Thursday, February 14, 2013

Go Native

Jezebel has posted an article about the use of “exotic” people as props and set dressing in the 2013 swimsuit issue.

I have to say, this practice has always been a little disconcerting for me. And though 2013 is the first issue to hit all seven continents and explore the range of quaint locals each one has to offer, the practice is nothing new for SI.

(Though I didn’t realize until just now: They keep doing it in Kenya specifically.)
Carol Alt and Charissa Craig, 1982, Kenya 
Christie Brinkley, 1989, Kenya
Rebecca Romijn, 1998, Kenya
May Andersen, 2003, Kenya
This “native-as-scenery” is a topic I’ve been planning to get into for a while. Now that it’s been called out, it might be about time to go a little deeper.
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5 comments:

  1. John RottenFebruary 14, 2013 at 10:07 AM

    Off hand, it's something that doesn't bother me. And I actually kind of find it fascinating to wonder what a group of African tribesman think of the tall white woman in a bikini posing next to them (ah, Rebecca ^_^).

    I liked Julie's picture with the matado this yearr. I found it to be the sexiest of the bunch. A beautiful woman in a bikini is wonderful. But put her with an elegant, intense looking man and you've got fireworks.

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  2. SwimsuitologistFebruary 15, 2013 at 1:40 PM

    That's interesting--I always see a man in the photo as a bit of an obstacle to my enjoyment. (Maybe it just wrecks my fantasy that I'm the only male in the world where this all takes place...)

    What a great Jessica Gomes shot this would be, without the parentheses!
    http://tinyurl.com/d5tzlu7

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  3. AnonymousJune 12, 2020 at 11:27 PM

    I know it's random to put this here now, but Charissa Craig got the briefest of mentions in this New York Times article today. Never saw many other pictures of her outside of SI, although I do remember her in a Chrysler ad in the 80s. I imagine she had a career much like Coco Mitchell and much greater success walking the runways of Europe than she was able to have here.

    https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/12/style/shailah-edmonds-black-model-1970s.html

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  4. SwimsuitologistJune 16, 2020 at 5:49 PM

    Thanks for the Charissa Craig link! Sorry I didn't see it until now. Great article.

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  5. AnonymousMarch 29, 2024 at 6:47 PM

    Charissa Craig has appeared in a number of shows in NYC. I see her picture with other models' names under neath her picture. Why has she not been given her due credit?

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