RIP Zoo Weekly — a vile, repugnant and tasteless publication

WHERE will the lowest common denominator find gratuitous pictures of tits and tasteless humour now that Zoo Weekly has ceased publication?

OPINION

Yesterday Bauer Media announced the foreclosure of both the print and online editions of Zoo Weekly, leaving their remaining 14 readers in a state of shock and amiss of where they’ll now be able to find tasteless humour and gratuitous pictures of tits.

Since launching in Australia in 2006 Zoo has prided itself on objectifying women, dismissing the most fundamental rules and ethics of journalism, and appealing to only the lowest common denominator.

The announcement that the publication will no longer be reversing the process of evolution in the minds of young men sees the title finally earn its rightful place alongside FHM and Ralph in the graveyard of the defunct and disgraceful lads mags that were attempting to drag us to the most misogynistic corners of hell.

Classy.

Zoo, which was the magazine of choice for man caves nationwide, has spent the past decade littering newsstands with the kind of dumbfounded editorial you can only imagine was approved by a director that was hired on the basis of his 1,000+ top-rated comments on YouPorn videos.

Whether it be their abandoned attempt to find Australia’s ‘sexiest asylum seeker’ (”Are you a refugee not even the immigration minister could refuse? Then we want to see you!”), their appropriation of ANZAC DAY with a bikini clad model to sell copies (“100 things every Aussie should know about Gallipoli”), or the time they completely endorsed the ideology that women should contour their bodies to allure men by offering a contest to fund a girlfriend’s boob job (“The gift that keeps on giving”), Zoo was always on the cutting edge of producing repulsive content.

It’s hard to imagine how anyone approved this one.

The writing for Zoo has been on the wall for years. With a year-on track record of dwindling sales (including a monumental 36 per cent decline in the October to December quarter of last year), a withdrawal from audit circulation in May and the recent removal of copies being sold at Coles, the management at the magazine seemingly still couldn’t fathom the notion that contemporary society doesn’t appreciate the promotion of rape culture and their heavyweight stance of ostensible bigotry.

In an ever-transforming media landscape it’s always saddening to see the closure of a publication, but this is one instance where it should be welcome. It’s undeniable that a large portion of the demise of Zoo can be attributed to the internet age and the rise of easy-access pornography, but I also hope that it’s a reflection that society will no longer tolerate the sexist, chauvinist and archaic dogma-esque traditions that have plagued our nation for decades.

To the content producers behind Zoo — goodbye, good riddance and the very best of luck for finding another outlet to push your outdated mandates and disgustingly misogynist ideologies.

See ya.

Tyson Wray is a writer and editor from Melbourne. Follow him on Twitter @tysonwray.