The style blog Pipeline asks whether the new spate of erotic magazines “blur the line” between smut and art. I’ve noticed latley that you can’t get away from at least partial nudity in fashion layouts and fashion advertising. While US Vogue is still rather staid, the French, Italian, Australian and Japanese versions all feature racy editorial photos of semi-naked models engaged in bondage-like situations or pseudo lesbian embrace.
The magazines listed by Pipeline are mostly aimed at men, and I would just call it Arty Smut, which isn’t one of my interests but I guess I prefer it to Artless Smut.
What I’m wondering is, how would men be affected if they were bombarded all the time with images of young semi-nude guys with perfect bodies?
Here’s one right now! Maybe he’s selling that red thing, but who cares? He’s young, he’s perfect, and most men will never, ever come close to looking like this. If men had to see images like this all the time, I think it might wreak havoc with their self-confidence. Maybe we’d see more anorexic men. Maybe they’d ask each other, Do my abs look too flabby? What about my pecs?
I’m not bothered by images of beautiful nude women. I’d just like to have a choice whether or not to see them. If Vogue isn’t safe any more, there will be no respite anywhere unless we keep our eyes shut.
It would be nice once in a while to get to forget about tits and ass and how ours measure up. Men, don’t snicker! You could be next. Meanwhile, try spending some time here.
I prefer the staid take on fashion photography. Helmut Newton has a lot to answer for.
Make Do – Hahahahahahaha! Amen.
Men’s bodies.. at least as images – will never be a commodity.. except perhaps among gay men.
For you ladies would rather look at hand bags.
An excerpt from an article:
Regular readers of newspapers and magazines will have noticed two apparently separate phenomena the last few years. The first, that no matter whether you are glancing through a men´s magazine, a women´s magazine, or even a supposedly gender-neutral publication, such as Time magazine, what you tend to see as eye catchers, are women´s bodies. Society, indeed, seems to be breast fixated. Of course, the fact that men like to see naked women in their magazines is understandable. But when you open a women´s magazine, what do you see? Only beautiful, lightly-dressed women! That women only seem to want to see the bodies of other women in their own magazines has always been a source of amusement and some mystery to me. And that these images of women´s bodies are examples to women readers, symbols of the ideal that should be emulated if possible, is of course one explanation for their dominating presence. But, as is so often also explained, women are not especially interested in seeing images of the male body – and that is the second interesting phenomena of which I spoke: women´s relatively small interest in seeing naked men. But interestingly, when discussing the attractiveness of the male body, when pressed to answer which part of the male body they do prefer to look at, a majority of women usually reply, “the chest, the shoulders, the arms, and especially the buttocks.” (..the instinct to diaper?!?) ..
for more see: http://www.dextervandango.com/view.do?contentId=25&menuId=25
I have to say – if I’m looking at a fashion magazine I want to see, you know, fashion, as in actual clothes? I don’t mind the odd pair of tits popping up here or there on a fashion spread, but sometimes they are barely wearing anything at all, which seems pointless unless they can sell you that body, in which case I’ll take one thanks!
Men would just imagine that they look exactly like that! LoL!
I’m with Queen Michelle on this one. Looking and feeling great CAN be about sexuality and/or sensuality, but it doesn’t HAVE to be. And all that nudity seems to be forcing the connection.
I am intrigued by the male body image question, but just don’t feel qualified to weigh in. I know plenty of guys who obsess about their figures – married, single, gay, heterosexual – but I don’t know anything about the roots of that obsession.
Supposedly manorexia is on the rise because of this kind of thing. Somehow I just don’t care much though.
I’ve noticed recently that nude female bodies are inescapable, thanks to my 7 and 8-year olds pointing it out to me. Every time I leave a W or French Vogue lying around the house I catch my son snickering at all the boobs on display. I guess I prefer my smut to be arty, but some of it seems designed solely to titillate and the clothes are entirely beside the point.
No one has adequately address the issue of man boobs. It seems to me that a lot of men have acquired mini-mounds—even men who are of normal weight. Is it all the hormones in our food? I don’t know, but I may have to do a photo study.
Blonde pubes – yeugh!
xx
That Beautiful Men website has post after post devoted to Ryan Lochte!! And to swimmers. I’m much happier now. Thank you, SW!
As I puff on a ciggie and suck back another beer, I praise the sweet baby Jesus for dem tall and skinny genes. I <3 smut, always have, always will.
HelOnWheels makes a good point. I thought what’s up with Ryan Lochte dude, he’s not all that. Try http://yoshia.tumblr.com/
or http://modelsbydidio.blogspot.com/
Imelda Matt – although there are some gorgeous photos (and men and gorgeous photos of gorgeous men) there are not enough swimmers’ bodies. I’m rather partial to those, thus my happiness over the Lochte photos: it’s not him as much as the physique that results from swimming.