By Amrita Baumann
A young woman lies dead on a flattened bed of grass, dressed in only a flimsy, open under skirt. Her ankles and knees are bruised, as if from being held. "White, female, age 17, death by strangulation", reads the caption in the bottom corner. (The caption doesn't say so, but the overall image implies a pack rape.) In the top corner is the price and place to buy the model's outfit.
Yes, she is only a model and she is only modelling clothing! This is just one of a series of six horrendous images of murdered, bashed, overdosed or possible suicide young victims used to model clothes. Titled "fashion to die for", these images were published by the magazine Juice, much to the horror of even the department store of the clothes they model (Gowings have issued a formal statement condemning these images, and has expressed caution in any future dealings with Juice magazine).
Many find these images offensive because of the blatant disregard for what many still regard as sacred (even in this cynical, materialist world) — human life and worth. To many these images of murdered young people modelling clothes are symbolic of a cold, materialist media's disregard for life. This is meaningless violence which ignores or fails to recognise its possible impacts. To try and justify these images, as the producer of Juice does, by referring to "all the other blatant violence that's out there" is a useless argument.
He also said on JJJ radio, in response to the question "What are you trying to say with these images?", that "There is no real purpose to these images, they are just interesting. Images people like to look at". This is a dangerous attitude when your customer base consists of the world's highest youth suicide population, and your "no purpose images" deal with murder and death, drug overdose, implied rape and suicide. One of the images features a young woman looking like she has died from an overdose of pills and alcohol; this is the most common form of attempted suicide by women.
This sort of "fashion" media can have a dangerous and sad effect, especially on young people. Many feel that this is a cynical indulgence from an empty "no purpose" media. A petition to voice community concern is being distributed and will be presented to a conference run by the Department of Health in August. Contact the NSW Youth Advocacy Council on (047) 826652 for more information.