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OPINION & EDITORIAL

School spirit or: How I learned to stop worrying and pose for Playboy

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Also by Kate Gerding:

Bemoaning PACE, drink-special ban (February 24, 2005)

by Kate Gerding

Thursday, April 27, 2006

Playboy, the magazine you hear about when you're a little kid. It's the one with naked girls, the one boys love to look at. Never in my life had I thought my face would make it to the pages turned by millions of men around the world. Well, hold on just one second — yes, I am in Playboy, but contrary to what you may think, no, I am not naked.

Amid all the attention and recognition I am experiencing when I'm out and about, the No. 1 question I get is "So how did it all happen?" People want to know details about the photo shoot, money, how my parents felt, etc., so I am here to answer all of your questions — well, most of them, at least

I found out that Playboy was coming to Madison through an ad on the Facebook — it pictured girls dressed in cute clothes representing their schools. From this picture, I assumed I didn't have to be naked and I could represent my school in a picture like this one. To my fortune, this was what it ended up being … well, with the exception of a couple naked bodies and boobies.

I attended my interview at the Hilton wearing a nice black top and jeans, accompanied by the required bathing suit and heels.

Was I nervous? No. Was I anxious? Yes.

I was anxious and excited. It was the first time I had ever done anything like this.

So I Badger-Cabbed it over to the Hilton and went upstairs to a typical hotel room, where all the Playboy people were. I joined a few other girls in filling out some paperwork and flipped through the pages of some old Playboys that were sitting out. Next, I was instructed to get my picture taken in another room down the hall. During the photo shoot, I felt very comfortable in front of the photographer. He was very kind and promoted an accommodating environment. After he snapped some shots, I was told to "stay close to my phone," and I did just that.

I received a call that next night inviting me to participate in the group photo shoot, which took place at Delta Upsilon fraternity Nov. 11. I was instructed to wear anything that said Wisconsin and to avoid lingerie. I chose a Wisconsin halter top (personally converted from an old t-shirt) and a red Badger skirt — and, of course, how could I forget the red gym shoes.

I got ready and made sure my best friend, Christina, tagged along for moral support. She was almost as excited as I was just to see how everything went. Like I had predicted, the Playboy photographer couldn't ignore Christina's fabulous looks. He made her run home to change so she, too, could appear in the group shot. She exited muttering, "My dad is going to murder me."

As for my parents, they were not too keen on the fact that their daughter was in Playboy. My mother reacted by saying, "Katie, you know that even if someone offered you a million dollars, you won't take your clothes off."

I responded, "A million, though? OK, fine, Mom. I won't."

The DU boys were more than thrilled to be hosting the shoot — they had 19 good-looking women in their house, not to mention the fact that some were naked and others were topless. Once all the girls were ready, we lined up outside and the photographer instructed us on where to stand and what poses to engage. The shoot itself took around 45 minutes to an hour. We were screaming and cheering as though we had been at a Badger game, which presumably attracted a small audience — and that was it. As for how much we all made, let's just say Playboy definitely took good care of us.

Unfortunately, we had to wait several months for the actual magazine to come out. I bought a copy Friday, April 7, when it hit stands. It was the first time I ever bought a Playboy. I flipped to page 108 and there I was. The group shot turned out fantastic, and I think they depicted Wisconsin very accordingly — minus the nudity, of course — not only as the No. 1 party school but as a group of animated, school-spirited students.

That next week on Tuesday, a few of the girls and I felt like celebrities for a couple hours when we attended our very own autograph session. There was an excellent turn out. Many more people showed up than expected, and props to the girls who came to get the Playboys they bought for their boyfriends autographed. Overall, I received a lot more recognition than I had expected.

Then, one week after the magazine hit stands, about 12 of us attended a bar party at Brothers where we promoted the issue by signing CD-Rom versions. The bar party was a blast, and so are all the gorgeous girls I have gotten to know through this experience. Some of us ended up spending the entire night together and will indeed again.

Why did I do it?

If you know me, you know I am obsessed with the city of Madison. I think it is fabulous — the perfect mix between challenging academics and an incredible social scene, and let me tell you, I am a social girl.

