Canada’s second-oldest magazine, “The Beaver,” is changing its name after 90 years because the title is too often censored by online porn filters, preventing it from reaching new online readers.
The Winnipeg-based magazine was launched in 1920 to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Hudson’s Bay Company and the fur trade that led to the early exploration of Canada.
But in modern times, the term “beaver” has become slang for female genitalia.
“The Beaver was an impediment online,” publisher Deborah Morrison told AFP.
“Several readers asked us to change the title because their spam filters at home or at work were blocking it,” she said. “I’ve even had emails bounce back because I had inadvertently typed the term in the heading.”
“Nearly a century ago, it probably seemed the perfect name for a magazine about the fur trade and Canada’s northwest frontier. There was only one interpretation for the word then.
“But you’re likely to find a lot of (porn) sites now if you search for the title of our history magazine online,” she said.
The magazine that chronicles Canada’s past will publish its last issue under the old banner in February/March. Thereafter, it will be known under the less evocative name of Canada’s History.