Dear Tavi,
Welcome aboard the Terry Richardson Hoopla Machine! Better late than never. May I quote your blog from yesterday?
“I know this won’t do anything. I kind of thought that the Not Okay stuff would end after all that hoopla but not really, apparently! And my writing this won’t change anything, and it probably does not make me look really good, and I can already see the comments reading “You feminists are so uptight!”
Listen: YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!!!!!
Go to your conference tomorrow and speak about Terry Richardson! Your voice will be heard because you are influentual! Devote your WHOLE SPEECH to Terry Richardson! Urge everyone to demand that this predator stop getting work from mainstream magazines and corporations like H&M!
Tell your audience and your mentors that you object to the pornification of fashion photography and the abuse of young models! Terry Richardon’s recent actions are an explicit mockery of the complaints about him. He is saying, Look! No one can stop me! But he CAN be stopped.
This is your moment, my dear! Use it!
Blessings and prayers for your courage to effect change,
SW
I second your request! Those pornographic pictures were/are horrifying! I don’t know how he gets away with all of this. But it won’t stop until the mainstream media boycotts him. How about a Facebook page called “Stop Terry Richardson!!”?
^ I’ll just second everything Sister Wolf says. You have the mic, you have the voice, the chance to speak out is yours.
I was thrilled that she wrote about that!
I was too. It completely changed the way I thought about her actually– that a 13-year old had the guts, eloquence, and enough of an opinion (most 13 year olds I know don’t) to say something like that.
I agree. Go Tavi Go. Be brave; be brilliant.
Yes! Go forth and make them hear, Tavi!!!
I do find it amusing that all of the 20-something, 3rd tier bloggers are FINALLY mentioning Pervy Terry, linking to Tavi’s post, etc. HA!! SW has been pissed off about this forever and has mobilized her readers to do something! It’s great that she wrote a post but I hope that Tavi takes the next step and gets her readers to protest, like we did.
I also read her words about Terry after I said that I was not a fan of Tavi. She does have a well spoken voice, and she seems to have more depth than most 13 year olds.
I hope her voice is heard on this one for sure.
HELL YES. tavi, continue to speak out against that creep.
too many people defend his crap as “art” but those pictures look like child porn. regardless of whether the model is legal, if you set out to make the model look like an adolescent in that setting – its beyond wrong.
thanks for linking, sister wolf!
I soooo agree with Sister Wolf, btw Sister, do you mind if i post the URGENT MESSAGE TO TAVI at the comment section of her blog? so she can read it? just to make sure, because one of the commentators at her blog already mentioned your blog… i really just want to make sure once again she gets it, thank you Sister, please reply me 😀
love ya
backspace – Of course, my intent is to reach her! Thanks!
Hi again Sis, I did it, i’ve posted a comment on her blog and e-mailed her..Let’s hope she read them
Did anyone ever think about contacting the authorities (NYPD Special Victims Unit- it does really exist). Maybe I will, since I do live in NY. Now I have something to do tomorrow instead of work.
I think it is an awful lot to ask of her but if she did speak out at the Gen-Y conference I would support it all the way.
Look, Tavi fucking rules. I somewhat disapproved of her before, because of…a lot of things, but I never commented when you left diatribes against her before because saying mean shit about a young girl is “something I won’t do.” Then last week (procrastinating at work), I clicked on her blog and read her long post about Sassy magazine and my heart just fucking melted. And now this. I fucking love her. God help me, I’m 20 years older than her, but I wish I could be that cool.
the real andrea – WOW, that would be awesome, just imagine!!!!
Joy D – Why an awful lot to ask of her??
annemarie – Oh dear, let’s not go overboard here. You’re cool enough, we don’t need you to be any cooler. xo
Now, that’s a real argument, Sister, “pornification of fashion photography” is the right way to put it.
Blimey if she does that would be bloody amazing and change the face of fashion photography!
Having dismissed Tavi prior to reading her comments on the ‘Richardson Hoopla’ yesterday, I now unreservedly withdraw my cynicism. The girl will deserve canonisation if she raises this subject at the Gen Y conference. Go Tavi!
