SOLD
APRIL 2017
STRIP EDITION
ESCAPE TO MOTELSCAPE
EVOLUTION OF STRIP
JACQ THE STRIPPER
$9.99 US $7.95 CAN
ISSUE 1
ON DIS By Adam Webb
THE NATION’S FIRST STRIP CLUB CASINO HYBRID PARTNERED WITH PLAYBOY Imagine- all your adult entertainment pastimes in one location. Scores is the place where you can finally score all that and it will be here sooner than you think. The country’s first strip-clubin-a-casino will open in August. Scores, the New York-based franchise, will open its $25 million entertainment complex in the Borgata Casino and Resort in August, according to a company spokeswoman Sunday evening. The site was about two years in the making and will be 36,000 square feet of adult entertainment, the company said in a recent press release. Scores will be conveniently located on the second floor of the Borgata casino, in a space that was formerly occupied by three restaurants. There will be eight distinct areas within the club – these spaces will include a main stripping showcase area, a sports bar, a traditional nightclub, a lounge, a cabaret and a male revue all within the already existing Borgata Casino. The launch of Scores will feature hostesses from Mr. Hefner’s bunny collection himself to spark interest and offer a nostalgic grand opening.
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Like many grand openings, the partnership with playboy is strategic for both parties of this endeavor. Playboy,
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF CORINNE FERMAN LESLY GARVEY CHIEF CREATIVE OFFICER SARAH JONES HEAD OF CONTENT ASHLEY MINTZ EXECUTIVE EDITOR @soldmag www.soldmag.com info@soldmag.com SOLD IS PUBLISHED BY UNLIKELY COPORTATION IN 346 CENTRAL CIVIV ROAD, BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA 90210. SOLD IS DISTRIBUTED BY JULIETTE MEDIA INC., 293 22ND STREET, NEW WYORK, NY, 10001. ALL PROPERTY UNLESS STATED BELONDS TO UNLIKELY CORPORATION©
EDITORIAL LINDSEY LERMAN SENIOR EDITORS JESS SINGRAY ASSISTANT EDITOR HANE LEWIS COPY CHIEF JOANNA BIJOU RESEARCH EDITOR GILBERT MANN COORDINATOR SACH DANI EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT BRENDAN LOCKLY MANAGER JAMIE GREY FACT CHECKER
although wildly successful and an established brand, does not have as much of an audience as it once did with the emergence of the technology and the Internet. So, by partnering with a company that is having a live in-person event in a new location that is centered around experience will be crucial in helping their brand move forward. Playboy has a well known brand for years, yet using the nostalgia factor to their advantage will be a powerful move for the company. What makes this casino such an attractive venture coming to Atlantic City is it’s duplicity. There is no place like Scores and so it has differentiated itself and will be successful. Additionally, the main cause of its success will be not only the variety in services offered under one roof, but the fact that these services are vice-related. Scores will be a place where temptation rules and it is nighttime all the time. Stripping and gambling have always been two vices which have gone quite closely together in the media and in life; however, it is not until now that these two very common and practiced vices have been combined into one ultimate force. Although the success of Scores is still unknown we can only predict its success from the historic nature of the basis of its conception. Scores will be open in late August of this summer. For more information visit www.soldmag.com
ART AND DESIGN JORDAN BLEEKER SENIOR ART DIRECTOR FRANCESCA LOWE HEAD ILLUSTRATOR SCARLETT SIED ART DIRECTOR MELANIE HIRT ART MANAGER PHOTOGRAPHY STEVEN DELANCY PHOTO EDITOR TERI THOMSON FEATURES DIRECTOR FINANCIAL KITTY JOHNSON AD DIRECTOR BRIAN JENKINS SALES DIRECTOR LB TODD MARKETING COORDINATOR JOANNA BIJOU RESEARCH EDITOR ERIKA SAMS PROJECT MANAGER
MARKETING DEBBIE SILVER PRODUCTION DIRECTOR AMY ABBOTT PARTNERSHIPS OFFICER MARIE J. INFERNO PUBLICITY OFFICER MISC. DEPARTMENTS JAMIE DOPPELT FASHION DIRECTOR JOHN STEWART PRINT DIRECTOR CORINNE FERMAN COVER COLLAGE PUBLISHED BY UNLIKELY PUBLISHERS 346 CENTRAL CIVIC ROAD BEVERLY HILLS, CA 90210-9458
EDITOR’ S LE TTE R
LET ME ENTERTAIN YOU This month of Sold is all about reality. The women featured in this issue are the true women of the stripping industry. Despite a large stigma surrounding this industry, the profession of stripping is just like any other job and should not be so taboo. With this issue we hope to show our readers that not only is stripping a commendable profession, but that the women in this issue are so much more than the stereotype surrounding them. So without further ado−flip through, relax, and please do enjoy the show.
