The world may be getting smaller as a result of the Internet and the explosion of social media but cultural differences still count for something. Case in point? The campaign to secure free breast cancer screening for French women aged 40 years and over by French fashion glossy Marie-Claire. The magazine recruited a number of high-profile women including actresses, television personalities and other celebrities and asked them to pose topless for its October edition. The magazine's editors hope the campaign will pressure French Health Minister Roselyne Bachelot to grant free breast cancer screening for all women aged 40 and over. Currently, French women are entitled to free breast cancer screening as of age 50.
What struck me about the photographs in question is their simplicity and lack of any sexual connotation. The portrayal of the subjects is stark and the photographs are devoid of the usual styling tricks favored by most fashion/women's magazines (wind machine, soft lighting and photoshopping). The other thing that struck me is how real and utterly natural their breasts look. Can you imagine for just a moment an equivalent campaign in the United States? I can't. First, I doubt they would be able to find enough actresses (movie or television) still sporting the pair God gave them. Moreover, the very idea of having a campaign of this nature to promote a woman's health initiative would have virtually every Democrat and Republican lawmaker running in the opposite direction.
I only have one thing to say to the editors of French Marie Claire and the brave women who accepted to pose for the campaign: Well done! Vive la France!!
Sincerely,
The Luxe Chronicles
From left to right: Sylvie Testud, Julie Depardieu and Elsa Zylberstein. Photos by Jeff Manzetti, courtesy of www.marieclaire.fr.
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