Vanity Fair’s TV Ladies

http://twitter.com/foodycatAlicia foodycatAlicia

And yet again it’s the white girls on the cover.

RebeccaKW

Sofia Vergara isn’t white.
- MilaXX
  
  No but she’s pale enough to be acceptable.
- http://twitter.com/foodycatAlicia foodycatAlicia
  
  True, but she is quite light skinned and she is taking up the least amount of cover space.
- alyce1213
  
  Not that this is all that’s wrong with the cover, but Sofia Vergara IS white.
  She’s Latina (Colombian) of primarily European descent, with naturally blonde hair, which she dyes brown so she can perceived to be MORE ‘Latina.’
  - sockandaphone
    
    it still boggles me when people dont realize that most of latin america is white. were practically europeans haha
  - RebeccaKW
    
    From what I understand, Sofia Vergara refers to herself as Latina or Hispanic. I know she dyes her hair to fit what audiences expect a Latina to look like, and it’s a sad commentary that she has been asked to. I know I’m very ignorant on the subject and am not arguing with you, but I would like to understand why she would be considered white?
    - Little_Olive
      
      Maybe I don’t get the question, but why not?
    - lovelyivy
      
      Because ‘hispanic’ is not a race, it’s an ethnicity. There are white, black, and asian latinos in the diaspora.
    - alyce1213
      
      She is Latina and Hispanic.
      It’s a matter of ethnicity, not race.
      You can be white, brown, or black and be Latina or Hispanic.
      
      Countries that trace their (modern) history to Spain (Mexico, Central America, most of South America — what was called Hispania), and are primarily Spanish-speaking, are considered ‘Hispanic.’
      
      ‘Latina’ is close to ‘Hispanic,’ but includes other countries like Brazil. Latina is a bit more cultural, not only language-based. It’s from the geographic designation ‘Latin America,’ countries in the western hemisphere where Romance languages are spoken — Spanish, Portuguese, even French (but don’t tell that to the French).
      
      For example, Giselle Bunchen is white, Latina, but not Hispanic.
      (Which reminds me of the sad fact that black Hispanic/Latina models are very scarce; they’re primarily white.)
    - Alisa Rivera
      
      Zoe Saldana, Alexis Bledsel, America Ferrara–all Hispanic/Latina. (FWIW, I’ve never heard that distinction between Latina and Hispanic before)
    - Browsery
      
      Neither have I. I thought someone of Mexican ancestry would consider themselves “Latino/Latina.” Brazil, I’m confused about, because the European influence was Portuguese, not Spanish.
    - http://twitter.com/foodycatAlicia foodycatAlicia
      
      Thank you for this explanation! I’ve always been very confused as to why Hispanic was seen as a racial description and a synonym for “brown” when the people are from such a wide variety of ethnicities.
    - RebeccaKW
      
      I appreciate your distinctions, as I had no idea the difference in latina/hispanic, etc. I’m also disappointed in myself, as I’ve never really paid attention to the race classicfications. I knew that ethnicity and race were not the same, but I’ve never really looked at the race classifications. When I made my statement I was thinking solely of ethnicity, which now I realize is incorrect for this conversation.
    - Judih1
      
      thanks for explaining that and for letting others know that their are BLACK latinas
  - Little_Olive
    
    THANK YOU. I gave up on hoping for Hollywood to stop identifying Latina with Salma. And then be superconfused, because JLo grew up in NY and is considered “Latina” mainly because of her bodyshape.
    
    There are all kinds of people down here. The funny thing is that the ones that meet Hollywood beauty standards ALL have at least a couple of European ancestors.
    - girliecue
      
      “The funny thing is that the ones that meet Hollywood beauty standards ALL have at least a couple of European ancestors.”
      
      Surely it’s just a strange coincidence that the same thing can be said of Asians too…
    - Jennifer Coleman
      
      …and African Americans.
      
      Speaking of this picture, you have to look twice at Archie Punjabi & Grace Park to determine they are not white. And Kerry Washington is definitely bringing up the rear in the photo to keep the color factor minimized.I really do despise these VF photo shoots.
    - kirble
      
      Umm…. really?
      
      What sabout Lucy Liu, Michelle Yeoh, Zhang Ziyi, Grace Park, Daniel Dae Kim?
    - Alisa Rivera
      
      is considered “Latina” mainly because of her bodyshape
      
      She’s Nuyorican, which definitely qualifies as Latina, even if she was born in the U.S.
    - http://pulse.yahoo.com/_EDI2DLE7DE3YPW2ONIHBWOVHMA ecallaw
      
      It never even occurred to me to think she was a Latina because of her body shape–I thought she was a Latina because of her last name.
    - Little_Olive
      
      What I mean is mainly that English is her first language and she was raised as an American… (eeh “USAan”? since we are on the subject). If she was tall and lanky it’s be more difficult to identify her as Latina; the cultural elements are less prominent. Sophia Vergara’s main giveaway, on the other hand, is the way she talks (and maybe her eyes).
- sockandaphone
  
  but shes not as tan as other latinas and shes been definitely been photoshopped lighter
ASK26

It seems that they is a quota that was not met?
drnels

The number of comments on this thread makes me wonder what people’s world history classes were like. And has no one ever seen a demographic form that has a category “Caucasian, Non-Hispanic” often followed by a category “Caucasian, Hispanic” with a list of options to check to further define “Hispanic,” making it obvious it is not separate from white (unless you’re working with a different definition of caucasian).
- http://www.GiftedCollector.com Nancy Abrams
  
  Thank you, drnels.
  