By posing in Playboy, I stand for a Madison girl and I find myself to represent that to its fullest extent — and so did the rest of the girls. I love going out, I love the Terrace, I love State Street and, of course, I love Badger games.

I know how to balance the books with the partying, and I definitely maintain great grades and have way too much fun. In Playboy, I represent a highly rated, academically challenging school, and I am wearing clothes. I don't have to take off my clothes to represent the school — and, no, I wouldn't ever. But would I get dolled up in Wisconsin apparel, be surrounded by people in similar attire and pose, cheering, "Go Badgers!" for a photo shoot to represent this extraordinary school?

In a heartbeat.

Katie Gerding (gerding@wisc.edu) is a sophomore intending to major in journalism.

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Anonymous (April 27, 2006 @ 3:21am):

Congrats. You profit off sterotype that all women must be physically attractive to be anything in life. How can you sleep? you are a moral degenerate.

Anonymous (April 27, 2006 @ 8:49am):

Yeah, get out the sack cloth and ashes.

Hide witch hide
The good folks come to burn thee
Their keen enjoyment hid behind
A gothic mask of duty

The first poster is an idiot. Or maybe a jihadi looking to put all the womwn in burkas?

Anonymous (April 27, 2006 @ 9:12am):

It doesn't hurt to be a good looking guy in the world either. So what. All people have strengths and weaknesses. Why on earth would a smart individual not take advantage of their strengths even if it takes advantage of another persons weakness.

Anonymous (April 27, 2006 @ 12:20pm):

So, you would never pose naked why? It doesn't make sense that you're bragging about appearing in Playboy, but only so as background scenery. Woo hoo, big deal.

Anonymous (April 27, 2006 @ 2:56pm):

I don't think I'd be very proud to be grouped in with some of the nasty chicks they chose.

Anonymous (April 27, 2006 @ 3:13pm):

"How can you sleep? you are a moral degenerate."

Shouldn't you have died with all of the other Puritans a long time ago? Maybe posing for Playboy wasn't the ideal for feminist, but neither is resorting to catty bickering because a women decides to use her body how she wants to.

Anonymous (April 27, 2006 @ 4:10pm):

"Congrats. You profit off sterotype that all women must be physically attractive to be anything in life. How can you sleep? you are a moral degenerate."

***sound of alarm***
Ugly Gothic feminist girl alert.

Anonymous (April 27, 2006 @ 5:14pm):

Yeah, I figured ugly lesbians would be the ones to raise an objection like this. Maybe there should be a magazine featuring women with ugly faces and fat bottoms for all the lesbians to look at. Will that make 'em happy?

Anonymous (April 28, 2006 @ 12:43pm):

wow...between the conection of feminist to lesbian and then the assumption out of left feild that lesbians don't like attractive girls (WTF?) - the first poster sounds straight to me and the most recent sounds like an ass

Anonymous (April 28, 2006 @ 3:18pm):

Why is it assumed that anyone objecting to people representing their school spirit by posing for "Playboy" must be ugly? I hope ugly people, beautiful people, and especially women see the irony of liberating ones self by posing in Playboy. I'm glad this chick can self-justify her subjective morality because of the attention she gets for it. I'm glad she is justifying herself by the fact that she is a Badger fan, like that is some sort of redemption. I'll have to use that when I flunk my finals "Well, you don't understand, I reaaally like the Badgers though." Who freaking cares about feeding the egos of rich sorority girls anymore? All these people have done is completely misrepresent the student body (no pun intended), give the impression that "free-thinkers" put out, and make make it seem like women will do anything to pander to men. When there is a magazine that features a bunch of naked men with clothed women enjoying the power they have to entice them with money and attention to take off their clothes, I will feel still disgusted but somewhat justified. But that day will never happen. Women have come too far to accept this behavior as liberating. It is performing a trick in order to get a prize. I don't think this is morally wrong, but we can do a lot better in the quest for equality ladies.

Anonymous (April 29, 2006 @ 3:28pm):

Doesn't the left argue for abortion because it is a women's body and it is a women's choice? Why is it that the female sect of the left seem to be making the same sort of moral driven "you can only use your body how I want" that the right uses for abortion?