Amy Schumer was recently photographed by Annie Leibovitz for the May 2016 issue of Vanity Fair. Like many of the magazine covers Schumer has done—and like most women of her “body type,” i.e., size—it seeks to straddle an attitude between traditional pin-up and tongue-in-cheek irony. The cover (predictably) plays with the idea of putting her, and women with a body type not usually considered “glamourus,” and putting her in a traditional pin-up pose.
Amy is outspoken and unapologetic about her weight. At the Glamour magazine’s 2015 Women of the Year Awards, she during her acceptance speech she infamously said:
“I’m probably like 160 pounds right now and I can catch a dick whenever I want, like, that’s the truth. It’s not a problem!”
She went on to talk about most photo shoots she’s asked to pose for:
“Every comic in the room knows that when a female comic has a photo shoot, they’re like, ‘Oh, can we hold this plastic dick over your head? We’re gonna shoot actual cum out of it onto your head.’ They’re like, ‘You’re gonna be a cum dumpster,’ and you’re like, ‘Thank you for having me!’ But Glamour is the first magazine that was just like, ‘Smile!’ “
Several other magazine covers play with the “non-glamorous woman being sexy” idea—and some with mixed results. Her photoshoot for the cover of GQ elicited the following review from the Huffington Post:
“If you’re familiar with her boundary-breaking oeuvre, however, it’s a little surprising — maybe even disappointing — to see her embody this barely-dressed-woman-implying-fellatio trope.”
It’s no secret that women in show business often find it difficult to balance the media’s demands for sexually charged photos with their own autonomous image. What makes the Annie Leibovitz photo shoot noteworthy is one of the “outtake” photos, and the story behind it.
“I begged Annie to photograph me with no underwear on in just a T-shirt,” Schumer says. “I explained to her how important it was to me and she finally agreed. I felt powerful and beautiful. She understood once we shot it. Or maybe she ran to the bathroom to throw up. It was one of the most meaningful moments of my life.”
Schumer has self-published “outtakes” from another Leibovitz photo shoot, an “un-airbrushed image” from the 2016 Pirelli calendar photoshoot, winning her new fans.
Even with the self-effacing putdown (“Or maybe she ran to the bathroom to throw up.”), it’s noteworthy that Amy pursued the independence that her “honest” nudity would gain her, the ability to define her own, now very public, sexuality. It’s one thing to have a slightly-chubby comedienne play coy with tongue-in-cheek references in other glamour shots, but it becomes something different with this image. Kudos, Amy.
Update: And she recently posted a short clip of herself in her fight against “chub rub” in her Alexander Wang dress before the 2016 Met Gala.
