Why Do Celebrities Pose for Maxim?

The answer can't quite be money or attention. They're already rolling in both.

Then again, of course the answer is attention. It's a popular magazine. Millions of people read it. What other reason could there be?

It just makes my heart sink a little is all. Not that there's anything so incredibly grotesque in provocative pictures, but just why? Why did Michelle Branch pose for Maxim? She's a talented person. She achieved a lot of success at a very young age. I may not like her music, but the fact remains that millions of people do (or did). Why did she do it? Why did Helena Bonham Carter do it? Such an interesting and talented lady who actually turned down a good leading role because of it's sexual content. Why did Laura Prepon do it?

I sort of stop short here. I don't really want to imagine the reasons why. For one thing, the easiest explanations are these sort of animal-based theories. "Well, you see, women are genetically programmed to make themselves available to mates..." Which are pretty-well nauseating. And also cop-outs. Women aren't genetically programmed to whore it up to attract mates, though some people really seem to enjoy the idea that we are. In Maxim's case, these women are already celebrities. It's not like Maxim is going to attract more "mates" for them. The whole idea behind the magazine is that their existing fame is going to sell copies.

And maybe there's something in that. The existing success of these women is what makes Maxim successful. Maybe there's something just a little bit gratifying in knowing, in owning, the fact that your mere presence can generate millions of dollars. This is as opposed to the Playboy Bunnies, the girls that just want to get noticed. In Maxim, the women are already noticed, they've already earned millions, they already feel validated in their worth. Maybe, for them, Maxim is just a nod at what makes them so successful.

Anyway, I think that explanation could work for some of Maxim's cover models. Like, maybe it works for Bonham Carter.

It's a shaky theory at best. I mean, it is my general suspicion that posing in this way usually speaks for a lack of character. I guest not always, and definitely not to say that you or I have any more character than these women. But I can't imagine the celebrities that I respect most actually posing half-nude in a magazine. I mean, can you imagine a young Bob Dylan posing mostly nude in Maxim? Really, imagine a young naked musician trying to clothe himself with his arms in a provocative way. Not that he's the celebrity I most respect, but it is bizarre to imagine him using his body to sell magazines.

If equality is where we're headed, I would rather famous women stop posing for Maxim than famous men start.