EDITOR IN CHIEF
PHOTO FROM MOTELSCAPE ON PG. 4
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C ONTE NTS
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ESCAPE TO MOTELSCAPE The newest neon dream installation By the Sold Team
GIRLS ON FILM
Pieces inspired by on screen strippers By Jessica Albert
WHAT’S IN HER BAG?
All the daily essentials for a life in the strip industry By Sarah Stein
THE EVOLUTION OF STRIP What it’s like to be the first self-proclaimed “feminist stripper” By Antonia Crane
OFF DUTY DARLING
An interview with famous stripper Jaqc and her off-duty routine By Jacq the Stripper
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C ULT UR E
The newest neon dream installation in South Beach, Miami Motelscape is an immersive installation that appeared inside of the Love Suite in the Miami Princess Hotel. Organized by artists Marina Fini, Signe Pierce, and Sierra Grace—the show featured custom neon and LED light pieces by Sydney Krause and a commissioned Tumblr curtain collage by Peggy Noland. Fini, Pierce, and Grace are all artists who build unique worlds through their photos and videos, and the curation of a physical space seems like the next logical step for them. The love motel’s heart-shaped bed and jacuzzi, stripper pole, and ample infinity mirrors added to the simulated paradise, and the show was a welcome alternative to the cubicle-esque, white-walled art fairs that have come to oversaturate Art Basel.
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1 Pieces inspired by some of our favorite on screen strippers. By Jessica Albert You know them- those glamorous manic pixie dream girls. Beautiful, exotic, talented, and fiery; strippers in films are usually who everyone desires and who everyone wishes that they could be. Well now you can be. We scoured some of our favorite movies that feature cool strip scenes and rounded up the best fashion looks. So here are a few of our favorite looks from popular stripper scenes and where you can get them. 1 - Mango, $110 2 - Shopbop, 650 3 - Free People, $98
Fur Jacket inspired by Dancing at the Blue Iguana
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Leather Jacket inspired by Burlesque
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EXXXTRA
S P OT L I G H T
All the essentials for a life in the strip industry. By Sarah Stein Ready for anything, a stripper needs to be prepared for long hours. That’s why I carry around a spectrum of necessities, so no matter where I end up I am never left in a lurch. The stripping business is a fast paced one, so making sure I always have my phone charged and cash and beauty essentials at hand is crucial for me on a normal working day. Currently, I am working two clubs in South Beach, Miami and here’s what I have in my bag today.
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THE
EVOLUTION of strip By Antonia Crane
Antonia Crane, self-proclaimed feminist stripper. There’s more to the stripping business than first meets the eye; Crane illuminates the evolving business and how she’s single handedly changing the business forever by coining herself as the first “feminist stripper”.
