A UNIVERSITY student newspaper has been pulled from the shelves because of a controversial cover featuring 18 vaginas.

The editors of Sydney University's Honi Soit publication said they published the graphic edition in order to make a statement about how vaginas have become "artificially sexualised ... or stigmatised".

"We are tired of having to attach anxiety to our vaginas," the editors wrote in a lengthy Facebook post.

"We are tired of vaginas either being artificially sexualised (see: porn) or stigmatised (see: censorship and airbrushing".

The post continued: "Don't you dare tell me my body offends you."

One of the magazine's ten editors, Mariana Podesta-Diverio, told news.com.au all 4000 copies of the paper had been seized by the university's Student Representative Council.

She said the editors were seeking independent legal advice but believed they may have to pulp the newspapers or remove the covers of each one.

The lewd parts of the cover were initially covered with black bars at the SRC's insistence.

The magazines were later recalled after it was discovered the bars were see through.

Update: all the Honis on campus are being seized by the SRC, guillotining pending because of the transparency of the black bars #vaginasoit — Honi Soit (@honi_soit) August 21, 2013

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Originally published as Paper pulled over vaginas on cover