Double Standard

As many of you have heard nude’s of Madonna just sold for quite a hefty sum at Christie’s. They were shot by Lee Friedlander and taken when M. was twenty and broke. I vaguely remember when Playboy published them some years ago and I think they were very nice photos from what I remember. I think she posed with a kitten in one of them and they weren’t the least bit raunchy. Indeed they were a capture of a young woman at the beginning of her sexual prime.
They’ve been branded as "explicit" in the articles about them but I don’t feel that way. First of all the word "explicit" gives one the feeling of something dirty and almost pornographic. Friedlander is a recognize artist of some merit who’s work has been shown at the International Museum of Photography. His work include some of the world best known Jazz musicians of his era. He was working primarily in 35MM B&W and featured his work of social landscapes. He is not your everyday pornographer though his work with Madonna was featured in Playboy.
As Madonna herself said, so what when she was asked about them. It’s not like Madonna didn’t use her sexuality to sell her art. Dare I say it, it’s not like she was some kind of virgin to begin with..., well maybe a long time ago. It isn’t like she was exploiting herself she was using her assets to help make a name of herself first as a dancer then a singer. It’s not like Vanessa Williams who was exploited by an unscrupulous photographer who sold her images to Bob Guccione and ruined her status as the first black Miss America. I fail to see any double standard here.
Although the situation was almost the same, two young struggling kids who needed some cash it isn’t the same to me. Vanessa’s career was derailed by those photos and real harm was done to her. Though her images were vastly more "explicit" they were tame by today’s standards. Much was made of the lesbian quality of them and they were exploited by a magazine for profit. Here was a young woman who was struggling to pull herself up by her bootstraps. A life lesson for all the young people out there, photo’s last forever. Be very careful who photographs you in a compromising positions. I know that a lot of kids these days figure what the hell, if Paris can do them a make a fortune why not?
Ms. Hilton come from a background of riches, her grandfather created his wealth in the hotel business and his heirs have lacked for nothing except good sense and class. It is so dangerous these days for young people, here we’ve glamorized the Paris’s and the Brittany’s so now the very young are posting nude shots of themselves or their friends on cell-phones and bringing the wrath of the authorities on themselves and playing around with being branded a sex criminal. We’ve created a monster of outrage and disapproval while condoning the very behavior that we are attempting to stamp out. We have created this ourselves by not having the honesty to explain to our children how human beings work and what may work best for them. Kids will be kids and explore their sexuality whether we like it or not, whether we understand it or not. People change as they grow older but now the cost are so high for that life lesson to sink in.