The Seattle Times Is Fine With Dick

Courtesy of ACT Theatre

The word penis is fine by the Times. Not so “nuts.”

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More About

• Eve Ensler
• Mei-Mei Chan
• Jennifer Rice
• Sexual and Reproductive Health
• Medicine

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Last month, The Seattle Times refused to run an ad for a local performance of Eve Ensler's Vagina Monologues (see "Seattle Times' Vagina Problem" in the Feb. 20 Cutting Room) because it featured an illustrated clitoris. When it comes to cock, however, Fairview Fanny is a bit more flexible; after much back-and-forth, the paper decided to go ahead and print an ad for ACT Theatre's upcoming Puppetry of the Penis performances at the end of April.

But there's a catch: Unlike the originally conceived ad pictured above, the Times—and, in turn, the P-I, as the same ad reps handle both papers' accounts under the joint operating agreement—has forbidden the playhouse purveyors of genital origami from using the terms "nuts" and "res-erection" in their ad. Mei-Mei Chan, the Times' VP of advertising, says it is against company policy to comment on direct negotiations with a client, adding: "We're always trying to balance the best interests of a tasteful newspaper with being informative."

While initially surprised at the Times' prudishness, the POP organizers have accepted the compromise. "We're flexible," says local POP spokesperson Jennifer Rice. "We want to run an ad."

And so they will, hold the nuts, with visions of naked nonagenarians dancing in their heads.