  Growing up in Los Angeles where there were so many Mexicans (the Central Americans had not yet come in huge numbers), we never excluded Hispanics from the “white” category, even those with an obvious amount of Indian in their blood. It seems that they have chosen to set themselves apart in recent years by including themselves in “people of color” and talking about “white people” as a group separate from them. I’ve also been surprised to learn lately that Arabs do not consider themselves to be white.
  
  Unfortunately, all of this just adds to divisiveness. It’s us against them. To answer the immortal words of Rodney King (“Why can’t we all just get along?”), it’s because people continue to separate themselves and create unnecessary differences that build barriers to good will.
  - http://profile.yahoo.com/H25QQGJIFKFJZZ5MDXEBMCP5SE Dianne
    
    Hello, Arabs and Jews are not “White” race their DNA is middle Eastern!!! Yes even
    ashkenazi Jews like me with blue eyes, only have a small amount of European blood
    because we have intermarried for thousands of years. Did anyone see Barabara Walters
    on Finding Your Roots” her dna was 92% Middle Eastern and only 8% white.”African
    a
    
    Americans and Latinos/Hispanics have more white blood then Arabs and Jews.
- http://twitter.com/foodycatAlicia foodycatAlicia
  
  My world history classes were all taken in Australia and were extremely sketchy on anything that happened in the Americas!

joe_tey83

The concept behind this photoshoot is Lesbian Orgy.

RebeccaKW

A man’s idea of lesbian orgy.
- formerlyAnon
  
  Oh SO right.
- ballerinawithagun
  
  Exactly.
- http://twitter.com/Neomeris Meredith M
  
  SO true. And whatever their race or ethnicity, they’re all dressed in their undies and reduced to smiling bosomy sex objects. Never mind that they’re talented actors with brains. Keep women and girls half naked–on magazine covers, on billboards, in commercials–and you don’t have to take them too seriously.

http://twitter.com/floydpookyjames Floyd

This is insulting.

Spicytomato1

Seriously.

Sobaika Mirza

We got a Latina on the cover!

It’s the little things, right?

Terence Ng

Hurray! We got one! Thanks for throwing us a bone, VF!
lovelyivy

Yay for the naturally blonde latina who dyes her hair to look more ‘ethnic’ on the cover!

At this point I would not buy this magazine under any circumstances. Too many years of out and out racism to be provided the benefit of the doubt.
- Nelliebelle1197
  
  I actually think it’s very demeaning and inappropriate to be so dismissive of Ms. Vegara’s ethinic identity and to belittle her inclusion and accomplishments in such a manner. Whether you realize it or not, that is precisely what you are doing.
  - lovelyivy
    
    Nope, not even slightly what I’m doing. What I was pointing out was that Vanity Fair has once again done all they can to pick a minority who conforms as closely to European standards of beauty as possible, to the point where this woman comes to be a representative of diversity, when there is nothing about her that differs from the prevailing beauty standard in any way. She, like every other person of color in the world, has to deal with the fallout from that, both good and bad.
http://profiles.google.com/sara.e.munoz Sara Munoz

And an Asian, an Indian, and African American…. errr INSIDE.

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_J4QGTFQCCILAE4N2SYZZRJ6SPY R LM

Kat Dennings looks unrecognizable. I actually thought that was Annie Potts for a hot second.

RebeccaKW

Even after I read the name, I didn’t believe it.
Ms_Flyover

I get a young Dixie Carter. Kat Dennings as all the designing women!
lana_p

I thought it was Madeleine Stowe!
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_KEYJDIENR5MRK2NXJYKNOLWDFE Alexandria

Her girls look fucking fantastic though.
- http://profiles.google.com/ameliaheartsu Amelia Logan
  
  actually the cups are too small

kimmeister

Now I’m curious to see what they had to say/show about the stars of the Big Bang Theory and How I Met Your Mother.

Kat Dennings looks svelte here. I covet Kerry’s cheekbones.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=558631967 Ivona Foster

I’m with you Kim, I’ll buy the issue to see the Big Bang part

Jordan Brodley

hello Kat Denning’s boobs.

http://www.facebook.com/charlotte.horseman Charlotte Horseman

Cozy up with your girls in front of the TV…in underwire shape wear? Screw you, VF.

Spicytomato1

Nice to see Emily Van Camp representing Revenge. Too bad she had to stoop to this sexist treatment to do it.

