Controversial French Vogue cover
Glorification of domestic violence: The latest issue of Vogues Hommes International (a Paris-based edition targeted to men) features a striking image on its cover — of model Stephanie Seymour being choked by Brazilian model Marlon Teixeira.
Anti-violence groups in New York are protesting the cover, pointing out that choking is sometimes considered a predictor of future, more violent domestic abuse. As the groups Sanctuary for Families, Safe Horizons, NOW NYC and Equality Now wrote in a letter to publisher Condé Nast: "While this cover was perhaps intended to shock and thrill potential readers, the truly shocking fact is that it glorifies violence against women as an act of love."
Personal Comment: To me it looks as though he’s so under her spell and just trying to hold her still to nibble at her ear. I love for my Subs to show initiative that way!
What do you think?
I don't even see a choke at all. I see his hand caressing her chin and throat. Sometimes if one looks for something hard enough, it will always be there, just like the kind of people (in Oregon) who say peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are racist.
ReplyDeleteI think it's all an act. Those models are just taking the photographer's direction, and the photog is simply wanting to make a shocking photo of those two.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of shocking photos, what's your opinion over the flap of Princess Kate being photoed by a paparazzo from a kilometer away while sunbathing topless next to Wills? You think that paparazzo stooped to a new low just to get his money shot? As a journalist, I'm appalled that someone would use a 1200mm lens to shoot onto someone else's private property just to create a scandal. If it was to cover a legitimate news story, like a drug raid or a fire, that's totally different.
Yes, it is an act. Acts have consequences. In the industrial world, one woman in five has been sexually assaulted; one in four, physically assaulted. In the third world, these numbers are much higher and many women in sub-Sahara Africa insert anti-rape devices in their vaginas frequently. A prestigious publication with glamorous people simulating possible violence encourages this behaviour against women. Young men learn how to treat women from their families and the media, dominantly. Vogue is not some pulp magazine used by down-and-outers to jack off. It is thought to be fashionable, including its covers.
DeleteShock is fine in its place, but this is not its place.
Full disclosure: I have bits and pieces men like to play with and access and I spend much time, professionally, in an ER. That sets my view of violence of any sort.