On that whole nudity thing...
I realize I'm a bit late with this, but it's something I've just been sort of stewing over. Am I the only one who felt a bit "meh" and then a bit queasy about the whole Vanity Fair naked Hollywood issue? I would blame it on PMS but I've felt this way since I bought it, so I can't have been in a bad mood that long...lol!
So, firstly, big dealie about the cover. Scarlett and Keira, naked. Naked enough they folded over the cover and sold it in a concealing wrapper naked. Now, there was supposed to be a third girl, and they decided in their infinite wisdom that two nekkid women = lesbians. Mind you, that's maybe how some people would interpret it--and I only agree on the level that it would seem like "Man's fantasy of lesbians" rather than, you know, *actual* lesbians.
Anyway. So, to alleviate this apparent problem, they decided to throw designer Tom Ford in there. Fully clothed. So, two girls looking like lesbians is bad, but an image that shows a man in complete power and control with two women exposing themselves for his pleasure is OK. And I dunno why, but it bugs me even more that Tom Ford is gay, because it's like, shit, women are even subjugated by gay men. How nice.
Is there anyone out there that can explain to me why we couldn't have had, say, I dunno, one of the boys in the mag that appears semi-nude to appear on the cover with the girls? Or maybe two of the guys? Whoot! Then it would just be a pile-up of pretty, how is that bad? They don't even have to be nude, if that image is just too sexual. Scantily clad can be just as sexy, which some of the interior images prove.
So, that bugged me. The other thing that bugs me is that there are more women naked in this edition than men. And for the male stars, they threw naked women into the pic--again, with the men fully clothed. There's even a gigantic enlargement of a woman's breast in one of the pics. Hello? *fumes*
And there's the Eric Bana issue. Eric in a speedo, hallelujah! But no, Eric is too modest and wanted to wear a robe. Fine. They shot the pic with him in a robe. But the gal that didn't want to do the cover nude? Well, she just wasn't on the cover then. Why didn't they put *her* fully clothed in the pic instead of Tom Ford? And meanwhile, she's the punch line of all these jokes now, for bailing on a nude photo shoot, but I don't hear Jay Leno making any jokes about Eric Bana not wanting to be in just a speedo. Maybe I missed them, but somehow I doubt it.
So, is this just me? Am I some raging lunatic feminist for viewing it this way? And honestly, I've nothing against nudity, obviously. Women are pretty. Great! I just want *equality*. If the dudes aren't taking their clothes off, then the women shouldn't have to either. And if you're throwing naked women into the men's shots, then throw some naked men into the women's, right? But no, that would be treating a man like an *object*, and we can't have that. *fumes more*
Well, anyway, that's just my yearly rant about something that's been bugging me. I'm just curious if this bothers anyone else, or if it's just me. And if you're thinking, OMFG@#$%!PRUDE!!!, erm, just tell me nicely? Hee...
And all that said, I thought it was a lot of hype for a few pics in the back of an issue full of ads. And while there were some nice photos, I didn't see anything that screamed out "OMG CREATIVE GENIUS!"
What did you all think?
ETA: lamath pointed up this lovely article from Salon.com about the Vanity Fair issue and OMG THANK YOU I feel vindicated now. Really well written piece, too, just love it.