A typical Terry shot.
I want a female version of Terry Richardson. This doesn't mean that I want some woman to snap snapshots of other women in provocative poses, various states of undress, and under harsh lights with their backs arched. No. I don't want a woman to shoot Maxim magazine covers, I want there to be a female version of Maxim magazine (only much smarter), and not just for gay boys (sorry boys, I love you, but...), but for girls, for women. I want men. I want them muscled, but approachable. I want them tattooed, perhaps. And I want them to be in front of a female's lens. I want the female photographer to have her foot on their chest while she shoots them. I want them to maybe, just maybe (cover your ears/eyes mom...) to be performing acts of pleasure on the female photographer as she snap, snap, snap-happies away.
Let's switch sides, shall we? Girl, you grab Terry's face and he can lick your hand.
We are all very familiar with Dov's work, are we not? Where are his female counterparts?
Have you seen Terry Richardson's work? It's great, but a tad on the sexist side. It's full of self-fulfilling assignments. If he didn't also do photos of guys mackin' on each other, I'd not be as big of a fan as I am. The photos are stuffed to the brim with actual sex; With cleavage for miles, with his hands--and mouth--on the models he's shooting, with so much maleness marketed to males. I don't have a problem with the sex, or with Terry. In all fairness, Terry's not the only one wielding a lens and his--ahem--member at the same time. The infamous Dov Charney of American Apparel has a very similar style. All of those girls spread out on all of those beds, cropped in frames suggesting explicit behavior beyond the edges, in all of those stretchy clothes. Then there's Japan's Yasumasa Yonehara who is taking care of the Eastern side of things. His photos are rendered even more dirty by the wide-eyed innocence and frilly, girlishness of his subjects. So there are at least three men out there making a killing by putting hot, real girls in front of their lenses and usually getting more out of the photoshoots than just some photos. Good for them, but here's my question: Where is the female counterpart to these men? Where is the woman photographer shooting boys? Where are the hot, real boys that appeal to the straight girls? I demand to know. I demand that this come to be.
Some shots by Yone.
Oh, and don't give me the old "But guys are different, they like looking at that sort of thing. Women wouldn't go for it." B.S.! Yes, they would! They just haven't been able to say they would without being called sexual slurs. Women like what you do, boys. They like it just as much; and believe me, you'll like the ones who like what you do even better than those who claim innocence or disgust over provocative images, over sexual content. It's time for women to have their stake in exploiting hot boys. Let's balance this thing out. The men on display in fashion mags are greased and geared for the men who take their photos. It's just not fitting the bill anymore. So this is an open call to female photographers: If you have the skills, pick up a camera and wield it like it's power. Hunt for boys with your lens. Snap their photos from just inches away. It'll be an easy kill, and I'm willing to bet the house that you'll make a killing with your prints. Let's get it done, girls! Let's get it done.