I gotta believe they all had to flex their acting muscles pretty hard for this shoot because they seem fairly relaxed rather than outraged, embarrassed and/or awkward.

NinaBoo

It’s good their acting muscles got a work out because their actual physical muscles have been airbrushed out of existence. Julianna’s leg and Michelle’s arm are particularly bad.

Calinda_L

Oh look, Michelle Dockery photobombed the cover.

MissAnnieRN

I just replied to your comment and it said “awaiting moderation” so I’m attempting a test to see if it happens again.

RebeccaKW

Did not even recognize Kat Dennings.

‘girls’ night in’ or ‘sleepover jam?’ Oh, yes, that’s how all my sleepover went-lounging around in fancy lingerie, garters, and heels.

JasmineAM

Most Vanilla Spread Ever, ladies and gentlemen!

http://profile.yahoo.com/ELRVPTLIVQLRK5R5FASF2S7SOY Kelly Bean

I’d really love to see the day when Jon Hamm, Ashton Kutcher, Alec Baldwin, and other male TV stars are on magazine covers in their underwear, looking all breezy and estatic

Little_Olive

Scratch Ashton from that list and I’m on board
Sobaika Mirza

Let’s take off Ashton, add in some Daniel Dae Kim, Matt Bomer, and those hot young Lords from Game of Thrones.
- MissAnnieRN
  
  And please invite Taye Diggs. Pretty please.
- Rand Ortega
  
  But It ain’t a party w/out some Harry Shum, Jr.
  - CPK1
    
    sounds a bit too multi-racial for Vanity Fair
    - http://pulse.yahoo.com/_EDI2DLE7DE3YPW2ONIHBWOVHMA ecallaw
      
      Nah, Vanity Fair likes to throw a few of them in to try to look “edgy.”
- http://phantomminuet.blogspot.com/ MinAgain
  
  What she said.
http://www.facebook.com/charlotte.horseman Charlotte Horseman

In jock straps…
- Terence Ng
  
  And leather chest harnesses. WOOF.
  - formerlyAnon
    
    At least ONE of them needs to be in a heavily boned corset.
    - http://twitter.com/mirrormirrorxx Paola Thomas
      
      I bet that would be Jon Hamm. For kicks and giggles….
http://www.facebook.com/people/Jessica-TallGirl-Freeman/1043623567 Jessica TallGirl Freeman

Laughing, rolling around on the ground and throwing popcorn at each other. Throw in some Taye Diggs and I’ll be 17 again cutting the magazine to shreds and posting the photos all over my bedroom walls.
Celandine1

Thanks, that is exactly what I was thinking.

MilaXX

Vanity Fair via Maidenform. Love the ladies, bored with the editorial.

j_anson

What, TLo, don’t you know all us ladies like to get together and watch TV wearing bustiers, garter belts, and stockings?

Little_Olive

Having whiskey, don’t forget
- j_anson
  
  Well, to be fair, I’m totally on board with the whiskey part…
  - Little_Olive
    
    back at you, but wouldn’t champagne (or even wine) have been more in the tone of the shoot? I associate whiskey to all-male environments.
    
    To be frank, I kinda question that alcohol had to be a part of this. I bet we wouldn’t miss it if it weren’t there (I`m not a prude or anything).
    - poggi
      
      I don’t know. Maybe the drinks are real and explain why these women agreedc to do this.
    - http://profiles.google.com/ameliaheartsu Amelia Logan
      
      I wonder about these photo things… are there women who opt out of them? are they so pressured by their managers/agents that they just grin and bare it? does it really have a large impact on their careers if they didn’t do the cover?
    - http://pulse.yahoo.com/_EDI2DLE7DE3YPW2ONIHBWOVHMA ecallaw
      
      I think it’s par for the course for them. Most, if not all of these women are overtly sexualized in the TV roles that landed them this cover, so really, what do they care?
    - poggi
      
      You are probably right. Maybe one star with enough pull could get a photoshoot concept altered, but certainly not most. They are probably happy to be included. Also I suppose if they know that other big name actresses are doing it, they are less likely to complain.
- RebeccaKW
  
  Yes, and throwing buttered popcorn around their white furniture. Those ladies need something to clean.

http://www.facebook.com/djkomisar DeDe Jacobs Komisar

Whatever, don’t you know that this is what chicks do when we get together? Then come the naked pillow fights….

RebeccaKW

Yes, and the practicing kissing.
- Ms_Flyover
  
  And then we turn 12.

Little_Olive

I’d been waiting for you guys to cover this cover and expected an opinion on how BAD it is. I mean the inside shots are better, but the faces, the colors, the flatness, the afterthought that is Michelle D. in that cover, all amount to fug.

PeaceBang

Yea, what happened to Michelle D? She looks like they pinned her in as an afterthought. So weird.