Good on Tavi, finally one of the big bloggers with mainstream pull and industry attention decides to take a risk and use the audience they have for some good because they give a shit. Also, good on you, Sister Wolf! I think you’ve played quite a HUGE role in this yourself.
Well done to tavi for bringing it up, she’s still quite young but seems to have more guts than some of the other influential bloggers. She’s a smart girl who knows the difference between right and wrong and hasn’t been afraid to speak out about what she believes and possibly lose readers and make enemies as a consequence.
In saying that i do believe the real praise should go to jamie peck and bloggers like sister wolf who spread the story and their thoughts on this type of behaviour as unacceptable as soon as they heard the story. I find it abit depressing that some of her commenters seemed unaware of the whole thing before she wrote about it, it was out there, but they didn’t take heed until an influential blogger posted it, but if that’s what it takes to influence young girls that this type of behaviour is unacceptable, then so be it.
go tavi!
Why don’t you pick on someone your own age? I mean, if you can find someone that old to pick on, there are not many women around that can boast being as old as time itself.
I don’t know if all the weight of this matter should be placed on Tavi’s shoulders. It says a lot about the dreadfulness the fashion industry. There are so many adults with the power to do good – magazine editors, fashion designers, other bigwigs that all could have boycotted/filed charges against Richardson’s disgusting ass. But no, we must rely on a “little girl” to speak out against a sex offender. It’s tragic.
And now, now, Mutters. I know you are a troll, but you are just too pathetic! Haven’t you heard of taking your own advice? Your predictable insults and that dreadful comma splice have further convinced me that you are some sad, bitter, bepimpled teen. Leave the cuntiness to the adults and join some Facespace group where your ramblings will be considered the height of cool. I wish you the best of luck with your “writing.” You’re going to need it.
@ Vee – Just ignore it (mutterhals). It’s only here in a futile attempt to get traffic to its own pitiful little blog.
@HelOnWheels: Thanks, Hel. I shall take your advice and this is the last time it shall ever be directly addressed. 🙂
this morning* i had an epic dream wherein terry richardson died in the standard hotel and a roughly 13yo mexican chambermaid sang a song whose chorus was “terry, are you in a cool place now?” with the implication that, well, no, because, you know, hellfire. it was awesome.
*being also funemployed, it’s totally possible to have epic musical dreams at 1030am.
Tavi is such a riot grrrl, I love it. And yes to this post!
Oh, mutterhaals. I wanted to agree with you when Terry Richardson was originally brought up here, that we shouldn’t frame the issue as girls being feeble-minded enough for any man in the vicinity to manipulate. (It’s an employer abusing their authority and reputation to sexually humilate the underaged, to start. Let’s not forget interpreting mixed signals to think objectifying yourself is empowerment.) Rather than become an amusingly incoherent dissentient like David Duff, you flipped your switch to junior high mode. “Well your face is ugly! Nyah nyah!” Comment and criticize all you want, but you just sound petty and stupid and might as well go away until you think of something clever.
@ Vee, I agree that Tavi shouldn’t be held more responsible than the adults enabling Terry Richardson, but she has a good platform to reach those who might otherwise be targets of people like Terry. To tell the other fashion rookies what is and isn’t exploitation and why they should have the confidence not to be complicit.
I hope Tavi brings it up, like many of you. But I also understand that it’s a very difficult and brave thing to do. But I applaud her for writing about it. She’s definitely gained her popularity for a very good reason.
Tavi has been great lately. Her tumblr has all kind of anti-rape and feminist paraphernalia that really makes me happy about the world. I also think you should know that model Coco Rocha boycotts Terry Richardson. She did a photoshoot with him once early on in her career and didn’t like the way he worked and how she was portrayed. She now refuses to work with him.
