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Australia
There was controversy over this breastfeeding magazine cover - but not why you think
The fact it’s just on the subscriber issue has led to some complaints.
AUSTRALIAN MODEL NICOLE Trunfio has gone where few have gone before – being pictured breastfeeding her baby for the cover of a magazine.
Trunfio appears on the cover of the latest subscriber edition of Elle Australia breastfeeding her four-month-old son, Zion.
The image has led to some controversy – but perhaps not for the reasons you may think. Some are annoyed that the photo isn’t on all of Elle Australia’s covers.
The 29-year-old Australian model and her partner Gary Clark Jr, a musician, welcomed their baby on 11 January this year.
Trunfio won Supermodel of Australia in 2002, and has appeared in Vogue, as well as in campaigns for D&G, Karl Lagerfeld and Guess.
The magazine features an alternative, non-breastfeeding photo on the cover of the newsstand issue.
Debate
Some of the controversy is over the fact the baby was naked in the photo, while others wanted Elle to use the same cover on the newsstand issue.
The editor of Elle Australia, Justine Cullen, told The Today Show that the intention wasn’t to promote breastfeeding.
She was accused of “wimping out” by just featuring the cover on the subscriber issue.
In response, she said:
There was always an intention for the cover and this was something extra we could do.
It’s about not judging women. We’re made to feel bad for breastfeeding in public or not breastfeeding or not being able to breastfeed, and this is just another option that is out there.
I think it just says it’s a commercial decision.
Trunfio has garnered a lot of praise for the photo, particularly from those using the #normalizebreastfeeding hashtag:
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As for Trunfio herself, she said she never intended on being controversial:
In addition, Elle said that the photo was not contrived:
“This wasn’t a contrived situation: Zion needed a feed, Nicole gave it to him, and when we saw how beautiful they looked we simply moved her onto the set,” ELLE’s editor-in-chief Justine Cullen says. “It was a completely natural moment that resulted in a powerful picture.”
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