Naked in front of the Corpus Clock, naked in King's, naked outside the UL…

Cambridge students present a round-up of the news in the buff. The Tab brings you CUTV's latest offering.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCkb8x2WE08

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Eyebrows were raised and knickers dropped as staff and students at Downing College decided to bare all in an orgy of charitable activity in aid of Breast Cancer Research and the Prostate Cancer Research Foundation. Made possible by the generosity and support of senior members of the college, get your copy in Downing College Porters Lodge for just £5.

Oh what a difference the context makes eh? I watched the debate surrounding ‘tab totty’ unfold with a bit of a giggle. Obviously there were serious issues of feminism and woman’s rights at issue there, but it coincided exactly with the photographs being taken for the calendar. In one weekend, myself and some photographers who were very generous with their time saw more willies than Jordan and more tits than a reader of the Daily Sport.

What does a naive girl like myself learn from such an experience? Well, sorry to go all Disney on you but we do all come in different shapes and sizes and it is true, everyone is attractive in their own way.

Confidence is attractive. The problem with all the television programmes aimed at portraying this very idea is that they tell us “Everyone looks great the way they are,” but then to give the people confidence, they make them look like everyone else. Only that is exactly the point, there is no “everyone else.” In reality there is no one, ideal body shape, dress and “look.”  Why do they need to lose a few pounds, have their teeth whitened and grey hairs dyed to feel good? Confidence needs to come from something within rather than be based on others opinions of our exterior, or it will never last.

Our objection to pin up girls (and boys) in magazines and newspapers, when it moves on from their very existence, should be their portrayal as some sort of ideal, desirable body. A lot of these girls have unnatural bodies. Large, hard round breasts somewhere up near their chin with tiny stomachs and waists. The issue of men looking at images of women at all is one thing and I feel it’s a bit late for my opinions on that. However, if men are going to look, could they at least look at real women?

Looking at real women means variety. Maybe this was the wind that whipped up the ‘tab totty’ debate. Having real, everyday girls who had written articles and were attending University and looked human and relatable contrasted so starkly with images of robotic pin ups whose image as little more than blow up dolls is perpetuated by the pathetic, demeaning quotes written beside their boob jobs. If women saw men looking at real women, perhaps this would provide a confidence boost and move us away from this unrealistic ‘ideal’.

Alternatively girls and boys, if you are looking for a confidence boost, my advice would be “get naked”. A recurring theme in the 13 photos taken was that people were apprehensive at the start, but as soon as everyone had their clothes off, people were suddenly very comfortable. Taking part, I found quite a liberating experience, watching others go through it was fascinating (meant in the least perverted way possible).

If you would like to see Heidi Hi along with two of The Tab‘s editors themselves starkers, plus a large number of Downing students, get to Downing Porters lodge, it’s for a good cause and it’s a good laugh.

Downing College have become the latest charitable souls to join The Tab’s campaign to reclaim the right to get naked, after they stripped off for a charity calendar.

The calendar, which costs just £5 from Downing porter’s lodge, will raise cash for Breast Cancer Research and the Prostate Cancer Research Foundation.

Highlights include The Tab’s very own Heidi, a beautifully choreographed football scene and the lovely Downing Lady Orchids, whose saucy April photo makes the £5 pricetag an absolute snip.

The calendar features various societies posing naked, as well as a special Christmas shot of the porters.

Two of The Tab’s editors can also be spotted in states of undress.

The collection of pics, which varies from the saucy to the hilarious, has to be seen to be believed!

Read calendar creator Sarah Hansen’s article on why YOU should buy a calendar and do your bit for charity here.

Downing College rugby team pose for a naked scrum.

Emmalina was out shopping when she was approached by a representative on the lookout for potential models who didn’t fit the stereotypical image of the competition.

Sporty Lina, who is 5ft 5in tall and boasts a 36D bra size, keeps in shape by training with the GB handball squad and captaining the Cambridge Eton fives team.

Despite being so sporty, though, the second year SPSer has come under attack for being bigger that the average size eight model.

At 10 stone Lina is far from overweight, and remains unfazed by comments in the media.

“I don’t mind if people say I’m not pretty,” she said, “that’s a subjective thing. But it’s not on to say I’m fat – because I’m just not!

“I do loads of exercise, eat healthily, and I’ve got a good lifestyle – and I’m not overweight.”

Even more shockingly, Lina told The Tab how Students in Cambridge have jumped on the bitching bandwagon – and not just by focussing on her weight.

“One girl commented on me on a forum, suggesting my intelligence was low, because she had been in supervision with me,” she said. “I don’t understand how people have the time!”

Far from generating universal criticism, however, Lina’s looks have made her an international celebrity.

She was shocked to find her facebook inbox packed with hundreds of friend requests – all from Turkish men.

After newspapers in Turkey ran her story, she gained an enormous new fan base overnight.

“They all think I’m a massive celebrity” she said. “I’m working through replying to all the requests, one by one. They’re all very complimentary”.

Lina competes in the final today – June 14th – and if  successful will reach the fiercely competitive Miss England pageant itself.