Paulina Porizkova has been modeling since the late ’70s and has maintained a loyal following ever since. That has also given her a front-row seat to the industry’s inner workings, including the value placed on youth and beauty. Porizkova has taken to Instagram to share a post that explores the objectification of women and discusses the line between degradation and celebration.
When Porizkova was just 18, she made waves for her appearance on the cover of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition. Her $6,000,000 contract with Estée Lauder broke new records in the industry, giving her for the time the biggest contract paycheck ever. Now 57, Porizkova uses her platform to discuss ageism and empowerment, and her latest post on the subject matter offers a lot of food for thought.
Paulina Porizkova strips down to discuss objectification
View this post on Instagram
Last week, Porizkova shared a photo to Instagram featuring her sat at the edge of her bed. She is seen not wearing any clothes and only has a white sheet covering her front, seemingly in the process of putting a pair of strappy heels on or off. Porizkova begins her caption with the question, “Is it objectification or celebration?” Sometimes, she and other models have found, it depends on age if someone is even looked at long enough to be objectified.
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“In a partriarchal society, women have always been seen as objects of desire or nurture. Because these are the needs of men who run the world. This is why youth and beauty are such a strong currency,” she muses. She then goes on to wonder what happens when it’s a woman who objectifies herself. “She is taking the powers she has been given and using them in her own interest but is simultaneously helping to perpetuate a system which has always existed,” Porizkova proposes.
Exploring the rules taught to each gender
It’s not just being taught certain things about women, Porizkova insists, that makes objectification such a paradox; it’s ideas about men and masculinity that contribute to this. She explains, “Under these same rules, a man seizing his power is celebrated. He will only be shamed for NOT taking the opportunity.” With age comes wisdom, Porizkova concludes, as her earliest modeling work was done without her fully understanding the job, that it was because “Someone else decided it was to be celebrated.”
“Now,” she continues, “when I expose my body, it it with my full knowledge and consent.
Hence, celebration.” Porizkova has not shied away from discussing personal topics and has shared videos and selfies of herself crying.
