"Why can't an amputee be shot with glamour?"

July 23, 2015 3:34 PM

Photographer Shoots Powerful (and Sexy) Nude Portraits of Amputee Veterans. More Michael Stokes photography. NSFW.
posted by Jacqueline (19 comments total)

If you take a person I already think is hot, and you make them, say, 15-20% cyborg, I am so there.

I probably draw the line at the 51% mark, but I'm willing to be open-minded about this.
posted by Sequence at 3:40 PM on July 23, 2015 [14 favorites]

I personally think that, uh... I mean, this is... what we really have to stop and consider about this though, is.... um....

What were we talking about again?
posted by BigHeartedGuy at 3:48 PM on July 23, 2015 [8 favorites]

On the one hand, these people all look pretty goddamn amazing. On the other hand, given the way that amputee fetishists harass the fuck out of amputees who dare to post any kind of image of themselves online, I am... well, I have mixed feelings on this one. I wish the article had mentioned that.
posted by sciatrix at 4:04 PM on July 23, 2015 [12 favorites]

Loving the 2015-era body positivity. Cracking up about the 1998-era photographer watermark.
posted by threeants at 4:20 PM on July 23, 2015 [4 favorites]

It's body positive, I guess, although I can't help but notice that these people are model-level hot to begin with.
posted by Joakim Ziegler at 4:34 PM on July 23, 2015 [12 favorites]

I think the main reason that this is NSFW is the drool that is currently pooling on my keyboard. Explain that to IT.
posted by janey47 at 4:41 PM on July 23, 2015 [4 favorites]

I can't help but notice that these people are model-level hot to begin with.

Well yeah. One of the main points of the project is that amputees can be professional models too.

This, Furiosa in Mad Max, Jack Eyers at Fashion Week, Victoria Modesta's Prototype music video... it seems like we're in the middle of a tipping point for how amputees are perceived/portrayed in society. I think it's neat.
posted by Jacqueline at 4:48 PM on July 23, 2015 [2 favorites]

If you take a person I already think is hot, and you make them, say, 15-20% cyborg, I am so there.

I probably draw the line at the 51% mark, but I'm willing to be open-minded about this.

Here try this
posted by polymodus at 4:54 PM on July 23, 2015

I think it's funny that we are hitting the tipping point for both amputee perception and also brain-controlled self-contained cybernetic limbs.
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 5:50 PM on July 23, 2015 [1 favorite]

I think it's funny that we are hitting the tipping point for both amputee perception and also brain-controlled self-contained cybernetic limbs.

I honestly think we're only twenty years out from this conjunction ushering in the widespread mainstream use of "utility" and "cosmetic" voluntary amputation.
posted by AdamCSnider at 6:10 PM on July 23, 2015 [1 favorite]

"RELATED VIDEO: 4 Fitness Gadgets That Make Working Out Fun"

I dunno, but this feels wildly inappropriate as a related video.
posted by Bovine Love at 6:11 PM on July 23, 2015 [3 favorites]

I'll never forget the second soldier I shot.

Yeah.... Probably not the best choice of words there.
posted by Joakim Ziegler at 6:38 PM on July 23, 2015 [5 favorites]

Reminds me of watching the movie "Coming Home" when it came out and thinking about how hot Jon Voigt was with his long hair and everything. About five minutes in I stopped seeing his wheelchair. Just saw all the hotness.
posted by ThatCanadianGirl at 7:09 PM on July 23, 2015

This guy took a photo of one of my best friends, Brad Ivanchan (pictured here), who lost his legs in Afghanistan when an IED blew up. I'll never forget when I had people texting and calling me asking if I had heard and all I could think about was whether he died or not. I have a photo of us drinking together after one of his tours.
posted by gucci mane at 7:28 PM on July 23, 2015 [8 favorites]

one of my best friends, Brad Ivanchan (pictured here)

If you talk to him anytime soon, and you don't mind, would you please ask him what model of gun he is holding in that picture? AK-47 or Sig Sauer modular rifle or ...?
posted by Jacqueline at 1:05 AM on July 24, 2015 [4 favorites]

On the one hand, these people all look pretty goddamn amazing. On the other hand, given the way that amputee fetishists harass the fuck out of amputees who dare to post any kind of image of themselves online, I am... well, I have mixed feelings on this one. I wish the article had mentioned that.

I'm vaguely reminded of that queer portrait series posted here a while back, where its existence and mass coverage on the internet are make me feel two different ways. In a fitness mag or art show? I'm totally on board. People magazine? I feel a bit weird. I don't really know how to resolve the tension between "Yes, people should see this" and "Mass consumption wasn't the point"
posted by hoyland at 4:48 AM on July 24, 2015 [2 favorites]

It sure is an improvement over the gueules cassées pictures from WW1 (warning : horryfying pictures). It strikes me as some sort of propaganda. They can be models, but how else can they fit in ?
posted by nicolin at 6:11 AM on July 24, 2015 [1 favorite]

Well, this woman certainly owns it.
posted by Vaike at 9:53 AM on July 24, 2015 [3 favorites]

sciatrix: See here for an explanation as to why a nontrivial proportion of amputee fetishists/devotees engage in antisocial behavior. I have no idea what percentage of them do this.
posted by BiggerJ at 8:39 PM on July 25, 2015