You can almost hear the tut-tutting in the school staffroom. It would seem if you put a teenage girl on the cover flippin’ the bird, conservative forces fear it will inspire moral decay amongst teenagers.
A couple of parents wrote in to say they were openly offended by our Milla Coco Brown cover, and then there was this message from a school librarian.
“I am just writing to give you some feedback on your current issue.
We are a school which enjoys a subscription to Tracks magazine and is borrowed out by many students.
Sadly, the current issue with Milla Coco giving a F— You gesture cannot be displayed in the library, as the image is not appropriate for a school environment. I imagine shoppers looking at your magazine in a newsagent’s shop would possibly be put off from buying too.
Perhaps future cover images could be designed to be non-offensive to all.”
Meanwhile a mother, who was holidaying in Bali and reading the issue with Milla on the cover, wrote to us with a different view.
“Love the cover and story.”
It’s worth noting that we did not invite Milla to flip the bird. It’s something she did of her own volition for the camera while on the ‘Natural Selection’ Trip to Micronesia (an event she won). While some may see it as offensive, it’s also arguable that for Milla it’s a self-empowering gesture; her own way of saying ‘F..K You’ to every obstacle that comes her way or anyone who tries to suggest she should conform to a stereotypical mode of behaviour.
Do a quick search of the internet and you will come across countless pictures of famous women and men flippin’ the bird. At times it’s an aggressive gesture, but it’s also often a playful act of rebellion – a way of telling the world you can take my picture, but you can’t tell me what to do.
Joel Parkinson famously lifted a middle digit when Kelly Slater made a ruthless use of priority in the final of the Quiksilver Pro at Kirra in 2013. Parko was deep in the barrel when Kelly swooped and that one is celebrated as one of the greatest moments in Pro Surfing History – a rare show of raw emotion in a pro surfing world where surfers can suffer from the pressure to keep things nice and vanilla.
When asked about where her ‘unique’ attitude comes from, for the Tracks story, Milla responded matter of factly. “I don’t know honestly. I just try to be myself and I don’t care what anyone thinks. But I do try and let my surfing do the talking.”
Perhaps we misread the moral compass, by running the shot on the cover, but to all those who suggest Miller should rein it in, I can only imagine what she would say and do…
