EDITORIAL
THE SLEUTHSAYER
"So why do women pose nude?" asks Allure magazine. "Some have argued
that the young girls in skin mags pose nude because society makes them do it.
But if this is the cause, then why do successful, rich women—who don't have
to do it in order to stave off eviction and starvation—pose nude for photographs
or do nude scenes in films? What would make them DO such a thing?" Perhaps
a shot at a spot in Sleuth's annual "25 Sexiest" tribute?
As US magazine noted in '96 while making "Taking It Off" its number
one story of the year: "Birthday suits became power outfits as stars undressed
for success. Drew Barrymore flashed David Letterman and stripped at a Manhattan
Club. Naomi Campbell peeled at a New York bar. Showgirls and Exotica turned cineplexes
into peep shows. Demi Moore did exhaustive 'research' for Striptease. At a time
when stars complain about having no private life, it's surprising they would be
so eager to reveal their private parts. We remember when artists were happy just
to bare their souls." And now they've 'gotten into the Sleuth spirit.
Hollywood image doctor Michael Levine pinpoints the reason: "Fame is something
more valuable than money in America. Notoriety has become the most addictive substance
in America in the late 20th Century—more than drugs, more than sex."
And fame for one's frame produces the notorious "high" we induce by
inclusion.
"Sexy people are never sexy. They are the least sexy people," scoffs
Sandra Bernhard {and she should know}. But even the most downloaded dame in cyberspace,
Teri Hatcher doesn't know why: "I don't know HOW people on the Internet are
perceiving me as 'sexy' or whatever," she wonders. "What they're judging
me on is not me. Now, say you were someone with whom I was out on a date {in that
case, we'd tell your husband!} and you were thinking, 'She's really sexy.' That
would make me feel good because you're experiencing me eating, drinking, talking,
listening, finding what I say passionate {we're definitelytelling her husband!},
and noticing that I'm swearing or not swearing—all those things that make
me me. So, if you thought I was sexy, it would be like, 'OK, you get me.- Get
her on page 94...
Picking My Spots,