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_5UQHEKG5EDX4T6NMARUC565TPQ Amy

I love fashion and magazines..I really do. But when I saw this, the first thing that popped into my head was an article I read recently where a man attempted to explain why all heterosexual men “are trained [from birth] to see women merely as decoration”. One example given was the media’s ability to flash continuous images of the sexy co-ed variety, thereby constantly justifying the notion that all men deserve to have their way with these mythical/half naked/perfectly airbrushed creatures. Frankly, I find his arguments to be a bit flimsy. Then I look at Vanity Fair (not Maxim, not even Cosmo) and I think..aren’t there other ways to illustrate the awesomeness of tv’s finest actresses without all the implications of a naughty pillow fight?

alyce1213

Bravo.
MissAnnieRN

And then there were Lee Aronsohn’s epically sexist comments about “labia saturation”……..

Jecca2244

Michelle Dockery! Glad to see she’s getting some cred.

krelnick

The alternative spread is Alex O’Loughlin, Josh Charles, Jason Isaacs, Matt Bomer, Shemar Moore, Esai Morales, and Ian Anthony Dale (look him up!) lounging around in their Underoos, right? RIGHT???

http://www.facebook.com/people/Jessica-TallGirl-Freeman/1043623567 Jessica TallGirl Freeman

Is there a petition we can sign?
Ms_Flyover

I looked him up. Thanks for the recommendation.
schadenfreudelicious

can we add Idris Elba to the list please?
TropiCarla

Shemar would make me cause quite the scene at the grocery store checkout line.

Pants_are_a_must

It reeks of obnoxious marketing for straight men.

turtleemily

I suddenly want Kat Dennings on Revenge.

http://twitter.com/Mylynka Mylynka Cardona

I am so disappointed by this. Boo VF, BOOO!

http://needtherapy.tumblr.com/ skadi1

I hate these stupid things. Why must they be naked or in their underwear (and some ugly undies, too)? Don’t women mostly buy Vanity Fair? Why do we let magazines like this objectify us?
Also, I’m glad a brown girl made it to the cover. Now, next time, try not to photoshop her until she turns white.

Pinup Ghoul

As someone who frequently dons vintage undergarments, I will be the first to tell you that it’s the last thing you want to lounge around in. Kat Dennings and Emmy Rossum have got to be as uncomfortable as they look there.

http://profiles.google.com/marteani Barbara Guttman

Am I mistaken in thinking Kat is sporting a Rago 9057 that doesn’t at all fit her in the bust? I’ve worn those to Retrorama parties, and that is NOT a “casually lounge back on a carpet” garment. Archie’s top doesn’t fit either.

You see this in dolls for kids too. A friend and I were perusing through the Barbie/doll aisle at Target the other day looking for a gift and there were tons of “sleepover party” dolls (of various brands). All of them also in skimpy underthings, often with pillow. The Liv dolls you could attach the pillow to their hands and with a switch, wave the arm up and down so your dolls could pillow fight. Is this really what people (re:men) think women do when we get together? Strip and giggle and drink and throw pillow?
- http://profiles.google.com/ameliaheartsu Amelia Logan
  
  It looks like emily and graces tops don’t quite fit either. Also none of my friends would ever consent to pillow fighting at sleepovers only my brother.
http://profiles.google.com/ameliaheartsu Amelia Logan

I’m wearing a wireless bra and I’m uncomfortable right now. all though i’m so used to wearing a bra that not wearing one is uncomfortable as well.

I recently had to wear vintage undergarments for a vintage photo shoot and had to wear a garter belt + nylons and it is SO annoying! it wasn’t totally uncomfortable but it was so awkward and not easy to “Snap” the nylons into place. all those poor women of the past. my friend insisted that we should get a picture of my fastening the nylons because it’s supposed to be sexy but I didn’t think there was anything sexy about it.

http://joyouslifesf.wordpress.com Kiltdntiltd

There was a time when I might have said tha Vanity Fair was above such puerile pandering. Clearly, and sadly, that time has passed. This is such blandly

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1084733830 Kate Andrews

I’m actually disappointed that the women agreed to this. The Good Wife, for example, is all about strong female characters, and here they are in their underwear! And what about women who are too old for the “sex kitten” treatment? Christine Baranski on Good Wife or Angelica Huston on Smash? VF talks a good liberal game when it comes to politics, but they’re just as sexist as anyone with the cover treatments.
- http://joyouslifesf.wordpress.com Kiltdntiltd
  
  I could not agree more. So many of our most talented actors are women who are neither “younger than springtime” nor are they model sizes, yet they are deeply compelling and beautiful people, who deserve to be glamorized every bit as much as their younger co workers. Shame on V F for falling into the pit of idiotically patent sameness that plagues our media, and our culture.
- Judih1
  
  Agree with everything you said. And I stopped reading VF in 2001

cgoodsil

Wow, that’s Kat Dennings? That…does not look like her at all, even a little bit.

