Terry Richardson’s Work is Degrading to Women

[noellejv]

I love his work. And i think that Purple ed was amazing. Those are big models, people that do have a choice, so not really worried about it. And that Obama pic is the best I've seen of the President.

He photographs all sorts of people, he's the most democratic of photographers, and he doesn't take himself too seriously. As a women I do not feel at all offended by his pics, there is always a playful side to them that i find refreshing, he doesn't turn women into ethereal perfect beings, his women are made of flesh and bones and yes imperfect.

In Mary Kate's pic she looks like Mary Kate, her style is looking like some sort of junky most of the time, why should he made her look more appealing and gloss over the reality? She's exactly like that and made an adult career out of it.

Feel free to love his work. The problem isn't that his work is sub par, it's that he's using his clout to abuse people.

They are really two very different things.

 

[loladonna]

Terry Richardson takes p*rn*gr*ph*c pics. His books published by Tashen, that according to this last report seem to give him the respectability that makes women trust him, are mostly of p*rn*gr*ph*c pics where he's invariably a participant. Not exactly some dark secret he's hiding. He asked a woman he was taking provocative pics off, not some underage kid sent by an agency for a specific job, to give him a jerk in a room full of assistants and she consented. Remind me where is the story again?
That she was "nerdy", that she regretted it, that she thought it was humiliating, well she should have thought of that before, not after. I do not see in what way is that his problem.

Where are those mythical underage girls everyone has been talking about terribly abused by Terry, or even those grown woman forced to do something against their will that did not report him to the police?

I think the story is that it is unprofessional for a photographer to solicit sex from his subjects regardless of whether they consent or not. Name one profession where this type of behavior is appropriate? . I doubt the occasion mentioned in the article is his one and only time doing that. His assistant had towels ready which shows this is something Terry does all the time with his subjects. A model should be able to turn up to a shoot without the expectation that she must sexually satisfy the photographer

It has already been said that no model is going to report him because he is so well-connected-- and protected it seems- within the industry that a model risks hurting her own career more than his.

It's disappointing how so many people in the fashion industry support --and reward-- this type of clearly unethical behavior.

 

[rockangel]

post #93 nasty nasty nasty I always disliked his work and i don´t understand how he can have as much success...

 

[t-rex]

I can't believe several people in this thread have pulled the "Why come down on Terry when others in the industry do similiar?" defense, as though we should either go after everyone at the same time or no one at all? It's like the Polanski argument melted with naysayers to Americans adopting non-American children.

 

[Les_Sucettes]

I think the story is that it is unprofessional for a photographer to solicit sex from his subjects regardless of whether they consent or not. Name one profession where this type of behavior is appropriate? . I doubt the occasion mentioned in the article is his one and only time doing that. His assistant had towels ready which shows this is something Terry does all the time with his subjects. A model should be able to turn up to a shoot without the expectation that she must sexually satisfy the photographer

He takes p*rn*gr*ph*c pictures. He has books with mostly p*rn*gr*ph*c pictures published by Tashen where is the main participant. If he's not in a job that he's "allowed" to ask a woman that came to him with no specific purpose than to take sexually suggestive pictures , to engage on a sex act or even be photographed doing it, I sincerely do not Know who can. She could always say no and leave. She was not coerced, blackmailed, forced, or came to his studio under false pretenses not Knowing that all his pictures have a strong sexual element , she was asked to perform a sex act and she agreed. Both consenting adults. She was not underage or sent there by a reputable agency for other and specific type of work. By her own admission she's not even a "model".
He never denied that he asks and random women do ask him to be photographed for his most hardcore work. That yes, it does involve getting intimate with the photographer.

I sincerely would love to Know what has Terry to do with a man that had sex with an underage girl. A crime, last time I checked.

 

[MeMe7]

Wow. I don't know that much about him other then he was a photographer, but the story about the model especially Jamie is disgusting. I guess he has money and connections so he will probably keep getting away with it.

 

[agee]

I would argue that other photographers, models, editors and the industry as a whole have been criticized on this site and elsewhere for the over-sexualization that exists in the industry, especially as it relates to young girls. This is a frequent topic of conversation in the model age thread, the model behavior thread, the thread about Sara Ziff's film, magazine threads and even the weight thread, so poor Terry is not the only one who has been criticized on this front. As another poster noted, he gets it more because he is the most extreme offender. I would also argue that another reason he gets it more because he inserts himself into many of the photo shoots, which further reinforces that this is not about creativity, art or fashion, rather it is about a dirty old man getting his rocks off and telling the world.

