Models & their fans

#1

I posted this article on the Playboy CyberClub message boards earlier today, in reaction to the current arguments and debates on people's perceptions of relationships with nude models.
It was written on the spur of the moment, so some of my phrasing may be, well, out of phase. Some of my thought process came out while I wrote, which is preserved in the text.

This is an account of my philosophy and perceptions in regards to my and others relationships with models.

I suppose that this topic is not as academic as others in this forum, but there was nowhere else suitable in AF. I guess that the Miscellaneous Discussion forum may have been a place, but it is too trivial for this subject matter.
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Although I am grateful that I can interact with my favourite models through this message board, it also bugs me, ALOT.

Ultimately, I don't like being a "fan", it is unequal. No matter how hot a woman may be I do not like figuratively "putting them up on a pedestal", as it can lead to delusions and inequality, resulting in a very uneasy feeling. To be honest, I don't like being below anyone at all. I understand and respect hierarchy in certain situations, but I much prefer equal relationships.

It is difficult being a friend of someone you admire, whether they are a model or musician (or celebrity), because you tend to overemphasise the reasons why you admire them, rather than respect for who they actually are. You tend to think that everything about them is great, or at other times criticse them because you don't have that mutual relationship. The extreme case is that of a "sheep", or suckup.

EdShoo7 [poster on the message boards] is just using harsh tactics to bring everyone down to reality- the distinction between a friend and a fan. Like a splash of cold water in the face to bring sleepy one out of his trip with the Sandman.
Honestly alot of you lot are quite up in the clouds, but yet in a place of such induced sexual arousal, with such limited personal direct communication, that can be hard to contain.

Now I quite often flit about like a streaking madman at a soccer match, I enjoy it. This message board allows me to dispense my more lurid thoughts quite freely. It's a release.
But at the same time I keep in my mind the fact that, these women that I am raving about, are REAL people. It actually adds to the admiration, that these hot women actually exist.

Technically, a model is an abstraction- not the real thing. It is an attempt to replicate the real thing, eg. a map, blueprint, prototype. A person model is portraying how a set of clothes will look when you wear them. A nude model is portraying what her body looks like when she shows you- of course, that defeats the purpose of modelling as it actually IS the real thing.

The concept of fans exist, because the work of a model is the ONLY thing that connects her to her fans. That applies to musicians and actresses too, in fact, any profession. You could be a deep-sea microbiologist studying the symbiotic zooxanthallae of cold-water coral reefs, and have heaps of fans- people who have learnt about your work and admire it. But that is ALL they know you for.

I've just thought of something- The common technique used by nude models- "making love to the camera".
In fact, I realise now that nude models are an abstraction- they are portraying the situation that could happen with you and themself. People are usually nude when they engage in sexual congress, so if you see a model nude, it inspires that potential situation. Because sexual congress is such an intimate, personal experience, it makes you feel that you actually ARE connected with that model.

And that happpens with all people who view nude models. I cannot deny that every model I find attractive here, whether I comment on them, not comment on them, or even converse with, that I find them sexually arousing- of course I'd love to root 'em all! It's just natural! I am good friends with women who I'd bang at the drop of a hat, but I am still able to maintain my composure, and treat them with proper respect (ie not sucking up to them).

But, I learn to control my arousal by the fact that the reason why those thoughts are inspired, is because I find their personalities and physique attractive. I DO NOT believe that a woman is good-looking just because she is a nude model (I am just grateful that her physical beauty has been fully recognised).

That way, I see them for who they really are, hot women, and think of them & treat them just the same as any other woman that I may see in life. After all, they are just "the girls next door".