As for her boobs being so prominently on display, she doesn’t really have a choice in that one. Those puppies are massive, no matter what she’s wearing.

alyce1213

Cheesy.

http://www.facebook.com/people/Jessica-TallGirl-Freeman/1043623567 Jessica TallGirl Freeman

I am so glad a magazine finally captured how me and my girls hang out on Friday nights. Because right after swimsuits our favorite thing to do is let everyone see us in our underwears.

sockandaphone

what is going with kat denning’s body? shes curvylicious and right here is like…..what?

http://twitter.com/susanpcollier Susan Collier

What in fresh hell was THAT?

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=21413366 Evan Hart

Not only are they in lingerie, they’re participating in an adolescent rite… the slumber party. I half expect to see “Girl Talk” on the floor. (who has on the red sticker pimples???). So, they have to hyper-sexualize them with the lingerie and then they have to make them seem like adolescents participating in a boozy slumber party. They can’t look like girl friends hanging out watching TV the way actual women do? They couldn’t have had them kicking ass in a TV board room? Seriously. All of these women play powerful characters in some way (although man do I hate “2 Broke Girls.” Kat Denning deserves better) and this seems to be an attempt to rob them of this power. Blech.

Dani Colman

This. There have been so many great pantsuits on the runway lately (thanks TLo for the rundown!) – I’d love to see a boardroom-themed shoot. Not a one of these women plays a giggly clothes-hanger on TV: they’re all smart, powerful, conflicted, or even refreshingly normal and goofy. I’d love to see them in some kickass business wear, plotting world domination while Michael Fassbender serves them coffee wearing only French maid-themed briefs.

…I did not mean to say that last bit out loud.
- http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=21413366 Evan Hart
  
  Baaaaahahahahahaha. I can’t stop cackling.
- formerlyAnon
  
  You only say that for the Fassbender tie in, admit it.
  - Dani Colman
    
    What? Sorry, I was busy taking the words “Fassbender” and “tie” and rearranging them into something totally different. Make of that what you will.

http://profiles.google.com/marteani Barbara Guttman

This is just like when I get my girlfriends over. We laugh and throw popcorn and wear extra firm shapewear (super comfortable for lounging in) and teeny sparkly 5″ heels so that when the pizza boy inevitably comes by, we can make his dream come true!

Can we retire this fantasy already? When Clooney, Pitt and Craig have to pose together, why are they never shirtless, wearing only briefs, oiled and greasy as they lounge together in a garage, giggling and throwing wrenches at each other?

TropiCarla

LMAO @ “throwing wrenches at each other.” That would be awesome. It could be “Sleepover Dodgeball, with wrenches!”
http://twitter.com/KathrynTewson Kathryn Tewson

”
wearing only briefs, oiled and greasy as they lounge together in a garage, giggling and throwing wrenches at each other?”

I die. Perfect.

http://profiles.google.com/dandesun Erika Schultze

It’s not just the ‘yeah, we totes lounge around in our obviously uncomfortable underwear together’ that bugs me. It’s the jewelry. It just further endorses the image of ‘decorative playthings upon which to hang expensive baubles’ that leaves a really bad taste in my mouth.

So many of these actors are playing strong, smart women who are not to be trifled with… to see them all doing this is vastly disappointing.

MissAnnieRN

TLo – comments are in moderation now? Has there been some sort of bitter kitten fight that I miss or was that just internet weirdness?

Lilithcat

They are? All of them? I know they’ve been in moderation when you try to include a link.

ETA: this comment didn’t go into moderation.
- MissAnnieRN
  
  No – that must have been it. I included a great link with a collection of women eating salad depicting them all as skinny pretty types with smiles or obvious laughter.
  - ampg
    
    Mine are, too, all of a sudden. No idea why.

TAGinMO

I’m both amazed and more than a little disappointed that these ladies didn’t rise up as one and pummel the photographer and stylist as soon as this lame idea escaped one or both of their mouths. Yeesh.

MissAnnieRN

AGREED! You, me, and at least a dozen others as I’ve been reading the comments. This post should have a poll.

Are you:
a.) offended that women are depicted in underwear under the headline “It’s evening in America” implying that this is how “we” roll
b.) disgusted because you feel like you just walked into some dude’s jerk off fantasy?
c.) amazed that all of these talented ladies agreed to do this?
d.) would rather see Taye Diggs, Jon Hamm, Daniel Day Kim, etc.. in this type of shoot?
e.) all of the above
- TAGinMO
  
  Jesus…the very thought of d.) might give me stroke.
  
