Nude commercial photography is now apparently sexist. Nothing slips past the notice of the perpetually offended as the culture war on everything “problematic” rages on.
This week, Japanese camera manufacturer Fujifilm unveiled their latest model, the GFX 50S, in London. The event was met with outrage from its more hypersensitive attendees when the company brought out a half-naked model to pose as a photographic subject.
“After an hour or so of technical discussions, they brought a model out for us to shoot, so that we could take home the camera files, process them etc… She was in trousers with braces over a completely naked upper half,” complained photographer Danny North to Metro.
The photographer, who claims he was looking forward to the event, was appalled by Fujifilm’s presentation. In a now-viral series of tweets, he decried the presence of the topless model.
“Sorry? Is this 1986? Where’s Ron Burgundy?” He asked on Twitter. “The most forward thinking camera company in the world r [sic] showcasing their [sic] not even released camera via this archaic middle aged male.”
“What if u [sic] was [sic] the only women [sic] camera nerd in that room, how would that make you feel?” He continued. “Seriously raging.”
The publication echoed his remarks. North says the event was almost entirely made up of men, which Metro speculates contributed to the normalization of sexist oppression.
“Take a moment to process that. At an event designed for people to practice with a camera, it was deemed appropriate to bring something out for them to photograph. And that something was a half naked woman.” wrote Rebecca Reid.
“I think it’s wrong in this day and age,” she continued. “Photography is a male dominated industry, it should try and be more inclusive, and stuff like this simply isn’t. It’s outdated sexist bullshit.”
In response to the article, a spokesperson for Fujifilm gave an apology for “any offense [the exhibition of the nude model] might have caused.” They washed their hands of the issue, stating that the professional photographer they hired to run the event made a “choice of shooting subject was not in line with [Fujifilm’s] company values.”
In a medium where transgressive works like Andres Serrano’s photograph of “Piss Christ” once dominated art discourse, it’s sad to see contemporary photographers espouse views more puritanical than the original detractors of artistic photography.
Ian Miles Cheong is a journalist and outspoken media critic. You can reach him through social media at @stillgray on Twitter and on Facebook.