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’m neither a happy hooker nor a sad stripper. I don’t have a boyfriend in jail, any kids or a drug habit. I didn’t run away, didn’t have some tragic home life or drop out of college. I’m simply a writer, teacher and stripper. If 10,000 hours clocked in as a stripper makes me an expert, then I’m at the top of my game. Twenty-two years ago I followed my friend into one of San Francisco’s oldest, sleaziest clubs in the Tenderloin, because it seemed like an interesting job that could offer financial relief and sexual empowerment. Initially, my goal was to pay my rent and afford my exorbitant college tuition while taking down the patriarchy one lap dance at a time. I was studying post-structural feminist theory and the civil rights movement and stripping really complemented the art and literature that I was exploring in my studies at that time. I figured I’d make plenty of money performing on stage and gyrating on laps by using my femininity and dance background to extract enough money to carve out time to study and write. As a temporary side gig, stripping would be like working in coffee shops, cleaning houses or modeling nude for painters. My plan was to strip for a month or two, pay some bills and walk away unscathed with a cushion in the bank. Why not? Every stripper (or sex worker or dancer, as some prefer) I have ever met assumes they’re just going to strip for one weekend to pay a stack of parking tickets or to buy a plane ticket, but that’s not what happens. You think that it’ll be a quick, one-time sort of thing but it is so much more enticing than one might first think. You see strippers never really quit. We are like ghosts dragging our chains from club to club, city to city. We change our names, get implants, Botox, braces, tattoos, spray tans and dye our hair and move to another club and start over as the new girl. New girl money is addictive, the
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sexual attention flattering, the quickness of the cash exhilarating. At work, I vacillated between boredom and anxiety, enjoyed my relative anonymity and late nights, transient elements more akin to a gambling career than any service job that I have ever had. I had the freedom to work whichever nights suited me and my shifts were usually 4-5 hours long. I left with untaxed green: a private contractor with no benefits but plenty of freedom. I’ve even met men who became my friends. While stripping, I continued to pursue my education and had plenty of other jobs, but I always fell back on stripping because it provided me the most money for my time and I was honestly just really great at it. It’s true that women make much more than men ever have in the adult industry, but there’s no such thing as easy money. It’s a hard job not suited for everyone. Social skills, politeness and an upbeat attitude are key, and the ability to seduce a
or tending bars, and yes it is a problem of sexism and living in a sexist culture, not a problem of the sex industry. Of course, sustaining oneself as an academic is harder as a woman. There is a stigma and sexism and its only human nature that I will make more money as a stripper than I will doing almost anything else. Will there be a backlash from academia due to my detour in the sex industry? I hope not. But do I think that there might be? Yes, I do; however, many writers that I have admired during my life -- including William Burroughs, Kathy Acker, Michelle Tea, and Stephen Elliott -- have written about and lived quite alternative lifestyles and have been respected academics. I trust that with hard work and tenacity, I can support myself doing what I truly love the most: teaching literature, creative writing and composition. Some say the sex industry exists because of misogyny and sexism. Some feminists think that
“STRIP CLUBS EXIST BECAUSE PEOPLE ARE ACUTELY LONESOME. WE WALK AROUND WITH THESE GIANT KNOTS IN OUR HEARTS, LIKE A CRAMP THAT CAN’T STRETCH OUT.” stranger is an art form. My intense focus has set me apart from the pack at times. I’ve been called a piranha, a hustler, and a prowler by management. I’ve shrugged off many drunken marriage proposals. I’ve even turned away many rich men “seeking arrangements.” I honestly make more money stripping than I ever have teaching, writing, counseling homeless youth, waiting tables
men have dominion over women because they have money in the clubs and use that power to manipulate and subjugate women, but it’s much more complex than that. Strip clubs exist because people are acutely lonesome. We walk around with these giant knots in our hearts, like a cramp that can’t stretch out. It will tug and pull at us all day while at our jobs, surrounded by people and gadgets and family members who don’t listen to us like
THE EV OLUTI ON OF STRIP
they used to, highlighting our own failures to connect to people easily in a meaningful way. Many people don’t understand the lifestyle that we have chosen and it makes connecting with the people we used to in the same way more difficult. In strip clubs its the complete opposite. We are all there sharing in a sort of agreed upon vice and we can connect on that level at least. On the other hand, strip clubs are a place where people can feel an instant connection, even if fake. In my time as the feminist stripper I’ve learned that, contrary to popular belief, timing and kindness are more important than big boobs. Men simply wander into strip clubs not to cheat on their spouses because cheating happens in the mainstream workplace not in strip clubs. I’ve met thousands of men who have affairs with their co-workers, secretaries and assistants), but to nurse a beer and pay a person to listen to them—a woman who does not require anything from them emotionally. Strip clubs are a place for them to have someone to listen to them. I could go on about the stories, but I’m not going to tell you about the nights I was rejected and insulted, stolen from and threatened, nights I didn’t make the money or the nights that I wasted time with guys who did not pay off.
woman. It empowered me, made me recognize the power of my sexuality and self-acceptance. We are simply strong, beautiful, exotic creatures who have just chosen to use our bodies for our work. The more I segue into my writing and teaching career, the happier I am. A happy life is about diversification and finding many things that make your life feel fulfilled. In time, I hope to build a life so huge outside the strip club that I won’t need to dance anymore because I am too busy writing and teaching. Looking at my past I will think quite fondly of my time as a stripper, with no regrets and only a full heart, and when I look towards the future I want to be so busy creating other moments of joy and human connection in the classroom and on the page that I don’t look back. To rise so far in that field that I won’t need to land into laps again, but until that happens, I will strip.
