Even before Kim Kardashian “broke the internet” with her
nude photos for PAPER magazine, people, particularly young women, started
talking about the sexualization of women in the media. Such was the case for
photographer Krista Rudolph who decided to use the medium to express the
hypocrisy in the portrayal of women’s sexuality. Rudolph designed a series of side-by-side photos with men and women posed in the
same outfits and positions (which can be seen here).
On her website Rudolph said “The idea behind this is
that women are frequently oversexualized in the media; you rarely see a
magazine cover or advertisement containing women where they are not shown in a
sexual manner. However, men are not constantly seen that way in the media in
the same way that women are….I did this to show how ridiculous it would be if
we put men in the same situations as we put women in the media.” The series of photos is a stunning visualization of the hypocrisy often surrounding women's bodies and how they are portrayed and often used in media, particularly in advertising. It represents one of the many great contributions from young women to the conversation surrounding representation of women that's taking place right now. Viral photos of Kim Kardashian may get people talking, but it is work like Rudolph's that will keep up talking about this critical topic.
Take a look at the photos and Rudolph's description of the work.
I guarantee it’s worth your time. You can also see more about Rudolph's work on her website.
