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LOVE BITES

Della Grace
Gay Men’s Press, London 1991

Perhaps the first published photographic monograph of lesbian sexuality in the world made from an insider’s perspective. In the early 90’s ‘Love Bites’ generated a great deal of controversy and censorship in both the mainstream and lesbian/gay media. In the USA it was banned by Customs & Excise for two weeks. In Canada they cut the most ‘offensive’ photographs out of the book before selling it. In England it was sold by mainstream booksellers but not in lesbian or gay bookshops who protested they couldn’t take the risk or disagreed with the SM content. Although it has been out of print for over 10 years it is still considered a queer classic.

#ChooseBeautiful: How Dove is still missing the point

A response to Dove’s #ChooseBeautiful campaign:

We take the position that expanding the scope of which women are considered ‘beautiful’ still reinforces the idea that women need to be ‘beautiful’ in order to have worth, and in turn downplays the perceived value of other qualities that could lead to greater fulfilment. Therefore, while it is certainly problematic that women who fall outside society’s notion of ‘beautiful’ don’t receive the benefits that this determination brings, this is an issue within a larger one: being ‘beautiful’ is still advertised as a necessary pre-condition for a woman’s legitimate existence, something to which all women should aspire. Feeling ‘beautiful’—in a campaign that claims to empower women—continues to be presented as a significant achievement, the point of actualisation in women’s lives. Would the brand really consider launching a parallel campaign claiming to empower men to #ChooseHandsome?

So you #ChooseBeautiful…does that make you worthy of something more than if you don’t? If the answer is yes, then we should not make every woman #ChooseBeautiful, we should instead challenge the society that makes only ‘beautiful’ women feel worthy. Why not skip the ‘beautiful’ part and go straight to the worth?

Dove, we appreciate your effort, but we would rather you encourage women to #ChooseWorthy.

by SAMANIA

2015