Like many other jobs, those sketchy elements come with the territory and I’m no victim. Unfortunately, it comes with the job but I hold my head up and power on. Additionally, in a world full of deceit, sabotage, and hatred, a close connection to one’s contemporaries is so important. There are many boundaries in place within the stripping industry that allow for safety measures to be taken as well as for us to support each other and encourage each other to do better and work hard. Despite some of the bad times, stripping was there for me when I needed it. It became a huge part of my life and taught me so much about myself during an integral part of my growth as a
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OFFDUT Y Job description in your words? I shake dat ass for ca$$$h. What do you love about your job? Pretty much everything… stripping is near perfect for me. I love how physical it is, even if my body aches from the long, labor-intensive hours. I’m nosey by nature, so being able to talk to people candidly about their lives, who they are, and what they’re into is interesting to me. I love creating and managing my own financial future, and the freedom that brings. And I really love being surrounded by women! How did you get into this profession? I think like most people in my “field” I sort of just fell into it. I needed to make some cash and I’m young and like to dance and thought- hey this
could be cool. It seemed like an easy enough way to make money and I actually knew some girls who worked at a club near my university. I was just out of college and honestly it was a quick way to make cash, meet some cool new people, and do it all in a fun way. Once I started, also like most people in my field, I kind of just wanted to keep doing it; it’s addictive like that. The energy, the stories, and the people I’ve met are sort of what keeps me going. Best place to dance? The best place to dance is wherever I make the most money! I really loved working in Vegas, but after 4 years, I got burnt out and had to move on to something else. Most importantly I like stripping in a place that I also wanna set up shop long term. I don’t like always moving around, especially with the stigma of stripping, it feels a little cliché.
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O FF DU T Y DA R LI N G
Weirdest compliment ever received? I never realized calves were such a ‘thing,’ but I get compliments on them a lot more than I would think would be normal for calf-compliments. What’s the most valuable lesson you’ve learned from stripping? Be proactive. No one is going to do anything for you, especially if you don’t show passion and determination. Also that confidence is your sexiest trait. One thing you could change to improve working conditions? Just one?! Well, I think I would put a cap on how much a club could take of a dancers earnings and/or eliminate mandatory tip outs. Out here in Southern California, from what I’ve heard, nude clubs take as much as 20% from dances and still expect a tip, which is inherently sort of exploitative which I’m not about. Best and Worst Stage names? My names are usually the extra basic ones like Lindsey, Desiree, Val- nothing too special to be honest. When I am feeling adventurous I like to have fun and go with “Electronica.” There are definitely a ton of terrible names, but the worst ones I’ve ever heard were in “Vegas!” “Miss Michigan,” and “Party.”
“ASS FOR CA$$$H” Are there any skills from stripping that you think will help you in life? Yeah! I’m very likable, which I attribute mostly to an important skill I’ve developed since becoming a stripper. Stripping is just another job in the service industry so, you have to learn how to be appealing to as many people as possible. I’ve learned how to talk to almost anyone, how to deal with the public’s intolerance/ignorance/ stereotypes, how to make people believe that I really like them (even when I don’t).
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Can you speak to how your life in and out of stripping relate to one another? Yeah totally. I mean the major thing is transparency, it’s hard because stripping is my life and people who are close to me definitely know about it, but I also choose what to share and what not to share. They don’t need to know every detail. Favorite way to spend time off duty? Reading or soaking or eating. I enjoy quiet pastimes that feel good. Whenever I have a shoot, we’ll hit hot springs while spending our nights in a beautiful town with good restaurants, and it becomes such a perfect vacation for me. We also did some thrift shopping going through the old Playboys (like, a thousand of them). The most important thing for my time off duty is to take time off for myself. A huge part of my job is about pleasing and performing for others.
Finally, would you say you’re the same person as “Electronica” and off duty? Yes, in theory, but I will say Electronica inspires me in all that I do. She’s bold, wild, a little crazy- she is such a strong fucking warrior! In truth, I think that Electronica has become my highest self. When I am at work I am so strong. Electronica is an idol to me, I really aspire to be more like her. In real life, I can be pretty human. I get angry when someone steps on my foot on the subway. But when I’m at work, I’m on duty. Feeling this way makes me so happy to go to work, because I know I’m going to learn and be challenged. I consider work to be the darkest place in my life even though I love it so much and it fills my life with joy. In a sense, when I go to work, I go into a dark room where there’s many vices, but it’s those tempting and dark places where we face the toughest challenges where we grow the most.