Paula– really! I developed a soft spot for Coco Rocha ages ago when I saw a short interview with her in which she explained her meteoric rise to supermodeldom. Her mother made a brief comment, barely holding back the tears. I actually found it really moving myself, and I’m not wont to give a shit about 20 yr old supermodels. She seemed to be so free of neurosis or self-consciousness, so grounded, so happy, and so aware of the fact that she was happy (no faux-complaints here about fame or how “exhausting” the work is). Good for her giving the finger to TR. I’d expect nothing less from her.
^not to mention the fact that she was one of the first models to actually speak out, two years ago, about being pressured to be so thin that she was taking diuretics to stay at show weight.
Previously, I’d been a fan after she Irish-danced her way down a Jean-Paul Gaultier runway, but this just made me admire her so much. Her actually stepping up and saying she wouldn’t work with this piece of filth (when every other fashion professional who’s gone on the record about this, has only been an apologist for his “work”) , just cements that admiration even further into love.
Just to make one thing clear!!!
The Tavi post about TR came WEEKS after it had been all over the internet. Her post was not “brave” in the sense that it was not “risky” at all. It merely affirmed what the grown-ups have been screaming for several weeks.
The 200-plus comments she got in response to her post are comical in their adulation of her “courage.” It’s like writing about how bad Charles Manson is!
And yet I hoped she really had the guts to put her money where her mouth was. She didn’t. Her position as a bankable Gen Y Icon turned out to be more important.
Boo, Tavi. Yay, people who really do take risks in taking a stand BEFORE it’s the popular thing to do.
^precisely, Sister! In fact, it came right on the heels of a Jezebel post about his latest work of porn- I know because I’m a commenter on there, and I was surprised at all the grownups going ape because she posted about it- it was nothing more than what they themselves had been saying from Day 1 of the scandal breaking. And Jezebel is one of the most widely-read Gawker sites.
For what it’s worth, I’m still glad she posted about it though.
Come to think of it, ‘brave’ in this case would be Coco, who might have actually been putting her career at risk by speaking out about the shit she had to go through in order to do her job.
Sister you disappoint me, Tavi and her sponsored blog are simply awful.
I thought you would be the one to break the Tavi Love Chain. Guess Not! Bad Sister, bad!
I see no one particularly “brave’ in this story, did anyone complained about him to the police, I guess everyone has their “career” in so much regard, that they are willing to let it pass. I simply cannot get worked up about this.
Constance -We are in agreement, see my comment above (scroll up). I expressed no props, merely urged action. It was a futile hope that this kid had some real integrity.
Pffftthhh. I too hoped Tavi would step up and do the right thing. Oh well, back to ignoring her blog.
And now I have even more reason to like Coco Rocha! Bravo to her for being one of the truly brave people in this TR awfulness.
sister wolf – i think some people saw it as brave because she could be jeopardizing her future career in the fashion industry, burning bridges and what not. not because she was actually “speaking out” itself, but more so because she could anger a lot of his supporters who could be her future employers (e.g. anna wintour continues to hire TR despite his reputation)
make of that what you will.
mimi – But morality impels us to seek justice even as the possible expense of our career in fashion! That is the whole point!
14 is not too young for moral consciousness. Although of course, some people never achieve it.
Thank you for being involved, if only philosophically!
i didn’t know much about Terry Richardson till now (ok shoot me!) but this, Tavi’s post, & the girl shes recommended on twitter
opened by eyes
i can’t believe that magazines are peddling this porn!
what is wrong in the world when a 14 year old & only a handful of other people are blowing the lid off of this?
i’ve just emailed the CEO of Conde Nast. thanks for suggesting this to us.
In Tavi’s defense, she had a lot of anti terry stuff on her tumblr before it become a huge internet sensation. I guess she was just trying to culminate her thoughts in the best way possible to write a really articulate post about it. You can’t blame her for that
Her blog is pretty much just as good a venue for anti Terry Richardson campaigning as would be the press conference. Huge figures in fashion visit her blog. Rei Kawakubo seems to have, the mulleavies, the pop team…
There are so many perv photographers out there, but how does this one get away with it? How many girls have not yet come forward? It makes you wonder if he has done more than what the rest of you have spoken out about. Sicko!