For the longest time, it could be argued that there was no real evidence that Terry has stepped over the line, it was all conjecture on the part of hundreds if not thousands of people who have seen Richardson lensed editorials, calendars and usually more more disturbing, outtakes from various photo shoots. Well that changed on March 11, 2010 when the New York Post article was published, it confirmed the tingling spidey sense of many observers' about the goings on on the Richardson set.

Granted Rie did not say that she was an eye witness to Richardson's misconduct, but she stated that "he takes girls who are young, manipulates them to take their clothes off and takes pictures of them they will be ashamed of. They are too afraid to say no because their agency booked them on the job and are too young to stand up for themselves." Another quote from Rasmussen, "I told him what you do is completely degrading to women. I hope you know you only [bleep] girls because you have a camera, lots of fashion contacts and get your pictures in Vogue." Apparently Rie Rasmussen went to the New York Post (or if she did not approach them, she fully cooperated when they came to her). If this is untrue and unsubstantiated, Terry Richardson had a HUGE cause of action against her.

 

[before]

^But he didn't, instead he ran off into the night, only to resurface, howling at Rie's agency.

 

[agee]

ETA to my previous post:
As I stated in the Model Behavior thread, I completely believe that there are established models who are kindred spirits with Terry and that he has probably gotten his freak on with some very popular models of today and big names from five and ten years ago. However it appears that he has no boundaries, and he has used his professtional position for his own personal pleasure.

^But he didn't, instead he ran off into the night, only to resurface, howling at Rie's agency.

I completely agree and mentioned in another thread I saw his contacting her agency as a power play on his part; so on more than one front, Terry's response to this matter seems to confirm the suspicions and speculation, rather than refute them.

 

[noellejv]

He takes p*rn*gr*ph*c pictures. He has books with mostly p*rn*gr*ph*c pictures published by Tashen where is the main participant. If he's not in a job that he's "allowed" to ask a woman that came to him with no specific purpose than to take sexually suggestive pictures , to engage on a sex act or even be photographed doing it, I sincerely do not Know who can. She could always say no and leave. She was not coerced, blackmailed, forced, or came to his studio under false pretenses not Knowing that all his pictures have a strong sexual element , she was asked to perform a sex act and she agreed. Both consenting adults. She was not underage or sent there by a reputable agency for other and specific type of work. By her own admission she's not even a "model".
He never denied that he asks and random women do ask him to be photographed for his most hardcore work. That yes, it does involve getting intimate with the photographer.

I sincerely would love to Know what has Terry to do with a man that had sex with an underage girl. A crime, last time I checked.

Well feminist theory has long preached against what they call implied child p*rn*gr*phy, so there's that. But yeah, soliciting and getting naked in front of women who are there for work is in fact illegal, it is absolutely not "allowed" by the law and yes, he could easily be sued for this.

How would you feel if your boss got naked and asked you to have sex with him, even if he did have a reputation. I'm sorry but what you're reinforcing is the old fashioned male argument that "the woman was asking for it" by showing up and dressing (or undressing) a certain way. That is archaic. We've all come much farther than that.

 

[Fontenrose]

I was pretty bummed when Abby Lee defended him a few weeks back, before this whole Rie business even started. I wonder if girls that young even know what they're defending. And would she have defended him if she knew that his work with her is what enabled him to treat other women this way?

Well, what might be the upside of going along with what he asks? more shoots? more editorials? being recommended for jobs? or maybe she just enjoy clowning around naked with an old man and his skeevy pals?

Some people are very ambitious. Look at Linda Evangelista. She dated and married sleezy Gerald Marie, head of Elite France. He was videotaped by the BBC in a big sting, bragging with another agent how many of the 15-yr-old Elite Model Look contestants he was going to sleep with. He had to leave the business for a while, but guess what, not for very long. Jezebel

No wonder French parents don't want their daughters or sons to be models. They consider it the same as being a prostitute.

 

[before]

hmmm, what a smart little perverted man..looks like he has the bases covered in the USA

terryrichardson.com
Hello , if you are male or female and interested in posing nude for Terry Richardson please contact us by Email.
Please include your contact information , Phone number name and a photo ( a small jpeg) if possible.
You must be at least 18 years old and be able to provide a state issued ID at the time of the photo shoot

but whatof other countries, wonder what his guidelines are when he shoots out of states, or if he has any guidelines at all...

