Nudies are Neato!

Heterosexual women are the usual subjects when discussing body image, as exemplified by women's magazines, TV shows like How To Look Good Naked, and the renovated Dove ad campaign. But it's not an exclusive problem. 

Every[body] has their issues.

The most recent issue (1015) of The Advocate interviews twenty-two LGBT men and women in a segment called "The Naked Truth". Every interviewee immensely reveals all in their photographs and their interviews. Claiming likes and dislikes, the nudes tell their stories via their bodies. An African American man admits to idealizing white features of the Ken doll. A transwoman wishes she had a smaller frame. A fan of The L Word said she's never going to look like those femme bourgeoisie lesbians. This piece allows discussion of body issues relevant to the LGBT community. The people portrayed are not over-sexualized (like most LGBT bodies in pop-culture). Their nudity is easily taken seriously and provides a sense of honesty and a place for communion.

India Vogue Crosses Class Boundaries

In relation to the fashion debate from the last post, here is a great article in NYTimes criticizing India Vogue for depicting pictures of lower-class Indians with designer clothes. Here is an example from the magazine:

"a child from a poor family modeled a Fendi bib, which costs about $100"

The argument from the editors of India Vogue was that they were using real people, not models (which would normally be celebrated) and people shouldn't take fashion "too seriously". Are we also not supposed to take the people depicted in the photos too seriously? Considering the magazine doesn't identify the people 

 in the photographs (only the accessories), maybe we're not. The article sited that nearly half of India's population lives on less than $1.25 a day.

Again, I would like to ask...how do you feel about these images?

"A man models a Burberry umbrella that costs about $200"