LIK E 4 LI K E
I believe. I don’t need money to buy expensive things, just cash to live off. A couple of jobs in a month, that’s my rent sorted, just like that.”
Today, an “Instagram model” is perceived as a sort of pouting woman in her 20s, wearing the trendiest clothes, who relies on well-established, largely male photographers to boost her profile. In some cases, that can all fall apart: Bleeblu, a popular photographer based in the US, was accused of coercing a teenage model into nude photoshoots in public places last year on Tumblr (allegations he has publicly denied). “I was an insecure and naive 19-year-old fangirl,” the model wrote, “and he was a 27-year-old experienced and popular photographer. This dynamic made me really easy to persuade, despite my slight apprehension.” “I do think some [photographers] really do exploit it just because they have a camera and a big following,” says Dean Martindale, a photographer who started off on Instagram, who has shot Larsen several times, and
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Instead of sliding into Charlie Barker’s DMs, I contacted her through her agent—a sign of how her career has graduated from the ranks of Instagram’s informal accessibility. Still, this particular insta model says over email that it’s possible at this point for models to make a living based on Instagram alone, but that they’d probably have to be willing to hawk any old product that comes along—”a lot of promoting detox teas”—rather than opting for a more discerning and authentic approach. However, if and when representation from a major agency does come along, as it did for Charlie, an existing fan base means an Instagram model’s creative and actual bargaining power could be superior to that of a regular model. Even if one doesn’t get to a Charlie Barker level of followers, talking to Larsen gives the impression that fame isn’t necessarily the goal for most of these women. It’s more like shrewd career planning that builds on and relies on other people’s “likes.” For most it seems very temporary. Larsen explains that she loves her job, “Instagram has become such a big part of—I don’t want to say life, but maybe I should—what I’m trying to achieve,” Larsen says. “But I’m not just a model, I’ve become so much more than that” and she strives for more.
@LARSENTHOMPSON
Really, though, Larsen says she didn’t plan to model. Similarly to many supermodels, it is sort of a position she said she fell into. Many supermodels are beautiful young girls who are scouted in malls and restaurants in little towns and Larsen’s story isn’t too far off from that. “All the people that I tend to follow are amazing women not giving a shit about anyone’s opinion, and when I saw that I was like, ‘Maybe I should try out that stuff,’” Larsen says. “I never set out to be a model. I think of myself as an image-maker, and what I do in front of the camera helps me be better behind it too.” Of course, it also doesn’t hurt that the millennial is a young beautiful girl with many friends who are in the fashion and photography world.
now does work for more commercial brands. “There are girls that will shoot with certain people who have 200,000 followers not because of their body of work, but because [they know] they’re gonna get a big following back in return. It’s all about the connections and what move is gonna bring in the largest number of followers for Instagram models. But the industry is tiny, like so small, so things get around and at the end of the day knowing the right people helps.”
