Protest rages against Burton's racy new line

Author: Rodrigo Seira

Several Vermont ski resorts including Smugglers' Notch and Sugarbush have banned two new lines of Burton snowboards that feature suggestive images of Playboy models and cartoons depicting self-mutilation. The resorts' official bans come as the latest development in a series of protests that the controversial snowboard designs have sparked.

Dubbed the Burton "Love" series, one of the new board series displays vintage risqué photos of 1980's Playboy girls. Although the models do not appear fully nude, their sexually overt poses and scantily clad bodies have been called inappropriate and offensive by protesters.

Burton has taken some precautions by keeping the boards wrapped and images concealed in their stores and prohibiting sales of the "Love" boards to individuals under 18. However, protestors and the ski resorts that banned the boards are disconcerted that minors and others will still be confronted with the controversial images on the mountain.

This has not been the first time that a snowboard company makes headlines for featuring overtly sexual graphics. Three years ago, Sims produced a snowboard design similar to Burton's "Love" line. In partnership with Vivid Entertainment Group, the world's largest adult film company, Sims created snowboards adorned with scandalous images of porn stars, instigating a similar reaction from the skiing and snowboarding community.

Nor is Burton the only company offering this type of risqué snow gear this season. Head is offering a ski called the J.O. Pro, featuring a centerpose of a model in a bikini.

While the "Love" series has certainly stirred up controversy, protestors are perhaps more alarmed by the self-mutilation cartoons displayed on the "Primo" line. The snowboards, which are designed for use in terrain parks, depict images of cutting, nailing, and sawing off fingers.

The 152 model for example, shows a "number one" hand signal in the front, and a series of images on the back that include cutting of the index finger with scissors and sawing on a foam finger to replace it.

Protestors say that these images are not only unsuitable for children, but that they might encourage this type of self-destructive behavior.

The first protests started with a march of more than 150 people last week outside Burton's headquarters in Burlington, Vt., according to the Burlington Free Press.

Several days later, ski resorts started to ban their employees from using the two controversial snowboard lines. Vail Resorts, owner of Vail, Breckenridge, Beaver Creek, Keystone in Colorado and California's Heavenly Mountain implemented such policies. Kelly Ladyga, Vice President of Corporate Communications for Vail Resorts, said in a phone interview this week that the company had amended the long-standing policy that governs employees' dress code because they consider the "Primo" and "Love" lines to be against company values and coule be offensive to guests.

In Vermont, Smugglers' Notch and Sugarbush followed suit and banned their employees from riding the boards. Smugglers' Notch, which advertises itself as "America's family resort," took the strongest stance against Burton's new boards. In a written statement, the company announced that it was "disappointed in the direction Burton is taking in this regard," and added that the two lines would not be sold in their resort.

While several ski resorts have banned their employees from using these snowboards, none have prohibited visitors from using them.

"We believe it is not our place to dictate to consumers what they can use and can only hope that consumers will be mindful of others who are in the mountain," said Ladyga.

Other resorts have yet to take a stand on the issue. Ski Vermont, a private non-profit trade association that serves 20 Alpine and 30 Nordic resorts in Vermont opted against prohibiting the boards. Director of Public Affairs, Jen Butson, said that they were leaving the choice up to the individual resorts.

On their part, Burton claims that the boards are merely a form of artistic expression and that since they produced only 1,000 boards from each line, they expect it to become a collector's item, hence will rarely be seen on the slopes.