The retro pin-up girl aesthetic is everywhere these days, from vintage-inspired fashion spreads in major magazines to homespun paintings for sale on Etsy. As a result, we have to admit we’ve grown a bit weary of Betty Grable (and even Bettie Page) imitators. Thankfully, a new collection of photos by University of South Florida art student Rion Sabean has us convinced that there are always provocative ways to riff on old ideas. In a series called Menups, he photographs conventionally masculine men (muscular construction workers, bearded weight lifters) in traditional pin-up girl poses. The effect is humorous, but the project also makes us question our very different reactions to men and women depicted in the same, ostensibly sexy, positions. Sabean writes that his work on gender and sexuality is an “attempt to bring light to the scrutiny and judgments of society through the use of exaggerated storytelling,” and Menups clearly succeeds in that aim. Click through to see the entire series.
Photo credit: Rion Sabean, clickandclash [Spotted via Lost at E Minor]
Photo credit: Rion Sabean, clickandclash
Photo credit: Rion Sabean, clickandclash
Photo credit: Rion Sabean, clickandclash
Photo credit: Rion Sabean, clickandclash
Photo credit: Rion Sabean, clickandclash
Photo credit: Rion Sabean, clickandclash