This may be my favourite photo of Beth Ditto ever. Sure, there’s a heap of pictures of her that are far more flattering, that are downright hot. And those pictures are important, they’re revolutionary, they’re incredibly precious. I love seeing Beth naked on the cover of a magazine, I love seeing her in high-fashion spreads, styled-up and looking amazing, fantastic, and unattainable in a way that has nothing to do with size. Images of fat girls as objects and subjects of desire are vital.
But for me, this picture is the most awesome. Because it’s a big fuck you to the need to be an object of desire, to the equation of attractiveness with self-worth. I love this photo because Beth is showing she’s not afraid to be ugly. Because it shows that sometimes being ugly doesn’t mean you can’t also sometimes be beautiful; and that sometimes being beautiful doesn’t mean you can’t sometimes be ugly. Because ugly and beautiful are both poses, positions, products.
I love it because it fucks with the tyranny of appearance through appearance.
I love it.
YES YES.