Cheeky rowing club girls who infuriated feminists by posing for topless charity calendar last year have now defied critics by releasing completely naked version
- Seventeen female students from Warwick University Rowing Society posed-up
- Last year the naked calendar was criticised as 'tacky' and 'sexist'
- The students are raising money for cancer charity Macmillan Cancer Support
By ALEX WARD
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Students from a ladies university rowing club who posed nude for a risque calendar last year have ignored criticism once again in bid to raise money for charity - by posing completely naked again this year.
The students from Warwick University Rowing Society caused controversy in 2012 after their naked photographs were branded ‘tacky’ and ‘sexist’.
Undeterred the girls have ditched their life jackets to this time completely strip off for a raunchy new 2014 version.
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Nude for charity: The female students of Warwick University Rowing Society have decided to make another nude calendar to raise money for a cancer charity despite causing a feminism row over a similar calendar last year
The calendar features 17 members of the university’s rowing club - aged between 18 and 21 - who can be seen frolicking by the River Avon and in their boat house in Barford, Warwickshire.
Second year History and Politics student Hettie Reed, 21, came up with the idea with friends Frankie Salzano, 21, and Sophie Bell, 19, who all feature in the calendar.
Miss Reed, from Poole, Dorset was forced to leap to the defence of their 2013 calendar after facing a torrent of abuse on the internet from feminist bloggers.
Bearing all: The students were undeterred by comments that their photographs last year were 'tacky' and 'sexist,' deciding to go ahead with their 2014 calendar (October pictured)
Just a bit of fun: Student Hettie Reed, one of the original creators of the calendar, said the women had fun making the calendar and that the criticism just spurred them on to make the 2014 calendar
Yesterday she revealed the girls had just as much fun stripping this year, much to the delight of passing fishermen.
She said: ‘The criticism we received last year just spurred us on to do it again as we were given so much positive feedback all in all.
‘It is just a harmless bit of fun for a fabulous cause and our fan base has only really grown as a result of last year’s furore.
‘So many people got in touch whose lives had been affected by cancer to say thanks and who can criticise us for that?
‘This year we shot the calendar over two days in June. The weather was a bit windy which played havoc with the girl’s hair.
Good PR: The furore helped the students' fan base grow and Ms Reed said many people affected by cancer had got in touch to say thank you rather than to criticise
Calendar girls: The photo shoot involving 17 students was done in June and windy weather caused some hair issues
‘We had to hold towels around the girls too because we kept giving the passing fishermen an eyeful. I think they loved it.
‘We also travelled to Spain to do a bonus shoot and those can be purchased as well as the calendar.
‘It was a bit easier stripping naked out there as the weather was much nicer.’
Layla Haidrani, a University of Kent student who describes herself as a commentator on feminist issues, described the concept as ‘tacky’ and an ‘attempt to gain notoriety’ on a blog written for the Huffington Post UK in December 2012.
Layla Haidrani, who describes herself as a commentator on feminist issues, wrote: 'Groups of women posing semi-naked on a field with sticks doesn't sound a fundraising initiative for charity, it just sounds tacky,'
Naked ambition: Sophie Bell, 19, Frankie Salzano, 21, and Hettie Reed, 21 (left to right) came up with the idea and all feature in the calendar
Beginning of the year: This photo, featured for January 2014, is one of 12 in the latest calendar on sale for £7.99 to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support
Aiming high: The rowing students hope they can triple the £600 they made for the charity last year and has 300 pre-orders already
'Although many argue that it is purely for fundraising purposes, in my own university sports team, the majority of women who participated were not made aware and did not even seek to find out which charities were being helped.
'Rather, they just view it as an opportunity to strip and attempt to gain notoriety with friends and family both back home and on campus.'
In response to the criticism Ms Reed said at the time: 'I do believe that women deserve equality and in my eyes, if the men of our rowing club are able to make a naked calendar we should have the right to do the same thing without [receiving] derogatory and slanderous comments - that is what equality is about.'
The male students in the rowing society have created nude calendars for charity for the last four years.
The 2014 calendar, which raised £600 for Macmillan Cancer Support last year, already has 300 pre-orders.
The girls hope they can triple last year’s amount with their latest calendar, which is priced at £7.99.
To find out more about the calendars or to buy one online visit warwickrowing.org or on Twitter@nakedgirlsrow
'Attempt to gain notoriety': This is one of the 2013 calendar photographs which sparked the controversy. Critics included Layla Haidrani who wrote in a piece on Huffington Post UK that the concept was 'tacky'
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