  But yeah, e.), all of the above. Plus f.), mildly annoued that the “It’s Evening in America” photo appears to have been shot with afternoon sunlight streaming in the windows.
  - MissAnnieRN
    
    To be fair, TLO did bring us a Michael fassbender MSM mag shoot that is akin to this. Michael fassbender knows the Internet is obsessed with his penis. However, a bit different when the subject of the shoot is you and only you, and not representative of your entire gender….
- joe_tey83
  
  I would like to see a cover with Jon Hamm and Joe Manganiello smiling seductively in bed sharing a tiny tiny blanket strategically covering only their crotches.
- formerlyAnon
  
  a.) To be honest? I’m past being offended. It’s wrong. Exasperated covers it better.
  b.) yes, though as much pissed off than disgusted. I mean, did you REALLY think that all (or even most) of your readers find the sight of these particular successful women in uncomfortable undies is the most interesting thing you could have done with their time? Or are the readers who are 1) attracted to women and 2) looking for some pretty to moon over to get them off the ones you’ve determined are the most important to the advertising dollar?c.) Yes, for about a millisecond. Then I remember how insecure about the next job ALL the actors I’ve ever met are.d.) Honestly, not so much. I mean, it’d be pretty. But I don’t fantasize about troupes of good looking guys and my fantasies are, at best, 35% visual. I’d look and appreciate. But it wouldn’t make me buy the magazine as an interesting interview or a look at the guys’ art collections or bookshelves might.
- EEKstl
  
  a. I’m more offended that we have all, bit by bit, allowed the cultural pendulum swing back towards (re)objectification of women. Having the freedom to order your plastic surgeon to make you look like a Barbie doll was not, in my opinion, the point.
  b. I’m disgusted by the limited imagination.
  c. Not amazed, just saddened. They know the drill – just another form of pole dancing.
  d. No, that isn’t any more interesting to me.
  - formerlyAnon
    
    “Having the freedom to order your plastic surgeon to make you look like a Barbie doll was not, in my opinion, the point”
    I am so stealing this the next time the opportunity arises to use it!

sagecreek

What? No Nancy Botwin?

StelledelMare

I mean seriously I love basically all of these women and they couldn’t have been in something else besides underwear. And for that matter, it’s underwear that very few women even wear anymore.

Onika K Morris-Alleyne

How awesome would a blue-jeans-and-crisp-white-shirt editorial have been?
- http://www.facebook.com/people/Liz-Norris/26609454 Liz Norris
  
  I would love to see more editorials like that. And really, I’d be happy even with “magazine casual” (i.e., all the participants have been styled for hours to get the “casual” part just right).

http://twitter.com/neeBarbero Debby Griffiths

I don’t watch enough tv, I don’t know who most of them are!

Fordzo

Why don’t they have more cover stories featuring The Men of TV with three or four of them “naked” and in bed together, and then an inside spread of others in their underwear having pillow fights? Isn’t that what men do when they hang out together?

splix71

I want to see Benedict Cumberbatch, Martin Freeman, Idris Elba, Hugh Bonneville, and Matt Smith in boxers in bed, giggling and tossing popcorn.

Sarah Thomas

I believe you’ll find at least 450 million fanfics with that premise.
- splix71
  
  Now that you mention that, I’ve probably written it before…..
- lovelyivy
  
  I love it when folks at TLo come out of the sci-fi nerd closet!
formerlyAnon

Yeah, that’s more my group to objectify. But even then, I’d rather hear them talk . . .
- splix71
  
  Boxers, popcorn, and talking, then. I’m good with that. Even if Cumberbatch’s voice makes me so incoherent with lust I totally lose track of what he’s saying.
  - buildmeatower
    
    Glad to know I’m not the only one who loves him mostly for his voice (okay, and the coats he wears as Sherlock. Also cheekbones. But mostly the voice.)
    - splix71
      
      Killer cheekbones, that man has….and the orgasmatron voice. Yum yum……

nannypoo

Silly and pointless.

http://twitter.com/MandySCG MandyJane

I love The Good Wife so much. Julianna Margulies and Archie Panjabi look great.

poggi

Okay, I know they don’t want to dress them in what I wear most evenings at home, but come on. This is stupid. How did they get all these women to agree to it. Was it some kind of Stockholm Syndrome?

http://profile.yahoo.com/DNWEFT2SVBX5T3NPMROQCT4U2U jennyv

This is so tacky. I can’t believe all of these gorgeous and talented actors agreed to it.

http://www.facebook.com/people/Sonja-Brisson/1156967466 Sonja Brisson

Vanity Fair, for shame. The next cover had better feature guys from TV in bed together or hanging out in their retro underwear eating popcorn. Eeesh. Oh, wait. The last cover they had with boys featured Daniel Craig, George Clooney and Matt Damon. In their street clothes.

http://theredheadd.wordpress.com deb wood

mmmmmmpopcorn!

Grace Park is lovely and Kat IS nearly unrecognizable.

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_5UQHEKG5EDX4T6NMARUC565TPQ Amy

Sounds interesting..I’ll definitely check out the link! I took courses on gender and sexuality in college and I’ve certainly read up on the subject but the article to which I am referring was half satire/half serious as far as examining sexism. It was the first I had read that came from someone who wasn’t an academic but just some average joe was somewhat “owning up” to his own perception of women, so it really stuck with me. It’s good to read different perspectives though because I think we are all fairly tuned out to how often it occurs. You turn on the tv or you flip through an editorial and you are just so used to seeing certain things that it barely occurs to you what is going on. And as women, it’s frightening how easily we miss it (myself included)!

