Clayton W. alerted us to this September’s issue of Harper’s Bazaar. Paul Goude decided to photograph Naomi Campbell as if she were in Africa with animals. Clayton writes that it “…very nearly turns her into some sort of animal.” Below are some images from the photo shoot, courtesy of Womanist Musings (via Feministing):
![image[3]](https://thesocietypages.org/socimages/files/2009/08/image3.png "image[3]")
On this cover of Vibe, Lil’ Kim is posed animalistically and, it is asserted, she is “ready to roar”:
NEW! Naomi Campbell, is also put in leopard print in this photo in the December 2008 issue of Russian Vogue (found here):
ALSO NEW! Iman with a cheetah, and with a cheetah print scarf on her head, as photographed by Peter Beard, 1985 (found here):
ALSO ALSO NEW! These two pictures of Grace Jones (from here) involve animalization (explicitly in the second case). These images may not be safe for work, so I’ve put them after the jump, along with another example:
FINALLY! Bri A. sent in these photos of Bratz Nighty Nite dolls. Notice that the doll of color, Sasha, is in leopard print pajamas, but the others are not (a quick google search confirms the costume is race-specific; images here and here):
You can view our other posts in which black women and girls are associated with exotic animals here and here.
Lisa Wade, PhD is an Associate Professor at Tulane University. She is the author of American Hookup, a book about college sexual culture; a textbook about gender; and a forthcoming introductory text: Terrible Magnificent Sociology. You can follow her on Twitter and Instagram.
Comments 42
kierabs — August 19, 2009
Don't forget to mention the rather overt ejaculation imagery in the elephant picture.
mercurianferret — August 19, 2009
kierabs: Don't forget to mention, too, that elephants do this activity to keep cool (although can be trained to do it, too).
So... if there was a non-Black woman with African animals, what would you say that it was depicting? Colonialism (if the woman was "White", the clothing were "White", and there was overt hunting or displays of "White" wealth)? Fetishism (if the woman was dressed in the same manner as Naomi Campbell -- or is this also fetishism)?
So, too, what makes an animal "exotic"? Is it just an animal with which we are unfamiliar? Is a cheetah (African) more exotic than a mountain lion (North American)? What about if the former is in an American zoo, and the latter in the wild?
What about the perception of these images where these animals aren't considered so "exotic"? I.e., if you change the context to sub-Saharan Africa (where these animals are found naturally), what is the perception of Naomi Campbell (or other black Western models) in this (or similar) photo shoot?
Deaf Indian Muslim Anarchist — August 19, 2009
the 2nd poster does have a point. If it was a white woman, would the context of the photos change?
On the other hand, I look at these photos some more... and I see the black woman as a strong, independent warrior who runs with animals and she controls her own life. Obviously, not everyone sees it that way.
I can see how these photos are racist and patronizing.
but anyway... Naomi Campbell is stunning and I'm envious of her body.
Chris — August 19, 2009
Your "here here here and here" links seem to be broken when I view this page. They appear to be inserting an extraneous "2009/08/19/" into the URLs.
Dmitriy — August 19, 2009
man, jumping rope with monkey looks fun. i would totally do that.
Louche — August 19, 2009
Is it off-topic to say I am sad that these women are apparently wearing the skins of these "exotic animals," particularly where one is wearing the skin of the very species she is running beside? To be animals we need to wear the skins of other species?
Eneya — August 19, 2009
Oh, God...
The idea is that usually black people are portraited as "tribal".
We have our stereotypes regarding people of colour (any colour... and any race), genders and so on.
The idea is that these stereotypes sometimes implied all the wrong things.
I'm not sure that this exact fotoshoot is all bad.
Somebody already pointed out that the woman is active and happy.
On the other hand she is portaited that she is like a cat (something coming from the gender), that she is wild (something connected with her race skin colour) and that is it.
It will be good e.g. if somebody can show us a similiar fotoshoot with white women.
Not just standing like trees (like usualy white women are posing or in some gross and unpleasant position) but actually doing something, to have real action on the screen. Like real runnig, real jumping, swiming, dancing... anything.
Well??
P.P. Lisa, I apologise if in fact you didn't meant those things.
This is how I see it and what I think you are trying to point out.
CJ — August 19, 2009
In addition to thinking the whole premise is ridiculous and understanding that the whole thing is shopped all to hell, I feel the most disturbed by the depiction of the animals - especially when the model is pictured wearing animal skins. The attempt to "humanize" the animals is as bad as the attempt to "animalize" the woman.
This whole Tarzan thing just needs to stop.
Lu — August 20, 2009
I see the black woman as a strong, independent warrior who runs with animals
I know you meant that as a positive but that's sort of the problem. Black people are often portrayed as inextricably linked to Africa, even if they don't feel personally connected to it. What's more, comparing black people to animals has been used throughout history to degrade and reduce them. Put those two together and maybe you can understand why this is so unbelievably tasteless. The artistic director was presented with a beautiful, talented black model and all he could think to do was show her in an African setting, among the animals. Naomi Campbell is not African; she is British. (And for the record, she's of Jamaican descent, although this would still be tasteless even if she was of African descent.) They chose to put her in this kind of setting because of her skin. It's not about whether or not the photos portray her positively as an individual, it's about the consistent choices made over and over again by magazines and other images to make black women appear exotic and tribal merely because of their skin color.
singapore photographers — August 20, 2009
wow...nice works
Cable — August 20, 2009
This site is hilarious. If the images depicted a white woman with animals, people would call it sexist against women. If it was a white man, it would be called sexist against women and racist toward blacks. If it was a black man w/ animals, it would be called racist.
Advertisers can't win. That's why I'm glad they just do what they need to do to sell product.
Martha Clark — August 20, 2009
I'm an irish girl, what I want to know is whether harper's bazaar would like to perhaps photograph me in a field of sheep?
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Anonymous — November 22, 2009
Did anyone not notice the black woman in CHAINS?!?!?
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Tiny Toys — January 9, 2011
I don't see any racism here. These women are strong and powerful like most of us ;)
Baby Shop — January 9, 2011
The African Woman in chains is very disturbing! what are they trying to portray? the world is changing and we now have an African president.. cant they see! what ever the photographer is trying to say is just not funny
Bead — January 9, 2011
Great shots! i don't understand the fuss.. great shots
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Tessla Rabin — March 18, 2013
Is it not possible to get similar pictures without using the Europeanized dark skinned woman? I have seen similar pictures of everyday native women in Africa that were taken by friends either on safari or doing missionary work.
Certainly it would be odd to have white women in these pictures because they are not still existent in these environs. Beyond that, they never were. How odd would it seem to see Naomi Campbell dressed as a Scots-woman or in Tatar garb? Ancient Egyptian would be somewhat fitting in that the ethnicity is closer and I'm sure it would be acceptable to those crying racism because an Egyptian heritage suggests to them something advanced and worthy of pride. What simple manipulation they have been primed for and are aroused by, a sad joke...
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Rabid Wolf — August 3, 2015
Our skin looks good in leopard print.I don't feel degraded by wearing leopard print, I feel powerful, sympathetic magic, sort of like the Native Americans who wore wolf skins to gain their power. It feels great to be in touch with the wild inner nature within. Human beings ARE animals afterall.