 

[fee de foret]

first off let me just say that after reading that story about the model jamie i almost threw up. that is so not ok no matter what your job, who you are etc etc. no one should ever have to go through something like that. i don't care if she was 18, knew what to expect whatever the fact that terry even was allowed to get away with it is not right.

i've always, always gotten creeper vibes from terry. sure he's taken some nice shots for vouge bazaar etc but i'd be willing to bet my bank account that he has a number of people reigning him in and he knows he can't get away with the smut stuff there. its so telling that when he's on his own time his pictures are always p*rn extravaganzas.
i'm against p*rn, it goes against my beliefs, so of course i'm offended by terrys work. but honestly even if i was into p*rn some of his stuff is beyond degrading...i mean all his pictures that i've (accidentaly) seen always put him in the power spot, girls sucking him off, on their knees while he smiles that sh!t eating smile with his thumbs up. it does not surprise me one bit that he wanted that girl to call him "uncle terry". messed up.

and yes, i agree that the fashion industry as a whole needs a complete overhaul. but its going to take baby steps, and if one perv gets called out then thats a step in the right direction. i don't think these 15-16 year old children should even be models...using children to sell to grown women...but thats a whole other can of worms.

 

[michyed]

An eighteen year old female is still considered young. (In fact, where I live, it's illegal to shoot nude until you're 21) And even if Richardson isn't "breaking any laws" (which he is) it doesn't make what he's doing okay. Anybody who read the article with Jamie Peck would have the decency to admit that Richardson is clearly guilty of sexual harassment (both verbal and physical) even if she consented.

And it's disgusting to say that Jamie should have expected (or even deserved) to get sexually harassed just because she was taking nude pictures. Nobody puts it better than Jezebel:

To those who would argue that any nude shoot carries an implied risk of lewd behavior on the part of the photographer, or that models should be aware of Richardson's oeuvre and avoid him if they don't like working in a sexualized environment, I say: Bull****. Nudity is common in fashion, and when the clothes come off, it doesn't denote a holiday from the responsibilities of maintaining a safe working environment. When I modeled, I shot both topless and implied nude with a variety of photographers — in fact, my first editorial shoot, for Italian Glamour, was topless — and never was I sexually harassed on a set. Nor did I expect, or feel that I deserved, to be simply because of the kind of work I was there to do. Instead, I expected those around me to not violate my dignity at work.

 

[michyed]

Well feminist theory has long preached against what they call implied child p*rn*gr*phy, so there's that. But yeah, soliciting and getting naked in front of women who are there for work is in fact illegal, it is absolutely not "allowed" by the law and yes, he could easily be sued for this.

How would you feel if your boss got naked and asked you to have sex with him, even if he did have a reputation. I'm sorry but what you're reinforcing is the old fashioned male argument that "the woman was asking for it" by showing up and dressing (or undressing) a certain way. That is archaic. We've all come much farther than that.

AGREED 100%. It is completely archaic. It sounds just like the argument of a r*pist.

 

[Squizree]

It's becoming extremely hard for me to not judge Terry and think that he only became a photographer to get to see girls naked. Because I can assure you that photography is the only way someone that hideous could see girls naked.
He's probably the type who goes and shows off to his friends about how many girls he made touch his penis.

 

[Squizree]

AGREED 100%. It is completely archaic. It sounds just like the argument of a r*pist.

I'll say it again, but I truly think it's equally both parties' faults.

If a girl had ANY common sense and self respect she'd know to stay away from someone like him.
But on the other hand if HE had as much as a fraction of decency and respect for women he'd zip his c0ck up and go to a Sex Addicts Anonymous group.

And when I say decency I don't mean the pathetic "decency" laws put in by the government. I mean the good old traditional moralistic decency.

 

[iluvjeisa]

In the fashion industry and "showbiz" or whatever you want to call it - the joy and beauty of the body is central. It's part of the aesthetic appreciation for the art/craft. Therefore, sexual predators/addicts are drawn to it. This concerns everyone involved in the business, not just photographers. The most famous cases are, I suppose, model agents - John Casablancas and Gerald Marie....

I always thought of Terry as a charicature sleazeball. A lot of people do exactly what he does, but far less obvious....and of course he's not just some good looking guy who plays on being charming, he actually kind of lets people know beforehand what kind of animal he is by looking like a German p*rn actor.

 

[mellowdrama]

^Precisely, it's not like he's hiding behind a mask of respectability. It's what you see is what you get. ***Edited ***
Why the big step backwards into infantilizing women who then must be protected from the big, bad wolf? --if that's not your bag, stay the hell away from Terry Richardson! He's not pretending to be anything than what he is!

 

[Squizree]

^Precisely, it's not like he's hiding behind a mask of respectability. It's what you see is what you get.

Oh and that makes it all ok to exploit models. So as long as I dont lie about being a creepy and perverted old geezer then I can ***edited **** around with as many models as I want.

***Edited***