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THE REAL LIFE OF AN INSTA MODEL Written by Rosie Sprinks For many young women, it’s a means to a creative end—but how many of them can make a living just from hashtagged photos alone? It’s a normal Wednesday morning in July and I’m watching a relatively unknown woman get ready for a photo shoot at her house in southern California. There’s no backdrop, no team for hair and makeup, and aside from a camera, no additional equipment or assistants. There isn’t even an actual client or publication commissioning the photos for today either. “You should wear that lipstick you posted yourself wearing yesterday, the pouty one,” says the photographer who has come to shoot 17-year-old Larsen Thompson. “Oh, the Kylie Lip Kit one?” Larsen asks. “It’s so hard to put on, but OK,” she says swiping it on. Larsen is a self-proclaimed Instagram model—not to be confused with a model on Instagram, the Gigi
Hadids and Kendall Jenners who use the app to promote their traditional modeling careers. Larsen says she uses the platform as a vehicle for career advancement, creative expression, and a way to earn money. How that works, and to what end, is where the murkiness of Instagram modeling comes into focus. In a good month she says she can earn up to a couple thousand pounds from both her photography and modeling. It’s not consistent enough yet, though, so she also works in a small restaurant around the corner from her flat; the owner had recognized her from what he called her “well, risky” photos. If someone had offered you a lot of money to take a simple picture of something, would you do it? Larsen explains, “It depends on the brand, but I do it if that brand ties into what
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ravery takes shape in many forms. For model Hanne Gaby Odiele it was her announcement saying she doesn’t want other kids to suffer the way she did, supermodel Hanne Gaby Odiele has announced that she was born intersex — and she wants to “break the stigma” that can lead to intersex children having surgery to align them with the male or female gender. When Hanne Gaby Odiele was two weeks old, she developed an infection. Her parents took her to the hospital near their native Kortrijk, Belgium; the doctors did some blood work and then they informed Franke and Annie Termote, Odiele’s parents, that their little boy was going to be just fine. Boy? They were flabbergasted. The blood tests revealed that their child had a condition known as androgen insensitivity syndrome (AIS)—while she was born genetically male, with one X and one Y chromosome, she was resistant to male hormones, or
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androgens. So, when Hanne was born she had internal testes, and was without a uterus or ovaries. The Termotes’ family doctor had never seen anything like this in their small Belgian community. The couple was then referred to a specialist, who offered the same information Hanne’s parents would hear ad nauseam as their daughter grew up—their child was intersex; she would need corrective surgeries; and it was paramount that they keep it all a dark secret, even from Hanne herself. Odiele is now 28 years old, a model who has walked runways from Chanel to Givenchy to Prada and starred in campaigns for clients including Mulberry and Balenciaga. She is telling me all this over an early-afternoon glass of champagne in a Nolita restaurant where the bubble gum–pink decor matches her fuzzy Acne Studios sweater. The color scheme is an unwitting commentary on the “pink is for girls” stereotype—a funny backdrop, she says, laughing, for this specific subject that we’re discussing at hand.
In the new landscape of sex and gender—in a world where trans and gay rights have made incredible strides— intersex is perhaps the last which unfortunately remains taboo. Odiele’s decision to go public, to fully disclose the details of the real body she was born with, and to become a spokesperson and advocate for the intersex community, is an act of enormous courage, especially for a woman in an industry that is so focused around body image and the perception from the public. Though she acknowledges being inspired by Hari Nef and Andreja Pejic, trans models who have walked major catwalks, Odiele is exploring uncharted territory—it is impossible to identify even one wellknown celebrity at this point, besides Hanne, who is openly intersex. Intersex is actually an umbrella term referring to more than 30 different conditions in which a person is born with a variation in sex anatomy. For decades, the overwhelming majority of physicians responded to intersex babies by rushing them into surgery. It was confusing and unnatural and so it needed to be dealt with immediately.
Ilene Wong, M.D., a urologist, who has treated intersex adults for most of her career, says that as of the last several years “the whole landscape is finally changing as people are becoming more aware of the consequences. Some things don’t need to be fixed! There are times when there is medical necessity because it may impede one’s quality of life, but for most, almost all of the surgeries are purely cosmetic—and can leave people scarred, unable to have intercourse, and possibly experiencing some early menopause.” Kimberly Zieselman, the executive director of InterACT, an organization that advocates for the rights of intersex youth, with which Odiele is working closely with, shares an astonishing statistic: “Nearly 2 percent of babies are born intersex—about the same as naturally born redheads.” How many of them have lived their lives shrouded in shame and secrecy? Many of Odiele’s school holidays were spent in doctors’ offices, with medical students often viewing her without her consent. “Why are all these people looking at me when I’m fully naked?” She wondered. Her parents were told that if she didn’t have her testes removed when she was ten or eleven, she would develop cancer (a common practice, Odiele tells me now—a response to our society’s fear of non-binary bodies; in some cases intersex children are no more likely to develop gonadal cancer than anyone else). Instead of explaining to their daughter what the surgery actually was for, they were instructed to tell her simply that she had a bladder problem. “They told us what Hanne had was extremely rare,” her father, Franke, explains and, “It was better to shield her from the truth than to be transparent with her about what was happening during all of those hospital visits”.
