4SRS, A 12 year old can figure it out
Worlds collide?
In reading the blogosphere today, I came across this post by Tavi Gevinson. If you don't know who Tavi is, she's the child-genius of fashion blogging. She is speaking out against women in the fashion world (specifically, models) who are made to feel uncomfortable by Big Name Fashion Photographer Terry Richardson.
If you don't follow fashion, Terry Richardson is officially The Shit in that industry. In both meanings of the term. He does all the big magazines, all the big ad campaigns, is super SUPER popular, and also a Grade+ jackass.
In her post, Tavi says, among other things: Ah, blaming the victim. A personal favorite of mine!
"You can always say no. It's the girl's fault for not saying no. There is a choice. The girl could've refused."...the girl should never be put in the position in which she has to refuse. I mean, sure, she could just not say yes, but there's another person to blame, and that would be the person who could just not pressure a girl into performing those kinds of acts. Remember him? And for what reason, other than selfish pleasure? Nevermind the emotional damage it can do to a person. I don't think its purpose is in the quality of the photos -- nudity in fashion is no longer shocking. And as for the kind of things he has asked models to do to him, you don't need to get some action in order to take a head-on picture of someone against a wall.
...
"It's fun! Uncle Terry said it's fun and everyone likes it!" Know who didn't say it's fun and everyone likes it? The people who had the opposite of fun and did not like it at all! Who are risking a lot in saying what they're saying, whether it's true or not, and I kind of feel like it's true! Go reread those articles! (The stuff with Abbey Lee and others -- I can believe that that's fun and it wasn't manipulative or anything, because they've said so themselves. But as for the people who have done the same things but without all the fun and willingness and have talked about it, I'll take their word.)...
And, let's clarify: you don't love women just because you have sex with them and like taking pictures of their ladyparts. I'm not saying that's all Richardson does, but "love" entails "respect" and also "the basic human decency to not use pictures of someone's lady parts for your photography show without her permission" and also "the basic human decency to not pressure a girl into giving you a hand job because OH MY GOD I WILL LITERALLY NOT BE ABLE TO PRESS THE FLASH BUTTON ON MY CAMERA UNLESS YOU TAKE NOTICE OF THE FACT THAT I HAVE NO PANTS ON. ALSO I'M A PROFESSIONAL."
She's 12, folks. Can we give her a round of applause, please? Her post is worth reading, because it is smart, and serious, and because she is taking a risk by putting it out there. She's a kid, but she really is the Darling of the fashion media right now. She was front row at some of the shows last year. She takes her job seriously. She's a girl. The world needs more girls like this, folks. Read her post, but warning: the shit that goes down in the fashion world is just as bad as you think it is.
ETA: She's 13 now, whatever.
This entry was originally posted at http://concinnity.dreamwidth.org/5178.html. Please comment there using OpenID.
In reading the blogosphere today, I came across this post by Tavi Gevinson. If you don't know who Tavi is, she's the child-genius of fashion blogging. She is speaking out against women in the fashion world (specifically, models) who are made to feel uncomfortable by Big Name Fashion Photographer Terry Richardson.
If you don't follow fashion, Terry Richardson is officially The Shit in that industry. In both meanings of the term. He does all the big magazines, all the big ad campaigns, is super SUPER popular, and also a Grade+ jackass.
In her post, Tavi says, among other things: Ah, blaming the victim. A personal favorite of mine!
"You can always say no. It's the girl's fault for not saying no. There is a choice. The girl could've refused."...the girl should never be put in the position in which she has to refuse. I mean, sure, she could just not say yes, but there's another person to blame, and that would be the person who could just not pressure a girl into performing those kinds of acts. Remember him? And for what reason, other than selfish pleasure? Nevermind the emotional damage it can do to a person. I don't think its purpose is in the quality of the photos -- nudity in fashion is no longer shocking. And as for the kind of things he has asked models to do to him, you don't need to get some action in order to take a head-on picture of someone against a wall.
...
"It's fun! Uncle Terry said it's fun and everyone likes it!" Know who didn't say it's fun and everyone likes it? The people who had the opposite of fun and did not like it at all! Who are risking a lot in saying what they're saying, whether it's true or not, and I kind of feel like it's true! Go reread those articles! (The stuff with Abbey Lee and others -- I can believe that that's fun and it wasn't manipulative or anything, because they've said so themselves. But as for the people who have done the same things but without all the fun and willingness and have talked about it, I'll take their word.)...
And, let's clarify: you don't love women just because you have sex with them and like taking pictures of their ladyparts. I'm not saying that's all Richardson does, but "love" entails "respect" and also "the basic human decency to not use pictures of someone's lady parts for your photography show without her permission" and also "the basic human decency to not pressure a girl into giving you a hand job because OH MY GOD I WILL LITERALLY NOT BE ABLE TO PRESS THE FLASH BUTTON ON MY CAMERA UNLESS YOU TAKE NOTICE OF THE FACT THAT I HAVE NO PANTS ON. ALSO I'M A PROFESSIONAL."
She's 12, folks. Can we give her a round of applause, please? Her post is worth reading, because it is smart, and serious, and because she is taking a risk by putting it out there. She's a kid, but she really is the Darling of the fashion media right now. She was front row at some of the shows last year. She takes her job seriously. She's a girl. The world needs more girls like this, folks. Read her post, but warning: the shit that goes down in the fashion world is just as bad as you think it is.
ETA: She's 13 now, whatever.
This entry was originally posted at http://concinnity.dreamwidth.org/5178.html. Please comment there using OpenID.