The Pornography of War (Literally)
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Posted by Lucinda Marshall September 20th, 2007 |
Cross-posted from Feminist Peace Network:
A hearty congragulations to Vogue Italia for what is the most obscene, inappropriate fashion spread I have every seen. Shot after suggestive shot shows pornographic images of models being ravaged/lusted after by ’soldiers’, some of the shots are quite violent in nature. This comment on Detainees says it all:
“Steven Meisel’s new spread in Vogue Italia, “Make Love Not War,” is pornographic, not because it features nudity, but because it glamorizes an already obscene, criminal and tragic situation. US soldiers in Iraq are already “making love,” but not to supermodels. They are using Iraqis as prostitutes when not raping, sodomizing and sexually torturing them. We’re not cool lovers but angry sadists.”
September 20th, 2007 12:32
If you think that ever soldier rapes iraqis and sleeps with prostitutes your wrong. If you think there are no iraqi women who look like supermodels your wrong. if you think that this spread is wrong your wrong. It’s very well photographed and if you stop to actually look past the fact that they have on some army uniforms and have an american flag in the background you would see that.
September 20th, 2007 12:42
“If you think that ever soldier rapes iraqis and sleeps with prostitutes your wrong. If you think there are no iraqi women who look like supermodels your wrong.”
That isn’t what I said, and whether or not this spread is well photographed is beside the point. What this is about is the glorification of the military sexual exploitation of women that is indeed going on in Iraq, and indeed has happened in every military campaign that has ever occurred.
September 20th, 2007 13:14
What is particularly disturbing is the picture a clearly distraught/ disheveled/ crying model next to a half naked solider with a look of post coital bliss on his face. If this photo is glorifying rape, I don’t know what is.
Furthermore, I disagree that the spread is well photographed. Any undergrad who has taken photography 101 would know better than to produce some of these cluttered, confused shots - especially the ones centered on girls humping soldiers.
September 21st, 2007 01:43
[…] Vogue Italia, I think you just outdid yourself. I’m with Lucinda. […]
September 21st, 2007 04:32
Oh, well, there are AMERICAN FLAGS in the picture, so that makes it OKAY!! WOWEE!
So I guess you’re defending/advocating the rape of American service women by American service men, then, because an American flag is involved?
The spread is nauseating.
September 21st, 2007 07:16
Umm, with the exception of the one pic in there, I don’t get where you get “Rape” from….
Sorry. I can see people are worked up about this, but I just don’t see it. Horrible Composition, Tacky Milieu, Poor Presentation, yes, all these things, but rape?!?
September 21st, 2007 07:27
Umm, with the exception of the one pic in there, I don’t get where you get “Rape” from….
Well, I imagine that’s because you identify with the male soldiers rather than with the women who have been made to dance, gyrate, and submit to them under the penalty of implied violence. Women in a war zone do what the men with the bombs and guns tell them to do. That’s where the rape comes in.
September 21st, 2007 07:37
[…] - “Pornography of War (Literally)” […]
September 22nd, 2007 15:45
I see Jack’s side. Well, I’m more neutral, but Jack is closer to my view.
Yes, women are forced to do things by soldiers in a time of war, no, they don’t smile and enjoy themselves throughout it. It’s emotionally torturous and at most I’d imagine a sort of numbness versus a, “hey, I’m being molested and emotionally scarred, I’ll just do what I can to enjoy myself!
”
I see one shot of obviously glorified rape (which I will say is one too many), and many shots of what high fashion modeling (and any other sort of sales business) is … sex sells, pretty girls sell, patriotism sells.
September 22nd, 2007 15:58
Another point of view brought to my attention: maybe it’s not glorification but a statement on male agression in the US, seeing as how it’s a spread in a magazine in a Euro market and not an American one.
(pardon the double post)
September 24th, 2007 07:01
Yes, women are forced to do things by soldiers in a time of war, no, they don’t smile…
They do if the men with the bombs and the guns tell them to.
And they usually do tell them to smile (shit, I’ve had random men on the street order me to smile, so let’s not act as if it’s so far-fetched) because men feel less like rapists if their victims are smiling.
That’s also the reason prostitutes smile and act like they’re enjoying themselves. If they don’t smile and make the john feel like a rapist (which every john is) the women may end up getting hurt for sullying the john’s self-perception.
September 29th, 2007 05:57
[…] A Vogue italiana publicou um ensaio fotográfico intitulado “Make love not war”. O famoso fotógrafo de moda, Steven Meisel é o autor. Meisel também é conhecido pelo livro Sex de 1992, em que ele retratou Maddona. O ensaio desagradou a muita gente. Veja como reagiram alguns blogs, aqui e aqui. As fotos podem ser vistas aqui. O blog agradece a Laura, lá de Colônia, Alemanha. […]
September 29th, 2007 08:02
Why would images of models being ‘ravaged/raped’ be pornographic? There are no sexual acts, there’s a little nudity, but it’s mostly only very emotional, which porn isn’t in my opinion. Of course, there will be sicko’s that get completely turned on by the sight of a ravaged, grieving chick, only minutes after she’s been raped by some soldier, but there aren’t many of those people. Most people won’t get horny of it, and will just be shocked and amazed by the cocktail of emotions and clash of settings that the photographer has created. Your own reaction illustrates that perfectly. There’s a lot of ironie in the pictures, though I must say he’s kept the meaning of the photographs (probably deliberately) quite vague.
Really gives you an big opening of attending these photografs emotionally and intellectually, which is a good thing in art. Don’t listen to the what the media say on this, what does this do to YOU?
September 29th, 2007 08:10
“What this is about is the glorification of the military sexual exploitation of women that is indeed going on in Iraq, and indeed has happened in every military campaign that has ever occurred”
Why do you see a glorification in it? You don’t see the symbolism in the disarmed soldiers and the use of an American flag as a blindfold? There’s no violence in the pictures, but disarmament. America is turning a blind eye on what’s happening in Iraq. It’s not essentially about raping or sex, it’s about not having a clue about what’s going on and not caring, because you (or not you, but, ‘the american public’) is being held dumb about it. Noticed the catatonic girl in the last picture being carried from the field of battle by a soldier? They’re flanked by a smothered American flag. If that doesn’t say it..
We, the Dutch, politically supported the war in Iraq, but that’s just politicians doing their thing. The people don’t agree. I’m proud that the European people can launch a powerfull protest like this in a high profile, international magazine.