SC photo shoot pictures- from "V" Magazine

windspirit said:

As a person with a light complexion I've always been amazed by this. Why do people think that we all need to look tanned? You know, some of us don't even tan; we burn. You feel like your skin is on fire; it's hot, and it hurts for days. I think I even took a painkiller this summer after I accidentally got a "tan." Personally I like the shade of my skin, and I don't understand why some people have a problem with it. Is Nicole Kidman in need of a tan? I think she looks great.

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My dermatologist once told me that pale is healthy, the only safe tan comes out of a bottle.

I'm with you on the tan issue. My sister is much darker than I am even in the dead of winter and she never purposely tries to tan. I tan well if I make the effort, and it doesn't take much, but I understand not everyone is so lucky. If you look at Sasha and her sister Natasha, Natasha is always much darker than Sasha, even in the summer. Maybe Sasha doesn't tan easily, maybe she doesn't have time since she's locked in a rink 24/7, lol. My palest years and the darkest my hair ever got were when I was skating. I rarely saw the light of day and certainly didn't have time for baking by a pool, much less anything else.

If Sasha is avoiding the sun, more power to her, she'll age much better without the damage to the skin. I went to a tanning bed once or twice a week for a while 10-11 years ago and saw my skin change within 1 year of using those beds, so she's smarter than I was if she's avoiding it altogether. Tan does not = healthy.

Almost Porn

First of all, to those who thought that Sasha was in charge and that the pictures reflect who she really is: I highly doubt it. In most photo shoots, every nuance is directed.

Second point of interest: while these shots don't really look like porn (not that I'm any great authority on the subject), I'd inject a note of caution to Sasha or Tara or any person over the age of consent who does not look it. There's a HUGE market for kiddy pron that is legal - meaning that the risk of using underage models is so great that overage models who can pass for children are highly sought after. Sad, isn't it?

Linny

I think this tanning thing is has an interesting history. In the past, tan was bad and pale was good. I think this had a socioeconomic basis. If you were poor (this was almost everybody) you had to work in the fields all day in the hot sun. If you were rich you could laze around indoors eating bonbons, and if you ever did have to go outside, you had a servant to follow you around with a parasol to keep the sun off you.

But after the industrial revolution, the "working class" (i.e., amost everyone) worked indoors, in factories and offices, etc. Only the "idle rich" could, as PeaceStateSkater says, hang around the pool or lay out on the beach all day getting a tan. So having a dark tan became a mark of social distinction.

Only later did we start learning about skin cancer, etc.

As for Sasha, I assume that for these pictures, as well as for skating performances, she wears make-up of whaterver shade she or the photographer wants.(?)

Mathman

Re: Almost Porn

Linny said:

First of all, to those who thought that Sasha was in charge and that the pictures reflect who she really is: I highly doubt it. In most photo shoots, every nuance is directed.

Second point of interest: while these shots don't really look like porn (not that I'm any great authority on the subject), I'd inject a note of caution to Sasha or Tara or any person over the age of consent who does not look it. There's a HUGE market for kiddy pron that is legal - meaning that the risk of using underage models is so great that overage models who can pass for children are highly sought after. Sad, isn't it?

Linny

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So you're basically saying you think Sasha and Tara would pose for porn? Give them more credit than that, geez.

Re: Almost Porn

Linny said:

First of all, to those who thought that Sasha was in charge and that the pictures reflect who she really is: I highly doubt it. In most photo shoots, every nuance is directed.

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I meant, in charge of her sexuality, not the photo shoot (I can see a strong hand of the photographer there). It just seems to me like she's aware of her sexuality and in control of it. Therefore, harder to be exploited. Plus, I didn't get the feeling that the photographer ever thought about exploiting it, actually, I felt like he respected it. Showed us a person, who is sexy, not an object.

As for the pics reflecting "who she really is", I don't know if it was what you think that I wrote, but just in case: I didn't. I wrote that I thought "there's a lot of Sasha in them", that's it. No more, no less.

Btw, there're all only our impressions of those pictures. I think it'd be very hard to find "the truth." In this case, the closest to it, probably, would be how Sasha felt, and what the photographer really had in mind. The rest of us can only speculate and form impressions. And isn't art mostly about impressions, after all?

Second point of interest: while these shots don't really look like porn (not that I'm any great authority on the subject), I'd inject a note of caution to Sasha or Tara or any person over the age of consent who does not look it. There's a HUGE market for kiddy pron that is legal - meaning that the risk of using underage models is so great that overage models who can pass for children are highly sought after. Sad, isn't it?

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If you have your pictures published, there's always a risk that someone's going to see more in them that you'd like them to. Probably everything we do can be exploited, one way or another. That's life. To avoid that, you'd have to do nothing, which isn't an option, is it? And for people in the public eye, avoiding being photographed isn't an option, either (she could not do the photo shoot, sure, but many of her pics from the ice are much "worse").

Take my word for it, those pics are very far from porn. Are they sexy? Some of them, sure. And why not? We are all sexual beings, that's nothing to be ashamed of. Sasha's an adult, if she wants to celebrate her sexuality, she can. If some people see a kid in her and get aroused by that, that's in their sick minds -- not her problem. If she had a boyfriend should he feel bad for being sexually attracted to her? Should other men? I don't think that's something people can control (well, in some extreme cases they've been able to repress it, but I don't think it's particularly healthy), they can only control what they do with it. Anyway, Sasha's probably going to look like that for many years, but she is an adult, and there's no reason for her to feel or behave like she's still a kid.

