Jessie Lunderby, a 21 year old detentions officer from Arkansas, is currently on paid administrative leave pending the country sheriff's office decision on whether or not her nude photo shoot for Playboy's "Cyber Girl of the Week" violated the law enforcement ethics code. Somewhat problematic with the sheriff's office criticism is that Lunderby informed her superiors before doing the shoot, allowing them the time to let her know if this was some that she should not do. Instead, the sheriff's office waited until the photos had gone up on the Playboy website to inform her that her conduct was inappropriate, and that she might be fired for posing nude.
Now I full-heartedly consider myself to be a sex-positive feminist. Do I find Playboy to be misogynistic and demeaning, and Hugh Heffner to be a disgusting, though savvy, businessman)? Most certainly, however I do firmly believe in this woman's right to pose nude if that is what she wishes to do. I cannot imagine that being a female corrections officer brings in that large of an income, and with a husband and an 18-month old son it is certainly understandable why she would choose to do the photo shoot for financial reasons alone, never mind her personal attitude towards nude modelling.
In the various articles/clips I've seen about this, I've yet to find anyone who could explain how Lunderby's modeling would impact her job performance. As far as I can tell the argument against her is almost entirely a knee-jerk morality judgement (though the delay in informing her that this was inappropriate makes the whole situation appear like a set up to create an excuse to have her fired).
If she was working with children, then -maybe- I could understand the sheriff's office reaction; I would still disagree, but it would at least make more sense. However as presumably the prison she works at is for adults, who undoubtedly have had their share of sexual experiences, it seems somewhat ridiculous to claim that these photos will cause her to lose her authority with the inmates. That is demeaning both to her as it implies that she is not qualified enough to successfully do her job (in an environment that is definitely dominated by men), and to the inmates, as it presumes that they are not mature human beings who can understand that the officer shuttling them to and from the courthouse might be a sexual person. And who is to say that the inmates would have even seen the photos? Last time I checked not every male on the planet has a paid subscription to Playboy.com.
It sounds like if she gets fired, Lunderby will be taking this issue (and others) to court, and suing the county. Good for her. I hope that she gets the compensation that she deserves.
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