Nicole Chubb

I concur! That’s one of the reasons I love reading this blog – it’s a blog about style, not a person’s worth. People (including myself) are so harsh on women’s looks, but I’ve really started filtering what I watch now and really try to absorb shows, movies and music that reflect women’s talent – and I make sure to talk about their talent first, looks 2nd (if at all). It’s not fair that men get to where they are based on talent and women only get to show off their talent if they’re pretty.

Zippypie

Why did these women agree to this in the first place? Sexist tripe.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=558631967 Ivona Foster

White, black or hispanic they should have all yelled “Hell NO!” to being naked.

Let’s play my pick for the cover: Kerry Washington, Archie Panjabi, Michelle Dockery and Julianna Margulies

http://twitter.com/#!/Space_Kitty Space Kitty

Oh, FFS. Why didn’t they just have a pillow fight & get it over with? Played. Out. Vanity Fair. And I say this as a woman who very much enjoys seeing other women in lingerie.

Really.

Amy Ellinger

I love that Grace Park is not only included, but photographed in full laugh mode. I think just about every woman is at her most beautiful when she’s genuinely laughing.

filmcricket

Leaving aside the sexism of this, which everyone has covered quite well, a couple of things strike me:

1) Are any of these NBC shows? Or is the Peacock doing so badly that it doesn’t even warrant say, Tina Fey, Alison Brie, or Rashida Jones being included?

2) You do retro underwear and don’t get any of the Mad Men women involved?

3) Julianna Margulies looks so hilariously unimpressed with all of this. Too bad she didn’t give that bitchface to whoever created this shoot – they’d have come up with something better pronto.

marilyn

Is this the opening scene of a soft porn movie?

Alisa Rivera

SMFH.

http://twitter.com/TMamBo Therese Bohn

Oh VF Puh-Leese! All this talent and they waste it on underthings. Oh, how totally original You didn’t show the women of Mad Men, but I hope they’re treated better than this.

http://twitter.com/lenabena_ Elena

Why yes, all sleepovers involve women in lingerie, diamonds, and perfect hair and makeup.

Oh and of course, women are always sitting in a bed with presumably nothing but a sheet on.

formerlyAnon

Sitting in GROUPS! in bed with presumably nothing on but a sheet. (& maybe diamonds).

Because THAT’s a telling detail you must not omit.

(edited for clarity)

bitchybitchybitchy

Another VF cover of talented women treated as mere eye candy, but that’s typical for Vanity Fair.

lalahartma

Seriously dumb. And annoying.

FashionShowAtLunch

Many problems with this shoot and layout, but can we just talk about how SMOKING HOT Grace Park is?

http://phantomminuet.blogspot.com/ MinAgain

I’m having a flashback to a certain “Designing Women” episode…

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=677547537 John Hodgins

I’m surprised they’re not biting on a pearl necklace or on top of a carousel horse! Where’s Julie’s outrage when you need it? :-)

bluefish

Of course Sofia is “white!”

formerlyAnon

Hmmm. My girls’ nights have never looked like this, even when the girls were young and slammin’.

StillGary

HA HA HA, Hef did a Playboy cover like this with Holly, Kendra and the third one.

quiltrx

Yeah, this is the kind of stuff my BFF and I wear when we hang out. Unfortunately, we can’t breathe and have nowhere to wipe the Cheeto dust.

Beninqac

Surely VF must be aware of the reaction, covers like this and the Oscar-cover causes? Maybe they figure, that all publicity is good publicity, and that their subscribers will love it? It could be a win-win for VF.
Or maybe they really think that Kennedy is still in the White House? That is what always strikes me, when I occasionally browse the magazine.
And they didn´t spring for Lieboweitz either.

GTrain

Hate. But Vanity Fair couldn’t have published it without people to pose for it, so it’s chicken and egg.

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_G6DJPJUUPMD5IMJBYWUZIVOFJM EdwinG

Kat Dennings = Christina Hendricks. LOVE

Jacqueline Wessel

Reminds me of the cover of Playboy magazine that featured the “girls next door”…but the sheets were black and the girls of course were blonde.

http://twitter.com/SamH4Prez Samantha

Yup, that’s us gals; hanging out together in our lingerie, wearing diamonds and stilettos, and bearing as much cleavage as possible on our shag rugs.

Lulu Lafurge

I’m looking forward to the Vanity Fair cover with the male stars in bed together and lounging around together in their undies.

http://www.wordydoodles.com WordyDoodles

Also, Vanity Fair is STILL milking its Oscar Party. It’s the MAY issue. Did the non-Hollywood editors quit?

http://profile.yahoo.com/QCPYQPN67NWLRIXODRAA2M75VY janice

WHAT HAPPENED TO KERRY WASHINGTON’S RIGHT LEG??