GENDER
SPECTRUM “Now we know so much more. We also thought we could never share this with friends or family.” In those days before the Internet, if you were in a little town in Belgium, you also had virtually no access to the kind of information that we have access to now”. Just a few months before she was discovered by a modeling agent at a local rock festival in her hometown, she was leafing through a Dutch teen magazine when she came across a story about a girl who couldn’t have babies— and who had had many surgeries. There were so many parallels in the story of the girl in the magazine and Odiele. This is me! Odiele remembers thinking. “I contacted the magazine, got in touch with that intersex girl, and then found a self-help group in Holland. It was the most amazing thing; to truly think that you are alone—that there is no one like you—and then you get to talk to other intersex people who know what you have been going through all of your life!” Her parents now urge other parents of intersex children to be open and transparent about their experiences because of the way it negatively affected Hanne emotionally as a young girl. In the beginning, Odiele told very few people.
Alexander Wang, who cast her in his very first presentation, recalls that she told him about herself on the way to a party about five years ago. “She doesn’t let these things daunt her or affect her thinking or hold her back,” he says. She also has no problem answering questions that might seem deeply intrusive in another setting. When she first told her husband about herself, years ago, he countered with “Oh, that’s cool—I’m adopted.” Odiele reminds that, “I [she] want to live authentically as who I am and help to break down the stigma that intersex persons face—but also to use the profile that I’ve built through modeling to give back to those without a voice. I want to be there for people who are struggling, to tell them it’s OK—it’s one part of you, but it’s not who you are.” Looking at many of those whose own lives were considered shameful only a few decades ago, I am reminded of something Odiele said. “Being a model is like a big compliment, but it can be so one-sided. I knew I wanted to use it at some point as a platform to give back, to do something, to tell people: You can be accepted however you happen to be! The ‘norm’ is not what you think it is and as long as you stay true to yourself you can find happiness anywhere you are.”
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GIRL BOY SUPERMODEL HANNE GABY ODIELE ON BEING INTERSEX Interview by Lynn Yaeger, Photo Manipulation by Corinne Ferman
Supermodel Hanne Gaby Odiele explains that she doesn’t want other children to suffer the way she did. Odiele has shared that she was born intersex and wants to break the stigma that leads to intersex children having to get surgery so they can align to the male or female gender.
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EX TR A , EX T R A S P OT L I G H T
WHAT’S IN HER BAG?
See what a supermodel needs to carry in her everyday bag.
By Alissa Violet
As a full time model and student- my day to day activities are quite packed, so I’m always prepared to stay looking fresh and professional for any interviews or go-sees I may have. Every morning I make sure my bag is packed, then I grab a granola bar and fruit as my breakfast on the go and hit the road!
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In my bag I like to keep a few key cosmetic products so I can touch up my face throughout my busy days . Right now I’m obsessed with a simple gloss from Sephora and all day wear foundation from NARS. I also always keep some nail polish to touch up my nails, perfume to stay smelling fresh, as well as a lip balm to keep my lips hydrated. A watch is crucial so I can stay on time to all my appointments since my days are very busy. This one is simple and a classic piece that I keep in my bag so I can throw it on no matter the outfit I am wearing. Finally, I always need to have my wallet with me and of course a pair of my favorite sunnies to stay chic on the go. - Nars Compact Concealer, $40 - Sephora Satin Gloss, $15 - Purr-Lisse Daily Lip Nourisment, $15 - Jo Malone Perfume, $130 - Milk Makeup Clear Polish, $14
C ULT UR E
RIP TO FNO By Valeriya Safronova
Amid the attention surrounding New York Fashion Week, few seem to have noticed the quiet disappearance of Fashion’s Night Out, which began with great fanfare in 2009 and lasted all of four years, going on hiatus in 2013. By 2012, Fashion’s Night Out had expanded to 500 cities nationwide and 30 cities internationally, according to the C.F.D.A. Over the years, celebrities signed shoes at Manolo Blahnik (Sarah Jessica Parker); attracted hordes of teenage girls to Dolce & Gabbana, most of them crying ecstatically rather than shopping (Justin Bieber); and posed for photos with the first 300 fans to spend $135 at Macy’s in Herald Square (Jennifer Lopez). Fans of both fashion and pop culture soaked it all in, chaotically streaming through the streets, a trail of empty Champagne glasses in their sassy and stylish wake. Despite these outward measures of success, in August, Kelly McCauley, director of communications for the C.F.D.A., confirmed that once again there are no plans to bring the event back to New York. It has been suggested it was because the event was truly just too hard to organize; until we know the truth, we can only wish that FNO will be reinstated.
