Moral values may reign supreme in some circles, but blogs across the country are gushing about a new way to legitimize pornography. At Boobs for Bourbon Street (Boobs4BourbonSt.com), internet users send in anonymous photos of their tremendous ta-tas. The topless photos are posted in a password-protected boob gallery, access to which is granted only by forwarding a confirmation email from a hurricane relief charity verifying a donation of at least $5.
That means moolah for mammaries, bucks for bazongas, donations for Double D's, tit for tat. They've raised over $25,000 so far.
B4BS has a few things going for it. First, it's sexy, but because it's thematically appropriate to fundraising efforts for the land of Mardi Gras it doesn't appear too crude: it's piggybacking on an accepted "tradition" of sorts. It also allows cash-strapped folks to contribute to the relief efforts; the majority of photogenic donors will doubtlessly be poor, voluptuous college students. And if your "exploitation of women radar" just went off, rest assured that the site is an equal-opportunity objectifier. B4BS accepts photo submissions of bare male chests, too (that would be, ahem, "pectorals for petty cash").
This is surely the most groundbreaking fundraising scheme I've ever heard of, not because of its trashiness, but because of its honesty about philanthropic motives. Philanthropy has never been about altruism alone. Historically, charities have always appealed to donors' egotism, attempting to align individual self-interest with the greater good, Milton Friedman-style. Strategic campaigns typically emphasize the giving rather than the getting, with the actual use of the monetary gift often upstaged by the advantageous effects of giving upon the giver.
Fundraisers frequently exploit donors' societal fears and aspirations. American Jewish philanthropy, for example, has a long history of publicizing donation amounts and arranging face-to-face confrontations between potential donors and demographically matched solicitors — same industry, age, sex — thereby emphasizing the "peer" in peer pressure. On the other hand, fundraisers feeding on devout Christians, such as televangelist programs, often present charity as a way of purifying the soul and gaining spiritual reward. Charity may entail sacrifice, but that sacrifice is still self-serving.
Benefit concerts, parties, t-shirts, etc. also have a component of selfishness, though participants often couch any self-indulgence in banal usefulness ("Well, I'll probably need another shirt anyway"). Similarly, a store's advertisement of the fact that it is donating a portion of profits to charity often raises sales, besting any competitors who fail to demonstrate their own good samaritanism.
Small nonprofit groups not involved in the hurricane relief effort are likely to take a hit this year, if the post-9/11 charity drive is any indication. That means that your local literacy foundations and Princeton alumni chapters should start droppin' trou immediately, if they know what's good for them. They, after all, have the most to learn from B4BS.
This trailblazing site has elaborated on these age-old ego-driven fundraising strategies and brilliantly applied them to a market of potential donors that has long been neglected. No, I'm not referring to the unexploited niche of exhibitionists and voyeurs — although they're probably not on the Red Cross's radar, either — but rather a broader untapped resource: youth. By "youth," I mean both the 14-year-old boys whose older brothers refuse to buy them Playboy and those of age, too.
After all, what is youth but the desire to self-righteously expose the hypocrisy of the perceived cultural order? By puncturing the pomposity of ersatz altruism, B4BS has aligned rebellion with relief. The true genius of Boobs for Bourbon Street is not its catchy alliteration or its susceptibility to be sent on annoying eating club spam lists, but rather its innovative way of channeling a generation's craving for subversion into bettering humankind. By emphasizing selfishness, B4BS has put good into being bad. Catherine Rampell is an anthropology major from Palm Beach, Fla. She can be reached at crampell@princeton.edu.
Read More
Charlie Kirk is not the martyr conservatives want him to be
Christofer RoblesIn his piece, Editorial Board Chair Christofer Robles ’26 argues that as members of the campus right misrepresent the status of free speech on campus and Charlie Kirk’s legacy, they legitimize the federal government’s punishment of left-wing students for their political expression.
In his piece, Editorial Board Chair Christofer Robles ’26 argues that as members of the campus right misrepresent the status of free speech on campus and Charlie Kirk’s legacy, they legitimize the federal government’s punishment of left-wing students for their political expression.
BP is out. Here’s what’s next for the climate movement at Princeton
Charlie Yale and Isaac BarsoumFossil fuel companies have abandoned their deceptive climate pledges, and the Trump administration is cracking down on climate research. As governments and corporations abandon climate action, Princeton must step up as a leader on the issue.
Fossil fuel companies have abandoned their deceptive climate pledges, and the Trump administration is cracking down on climate research. As governments and corporations abandon climate action, Princeton must step up as a leader on the issue.
Public service still serves the public
Guest ContributorsIt is sometimes difficult to see the value of service in times of instability, disinvestment in public services, eroding public trust in government, and an uncertain job market. But even in times of massive turmoil, public service is still able to drive initiatives that aren’t sufficiently politicized to make newspaper headlines.
As academia and the federal workforce have adapted to rapid policy changes, the SINSI program and the students it supports have had to adapt. We are the first generation of SINSI Scholars, the SINSI program’s graduate fellows, to contend with this new era of uncertainty.