RzYoung

God, I’m SO sick of the naked or underwear thing, so glad I don’t buy Vanity Fair any more, what shite.

bellafigura1

I don’t see Sofia Vergara making the cut here. She fades away in the presence of the other women in the photo. Also, how come everyone has the same hair? It’s bizarre! Is it not acceptable to have short hair or straight hair or masses of curls? FAIL.

eclare

Looks like The Girls Next Door Playboy cover.

sid123

Well, any one of them could have said no the shot and they didn’t. Hard to cry about not being taken seriously or treated like a sex object when you agree to this type of publicity. Sad and shallow. Not sure I would be arguing to get my race or ethnicity represented like this.

http://houseofestrogen.typepad.com/ Ann

Poor Archie Panjabi looks completely uncomfortable. The look on her face is priceless… like “What the hell am I doing here and when can I leave?”

NCDFan

Hate.

PeaceBang

Oh for FUCK’S SAKE. With the misogynist insanity going on the state and federal level and the current climate of woman hate everywhere, this just makes me want to choke someone.

http://www.facebook.com/people/Jameela-AbdulGhani/1033228835 Jameela AbdulGhani

First of all , as many “interesting” web discussions we TLO have had, I am surprised that SO much time is dedicated to this race issue. TLo, coming from Philly before they carried “partnership rings” on jewlers row which is near South Street before it had rainbows on the street signs have NEVER intentionally (and I am not a mind reader) promoted predjudice of anykind unless you count harem pants. LOL. So if you new people don’t know, criticisms are done here, but with RESPECT and love!

Now, normally I would agree with TLO and the room about predjudice, chauvanism, etc. But These photos look like women either before or after an event talking and laughing about life, but they have not gotten into their garments because they don’t want to mess them up. These women are not posing overtly sexually as if they are about to get into a porno. Even if that was the intention of the photographer, or the idiot who wrote the caption, the expressions on all of the women in the photo says that these are intelligent women despite being sexy. ………and not in a porn way.

BTW, TLo, even though I only met him the briefly for less than 10 minutes all together, I use Jay McCarroll as a positive example all the time. This is a designer who took what he learned from his family and who he is as a person and creates amazing things. Tell him not to forget, that if it was not for him and Austin, Project Runway would be a memory. Smooches. Auntie Mame is on her way.

http://www.facebook.com/people/Jameela-AbdulGhani/1033228835 Jameela AbdulGhani

LOL, is GothamTomato still commenting?

EEKstl

LOL, I was wondering the same thing!! Where is GT??

JackieOBlue

Seeing this I’m reminded of a Seinfeld episode when Elaine says to Jerry that he thinks when women get together they wear their bras and panties and have tickle fights. Yes, that is what we do, according the VF.

nancylee61

I agree, all I see are breasts. Emily Deschanel and one or two others are the only ones covered up at all. Why do they allow themselves to be sexified?? Oh, I know, they want to be. The women right before me, in their 50s to 70s now, fought like hell to be taken seriously and seen as more than wife or sex material. Most young women seem to want to be seen as sex material, without a brain. I really don’t understand how this happened.

http://profiles.google.com/sara.e.munoz Sara Munoz

It’s easy. Magazine cover, as a sex object. *vs* No magazine cover. Yes, it’s BS.

I would be very interested to hear about actresses who’ve turned this kind of thing down. Anyone know of any interviews or quotes?
- http://www.wordydoodles.com WordyDoodles
  
  Wish I knew of interviews, but I know that Jamie Lee Curtis and Kate Winslet have spoken out against portrayals of women’s bodies in the media. Sigh.

drnels

Interesting to contrast this with the photo of the men.

Carla_Charlton

It looks like a brothel in a fantasy movie. Very disappointed that these women agreed to the styling and that Vanity Fair put them up to it. Really lame.

http://cheekypinky.wordpress.com/ Rebecca

My girlfriends and I TOTALLY watch TV in our chic bustier, garters, and stockings every night. Pajamas are just so bourgeois!

(…at least it’s a *little* less lily-white than usual? …sigh…)

EEKstl

If this doesn’t scream “Caution! Vanity Fair Creative Director Out of Ideas!” I don’t know what does. Pathetic.

Emily Scott

Ugh. Really, Vanity Fair? REALLY???

I’m actually sad that some of these women agreed to this. My dream would be if all of them had put their collective feet down and said, “No, we’re smart, professional women. Figure out something more appropriate.”

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1052062518 Megan Moore

This pisses me off in so many ways.

librarygrrl64

Jesus. A slumber party scene? Really? These are adult women!!! FU, VF.

Yaara

Underwear again? WTF, Vanity Fair? Ran out of cloths?

Orange Girl

Silly idea and I can’t stop rolling my eyes. And how can you have a “Women of TV” issue and not include anyone from Mad Men? Maybe they opted out. Kat Dennings is adorable, though.

frankystein123

Major eye-sex for Claire Danes.

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