issues. A lot of it has to do with racism and how Cheney feels about the Obama administration.
However, one anti-porn group is attacking Dick Cheney for agreeing to do the interview, because of the fact that it ran in Playboy , a magazine that features provocative images of naked women. Dawn Hawkins, the executive director for the National Center for Sexual Exploitation, issued a statement on the non-profit’s official website , saying that it may only be men who come across the Cheney interview, since that is the magazine’s top demographic.
“[This] communicates that he is okay with pornography, sexual exploitation, and does not want to reach women with his message.”
Note to Dick Cheney: Men Do Not Buy Playboy for the Articles http://t.co/KbhvA1U27e #EndExploitation
— PornHarms & NCSE (@Porn_Harms) March 18, 2015
Throughout the statement, Hawkins accused Playboy for being the reason behind things such as the “decay of marriage” and “the increase of sexual violence.” She then said that it was unacceptable for Cheney to have the interview featured in the magazine.
“Is Dick Cheney trying not to be heard? What woman would find his interview in a magazine that profits from the sexual exploitation of women? Cheney’s action says to women, ‘I’m not talking to you and you’re no more than an object to be gawked at.’”
But it’s not just Dick Cheney the organization is criticizing. After news broke of the organization’s stance against the Cheney interview, Hawkins emailed the Washington Post to clarify that they believe it’s wrong for any public figure to do an interview with Playboy .
“We are not anti-Cheney; we’re anti-exploitation. Whatever political, artistic, or educational message one desires to communicate, it will have more impact and reach a larger audience if it is communicated in a context that is not sexually exploitative.”
The Washington Post points out that, aside from Dick Cheney, other public figures interviewed by the magazine include Jimmy Carter, Stephen Hawking, and Bill Gates.
A lot of the Dick Cheney interview is available to read online on Playboy ‘s official website (link is SFW). But as Rosen noted in an exclusive Fox News commentary , the entire thing is much longer than what has already been published.
“Where Cheney had originally agreed to submit to six hours of questioning spread across three days, we wound up going long on each of the three days and ultimately recorded close to 10 hours of material.”
[Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images]
