Monday, November 28, 2011

After Hours

Today's photos brought to you by the North Carolina Photography Group and After Hours Tavern in High Point, NC! This night was really just great fun. I wasn't surrounded by photographers or anything like some of my friends, but I was kind of busy dancing on the stage and singing along to Sweet Home Alabama. There's definitely an upside to a shoot taking place in a bar. Not only did I meet a couple of new photographers, but I met some fantastic new models. It's been about a year since I started modeling and I'm amazed at how many wonderful friends I've made in that time.

You know, it's interesting to participate in some of these shoots as I also talk about the problem with the objectification of women. But, of course, objectification means that you strip away the personality, the nuances, and the humanity of a person and see just their bodies, you see them simply as, well, objects for your own personal use. I'd hope that every single person who follows my blog or even just comes to visit sees me as much more than that. I share with you  my fears, my ambitions, my passions, and,  I'll just say, that if someone can really ignore all of that and see me as nothing more than a virtual blow up doll, then that's on them, not me. A woman does not invite objectification or sexual harassment regardless of how she dresses, what kind of lifestyle she has (a girl who likes to party in mini skirts is no more an object than a conservatively dressed house wife), or how she presents herself. The choice to objectify lies solely with the person doing the objectifying. Every photo you see, regardless of how attractive you find that person to be, is an actual human being with a life outside of the limited experience you've had of them. Never forget that- they don't exist for you, they are their own people with their own lives and their own bodily autonomy.

Okay, so with that little mental wandering out of the way, let's get to some photos!


By Bonnie Stanley Photography


By Harold Marley


By Harold Marley

By Mark Travis
























By Harold Marley

by Bonnie Stanley Photography
By Bonnie Stanley Photography

13 comments:

  1. Have Bonnie put you together with Madelyn Greco ad Scott Fray...

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  2. JR.. ooo you guessed my next surprise ;-) I actually am next in line to be painted by those two and I will do everything in my power to make sure Bonnie is there!

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  3. thanks for this. i see so few women who look like me - with big sexy curves, portrayed as anything but a headless fatty. i think it is oh so important to reclaim fat images in the media....if we go through life only seeing images of skinny and fit on tv, in movies and in magazines, when the reality is quite the opposite, it creates a cognitive dissonance that i find really hard to overcome. seeing sexy, confident big women looking just as good as their skinny counterparts if not larger than life.

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  4. You are so lovely, you definitely prove that big is just as good as small.

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  5. I was going to say you were hot... but I think you've just been outdone by your shoes..! :D

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  6. lol thanks T- I do indeed love those shoes!

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  7. You are so stunningly gorgeous... I'm big as well, but I apparently haven't come to the same self-confidence level you have!. I guess I need to buy more corsets and act sexy. :3

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  8. Mandi- I recommend Lessons From the Fat O Sphere as a great starter to self acceptance! It's what turned my life around! You wouldn't even believe how much I hated myself before reading that book.. then you can move onto Fat!So? and The Obesity Myth as well as Health at Every Size. Trust me, self confidence didn't just spontaneously happen for me :) a concerned friend handed me a book- it made me really mad (as it challenged my world view) but it also made me accept my body and become an activist!

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  9. Wow! You are a stunning (plus) literally. I can't say how much I heard," you have such a beautiful face" which is wonderful but I am more than a face. Growing up I never battled a weight problem til I had my daughter 6 years ago but I have always been a plus( size 12-14) . BBW rules! How can I get into plus modeling in my area?

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  10. I would love to pave the way in my area for the big girls size 18 and up. I'm originally from NY so being outgoing is not a problem. I just want to show my little mami who is a petite 6 year old model in training that beauty is not just in size but in confidence and demure positivity in oneself!

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  11. I think there is much confusion between objectification and sexual freedom. Objectification is something that happens in the mind, as a person cannot literally be turned into an object. Being sexually free and open is a good thing. Speaking one's mind is a good thing. When one takes a leap from that to believing that it's okay to rape someone, or otherwise disregard another person's well-being, then it becomes objectification. It's a pretty big leap, too. I don't know how they do it.

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  12. Btw, the pants/stockings combo is incredibly sexy!

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