Shown above a group of supermodels dressed in FNO garb pose for photos as mannequins in a Barneys storefront. The usage of supermodels like the ones above in these stores was to attract larger crowds and make more money; yet, that may also have been FNO’s ultimate demise. Photo by Cynthia Crane
F L A S H BA C K
FRESH FACED By Marcus Miles Here they are-- some of the most famous supermodels before they were famous. All models start out the same; young, without experience, and truly beautiful. Once they are scouted by an agency they will start to do small projects until graduating to larger ones. These photos are called test shots and are basically the photos an agency first takes to sign on a new girl. Breaking into the field is a grueling process, so only a few lucky girls make it as far as these ones did. Let us take a moment of silence for all who did not. From left to right, top to bottom: Hillary Rhoda, Joan Smalls, Miranda Kerr, Liu Wen, Lindsey Wixon, Arizona Muse
MARCH 2017 | 05
FRESH FACES ON PG. 5
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C ONTE NTS
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WHAT’S IN HER BAG? All in a day’s work; a look inside the bag of a model By Mini Frankle
RIP TO FNO
An obituary to Fashion’s Night Out By Valeriya Safronova
FRESH FACED
Elite models before they became stars By Marcus Miles
GIRL/BOY
A look at the life of Hanne Gaby Odiele, an intersex supermodel By Lynn Yaeger
LIKE 4 LIKE
The real life of an Instagram Model By Rosie Sprinks
SPRING 2016 | 03
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EDITOR-IN-CHIEF CORINNE FERMAN LESLY GARVEY CHIEF CREATIVE OFFICER SARAH JONES HEAD OF CONTENT ASHLEY MINTZ EXECUTIVE EDITOR @soldmag www.soldmag.com info@soldmag.com SOLD IS PUBLISHED BY UNLIKELY COPORTATION IN 346 CENTRAL CIVIV ROAD, BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA 90210. SOLD IS DISTRIBUTED BY JULIETTE MEDIA INC., 293 22ND STREET, NEW WYORK, NY, 10001. ALL PROPERTY UNLESS STATED BELONDS TO UNLIKELY CORPORATION©
EDITORIAL LINDSEY LERMAN SENIOR EDITORS JESS SINGRAY ASSISTANT EDITOR HANE LEWIS COPY CHIEF JOANNA BIJOU RESEARCH EDITOR GILBERT MANN COORDINATOR SACH DANI EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT BRENDAN LOCKLY MANAGER JAMIE GREY FACT CHECKER
ART AND DESIGN JORDAN BLEEKER SENIOR ART DIRECTOR FRANCESCA LOWE HEAD ILLUSTRATOR SCARLETT SIED ART DIRECTOR MELANIE HIRT ART MANAGER PHOTOGRAPHY STEVEN DELANCY PHOTO EDITOR TERI THOMSON FEATURES DIRECTOR FINANCIAL KITTY JOHNSON AD DIRECTOR BRIAN JENKINS SALES DIRECTOR LB TODD MARKETING COORDINATOR JOANNA BIJOU RESEARCH EDITOR ERIKA SAMS PROJECT MANAGER
MARKETING DEBBIE SILVER PRODUCTION DIRECTOR AMY ABBOTT PARTNERSHIPS OFFICER MARIE J. INFERNO PUBLICITY OFFICER MISC. DEPARTMENTS JAMIE DOPPELT FASHION DIRECTOR JOHN STEWART PRINT DIRECTOR CORINNE FERMAN COVER COLLAGE PUBLISHED BY UNLIKELY PUBLISHERS 346 CENTRAL CIVIC ROAD BEVERLY HILLS, CA 90210-9458
HELLO,
EDITOR’ S LE TTE R
This month of Sold is all about reality. The women featured in this issue are the real women of the modeling industry. Despite the glitz and glamour of the profession, modeling is just as grueling as many other jobs. With this issue we hope to show our readers that modeling is much more than just the pretty pictures. The women in this issue are talented and dedicated girls working in a business that is more damaged than it appears from the outside. In this industry, there is much more than first meets the eye. EDITOR IN CHIEF
SOLD
APRIL 2017
MODEL EDITION
RIP TO FNO
HANNE GABY ODIELE INTERSEX
INSTA MODELS
$9.99 US $7.95 CAN
ISSUE 1