Model Joanna Krupa — you may recognize her from Dancing With The Stars — is undeniably a beautiful woman. She is also the cover girl of December’s issue of Playboy.
This week she spoke out about posing nude and characterized some feminists as “self-important” because of their viewpoints on Playboy.
“I think they suffer from lack of knowledge and tunnel vision. How many of those self-important, so-called ‘feminists’ have been on the set when a celebrity shot a Playboy spread? There you go. What is feminist about discriminating a photo shoot just because it involves female (partial) nudity that happens to give men pleasure? Pathetic,” Krupa told Tarts in an exclusive interview.
The opposing camps are so clearly defined on the topics of posing nude and porn. Many women feel that by claiming the role, making the conscious choice to show their bodies, they are no longer being objectified. Here’s the point I think Krupa is missing: Yes, some feminists do take issue with the whole centerfold image. Their objections don’t stem from a place of believing that breasts should stay under cover; it’s about believing that we, women, have so much more to offer than spread legs and augmented breasts.
On a personal level, I want my daughter to receive the message from me loud and clear: she can blaze her own trail in this world, not one that is created, defined and managed by a man. Women who actively pursue a stint in Playboy may believe that they are writing their own ticket, but the images in these magazines, the makeup and hair, the most commercially desirable body types are male-driven. No matter who is making the choice for a woman to disrobe, she’s still doing it for a man’s gratification. Why are women so focused on satisfying a guy?
Krupa went on to point out that posing for Playboy is one opportunity in which women get paid more than men for the same tasks.
“There are several great reasons why female celebs line up to shoot Playboy: finally a woman gets paid more than a man for comparable work, she gets to set the rules, gets to be in a real team work with other women, as many key positions at Playboy are in fact held by women!” Krupa adds. “She brings in her creative ideas, gets involved in the photo selection and ends up with something she co-created through and through.”
Rather than choosing the Playboy route as the career path that allows women to succeed, to exceed the monetary accomplishments of men, let’s instead use our talents and skills in industries that make a difference in this world. Women have made so many advances in the past hundred years; it’s time to flourish on our own merit and abilities instead of continuing to rely on being the eye candy guys like.
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