Blog Against Sexism Day
Via green LA girl, I learned today is Blog Against Sexism Day. March 8 was chosen because it's also International Women's Day. Bloggers, particularly those who rarely or never write about sexism, are asked to write against it today, and to post their blog's link or e-mail vegankid, the Blog Against Sexism Day organizer.
Funnily enough, I wrote a bit about a magazine cover I found sexist just yesterday. I love music magazines and the covers themselves are interesting. I don't consider Rolling Stone an especially good music magazine, but it's certainly a popular one, and their covers have long struck me as... interesting. I took a look at the covers of their 2005 issues... out of 25 issues, 4 women landed the cover on their own: Gwen Stefani, Jessica Alba, Evangeline Lilly (for "The Hot List" issue), and Madonna.
All are pictured flashing some skin, in suggestive poses. Only two are even musicians, though it's true that Rolling Stone is more of a pop culture magazine than a music magazine. When a man lands the cover of Rolling Stone alone, if he's posed suggestively (which is rare), even with a naughty headline like "Sex on the Beach with Orlando Bloom", he generally still gets to keep his shirt.
More often, when a man appears alone on a Rolling Stone cover, the focus is on his face.
This same is usually true of male cover subjects who are no longer among the living (Bob Marley excepted).
Rolling Stone (and its readers) might say, hey, female flesh sells. Then why the arguably unsexy Rolling Stones and McCartney covers? Wouldn't a semi-clad model on the cover of those issues have moved more copies?
And why did Meg White have to hide behind Jack?
Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn were on an issue last year, ditto for Darth Vader and King Kong. A lot of excellent women musicians haven't been deemed coverworthy by Rolling Stone.
Sonic Youth - Swimsuit Issue (from Dirty)
Funnily enough, I wrote a bit about a magazine cover I found sexist just yesterday. I love music magazines and the covers themselves are interesting. I don't consider Rolling Stone an especially good music magazine, but it's certainly a popular one, and their covers have long struck me as... interesting. I took a look at the covers of their 2005 issues... out of 25 issues, 4 women landed the cover on their own: Gwen Stefani, Jessica Alba, Evangeline Lilly (for "The Hot List" issue), and Madonna.
All are pictured flashing some skin, in suggestive poses. Only two are even musicians, though it's true that Rolling Stone is more of a pop culture magazine than a music magazine. When a man lands the cover of Rolling Stone alone, if he's posed suggestively (which is rare), even with a naughty headline like "Sex on the Beach with Orlando Bloom", he generally still gets to keep his shirt.
More often, when a man appears alone on a Rolling Stone cover, the focus is on his face.
This same is usually true of male cover subjects who are no longer among the living (Bob Marley excepted).
Rolling Stone (and its readers) might say, hey, female flesh sells. Then why the arguably unsexy Rolling Stones and McCartney covers? Wouldn't a semi-clad model on the cover of those issues have moved more copies?
And why did Meg White have to hide behind Jack?
Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn were on an issue last year, ditto for Darth Vader and King Kong. A lot of excellent women musicians haven't been deemed coverworthy by Rolling Stone.
Sonic Youth - Swimsuit Issue (from Dirty)
posted by trill42 | 9:00 PM
2 Comments:
Fascinating. But ALLLLLL I have to say (with no complaints) is:
http://coverstories.barewalls.com/product/framer.exe?ARTWORKID=174550&ITEMID=174550
interesting post! point taken.
Now, Heather, you know I'm not saying RS never posts provocative pics of men! There are plenty of undressed men on Rolling Stone covers. The Red Hot Chili Peppers sure got a lot of attention for stripping on this cover...
There are differences though. First, male musicians are on the cover much more often. RS could blame the disparity on men being more successful in the music business, but why contribute to the inequity?
Second, to land a Rolling Stone cover on her own, it seems more important that a woman have the right "look" and be willing to pose in a certain way than that she have talent. It seems like men are more often exempt from this game...
A cover like the "Housewife of the Year" Jessica Simpson cover ... it is what it is. Rolling Stone's priorities are pretty obvious sometimes, and credibility as a real music magazine doesn't seem high on the list.
(I know you said point taken, but I was on a roll!)
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