Have You Heard About This Guy Named Terry Richardson? Probably Not.

Forewarning: Some of the subject matter, links and citations are Not Safe For Work and contain explicit sexual images. Reader Discretion Is Advised.

Disclaimer now out of the way– there is this dude. Named Terry Richardson. He is all around Grade A Gross. He is also a photographer! You may have seen his work recently due to those “racy” Glee photos he shot for GQ! Which our own blogger ihavemythings had a brief post about recently! A lot of  the discourse surrounding these photos, and other similar scandals, are conversations that usually go like this:

“I think the [insert subject of photos] shouldn’t have had these photos taken of them.”

“[Insert subject of photos] can do what they want.”

“This is TRASH! I demand that [insert subject of photos] answer and apologize for this!”

But very rarely is the producer and creator of such debated materials ever taken to task. Or even associated with the hub bub surrounding their work. I’m here to put a face on the person who took these photos:

And what a face it is.

Actually, that is a safe photo! If you so desire to see dude naked, he is inserting his naked self into his photo shoots all the time!  Via Jezebel, there is a seedy video in which he talks about being nude when his models don’t want to be nude (to make them more comfortable?) and how he then “seduces” them! And then he sings a song about molestation! (Seriously!) (A warning: if you don’t want to see his wang, I advise you to stay away from linked video. And from googling him. It’s everywhere.)

Which, you know, showing his naked body is his prerogative. Good for him. What isn’t ok, though, is assuming the people who HAVE to work with him to get any exposure in the industry have to deal with naked him. Or being “seduced” by him. Once upon a time, people called that sexual harassment. Now it is part and parcel of the artistic experience!!!! And, to no one’s surprise, he has been accused of harassment and molestation! To which the fashion industry responded by….still giving this guy work in magazines like Vogue and GQ!

Many discussions have occurred about his exploitation of models and using his position for his sexual gratification (A rather brilliant 14-year-old called him out on it.) This dude is just damn disgusting.

Ok, so, a little heavy on the links! I just find it important to a) show my sources and where I get my information from and b) encourage you to read these other fantastic blogs!

So, back to those Glee photos and my views on them:

Yes, the people photographed are adults. But they are photographed as characters WHO ARE NOT ADULTS. This is the fetishization of sixteen-year-old-girls, and in all honesty, it is absolutely disgusting. We might as well stamp a “Humbert Humbert Seal of Approval” on them.

You know, and the fact that the dude stays clothed the entire time while panty-laden women frolick all over him? Also transparently not cool. But what isn’t transparent? The distance between the industry and its products. Because it is REALLY easy to pin blame on the actors from Glee for being photographed. We, as the general public, don’t really understand the big wide world of PR and contracts. Where they forced into it? I don’t know. But I can be fairly certain this did not happen when they were bored on a Saturday and chillin’ with Uncle Terry.

It is incredibly important that we begin to identify who produces these artifacts for our consumption and our critiques. Because only blaming the subjects in the final product for simply being in such exploitive images is kind of like blaming Kate Moss for unattainable body images. Sure, they participate in the distribution but ultimately are not the invisible people who hire photographers like Terry Richardson, publish these photographs, and make the biggest chunks of money off of the final product. Those are the people we need to bring our questions, critiques and outrage too. This industry depends on the invisibility and the general society’s detachment with the people who run the show. We can change that.

If you remain unconvinced that Terry Richardson is a deplorable creature who uses “art” as a ploy to exploit women, please, look for yourself!