Kathy wrote: " I think Sasha just became every young skaters mother's worst nightmare of what they want their daughters to aspire to. "

Firstly welcome to the forum! Secondly, that comment is completely on target. As the mother of a young skater, this would be the LAST type of photo shoot I would want my daughter to admire. I am about as far from prudish as one can get, and I have to say those photos scream sex, but I guess the bottom line is sex sells.

Canuck

These "high fashion" photo shoots, to me, are always strange and mostly ugly. I see a few pictures that I like, but overall the impression is that typical "high fashion" thing--rather ugly, IMO, and Sasha's so pretty. The leg-warmers one is nice, and so is the one of her leaning forwards against that bar. About the whole sexual connotations, I only get that vibe from the first one...and that's the one I hate. It just looks so straaaange. The one with Sasha showing her abs, I think it's okay, since I think they were taken in the summer when Sasha was at her peak with all the weight lifting, running, etcetera that she did to strengthen her endurance and stuff. I don't think a six pack on girls is particularly attractive, but, hey, she's certainly in good shape!

Registered,
I'm late going out (to Ice Theatre of NY--yea!) but just want to take a moment to thank you for you the way you've responded to our disagreements as a respectful, intelligent debate instead of a "right/wrong" argument. ITA with and appreciate your quote:

registered said:

RGirl, I love it, when someone intelligently argues their points of disagreement with me.

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I also laughed out loud at and completely agree with:

If anything, this Lolita would kick Humbert Humbert all the way back to Paris. LOL!

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Gotta go but I'll respond properly later.

Gisel,
So glad you mentioned Nastassia Kinski's "poochy" tummy. I was just thinking about that a while after I wrote the post and even considering going back to edit it in, but was too sleepy. Loved your response to that.

Windspirit,
Loved your response too. Your favorite photo, along with the one with Sasha's head down on the bar, is my favorite also.

Enjoyed other comments as well, but got a subway to catch. More of my deeply incisive, brilliantly realized, thought-provoking comments later--unless I feel like watching cartoons
Rgir

I'll just post here what I said on FSU:

IMO, anyone that gets turned on by those (the Sasha photos) can cancel their subscriptions to porn services/mags and just get Vogue because you obviously have a wild imagination.

Anyone finding them distasteful/inappropriate needs to roll up the driveway to their nice little midwestern home and stay indoors forever because you see worse offenders at the local gas-n-go for God's sake! I bet you also have sex through a hole in a sheet so that you're never seen naked, eh?

JMHO

Idle, the image doesn't come up when you click on your post. However, I was able to see it by looking at the "properties". Wow, that's really a bad angle!

Idle, I can imagine from the title what the picture is of...but the picture itself did not display.

In fact, I could postulate that this picture and others like it caused Michelle to drop the Charlotte from her programs...
I'll bet there are a few Sasha shots of her Charlotte that probably should not be reproduced either.

dpp

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I bet you also have sex through a hole in a sheet so that you're never seen naked, eh?
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Who has sheets on the kitchen counter?

A question: I'm actually amazed at how little Sasha really is. Is it possible that her growth has been stunted for some reason? I've heard that extreme physical activity can delay puberty, is that the case with Sasha?

I think that trying too hard to look "mature" only emphasizes how young looking Sasha (and Tara!) really are. We all know how old they are, but others who don't know may frown while seeing their "sexy" pix. It may not be fair, but hey. . .

Cynthia Marie

I don't think Sasha looks that young, personally. And I don't think her growth is stunted. Look at her mom and sister, they're both tiny as well. Sasha is really not much smaller than Michelle or Kristi. I don't think puberty was delayed on any of the ladies. If you see them in street clothes they have tiny, but very distinct figures. Renee Roca is about Sasha's size and she's definitely NOT delaying puberty, lol. Why can't some people just accept that there are tiny people out there and they're not doing it on purpose, they're not stunted, or delayed? That's really offensive because I'm a small person and to think there are educated (I'm making an assumption here that most of you are educated) people that assume all small women have some sort of problem is really disturbing and offensive. Not every American woman is a size 12 ya know!! Some of us are small and/or short due to genetics!!!

Sorry, it just gets really old hearing how because someone is tiny they must have some sort of problem, especally when they look perfectly healthy, just small.

Number 8 looks like it could be somebody else than Sasha, I would not have recognized her. Otherwise I think that the first six photos are really great. The athletic ones are a bit too athletic looking for my taste (with the muscles). Of course Sasha is an athlete, LOL.

Generally about the photos and costumes: They are much much better than e.g. those awful ones IFS managed to take and chose to publish of Ilia Kulik for the photo shoot after his Nagano win. They took a couple nice ones also, which they just put on the website in the size of a thumb nail...

Marjaana

I think this one is pretty http://www.sashacohen.com/photos/vmagazine4.gif
I was afraid to say this at sashafans but some of the pictures are just a little scary IMO.

ok to be honest i think this idea of this shoot being sexual is a tad bit on the overreactive side. I'm not fond of the pictures but nonetheless i feel it was more "artistic" then sexual.

i like the first 2 pictures and the one where shes looking down over a barre in a white shirt.

btw... her legs are freakishly (but amazingly) muscular but her stomach?? im confused whats going on there? Thats not even similar to a six pack thats just odd.

A lot of interesting points of view. I think that overall, not just in this particular photo shoot, Sasha and her agents are trying to create an image for Sasha that is something more than the "America's sweetheart" that famous figure skaters usually go for. These pictures are edgy, artsy, kind of "out there," compared to the pretty, so sweet that butter wouldn't melt in her mouth, shots of lady skaters that we are used to.

I think that's good for figure skating. It projects an image of a sport that is keeping up with the times.

Mathman

PS. Doris P., a fascinating speculation.