In the spirit of true feminism the 2016 Pirelli calendar, which is an art item released by an Italian tire company—will break with its pin-up tradition of featuring nude and partially clothed models. This year it will be filled with women who are known not for their looks, but for their accomplishments. Serena Williams, Patti Smith, Amy Schumer, Fran Lebowitz, Kathleen Kennedy, Tavi Gevinson, and Yoko Ono are among those featured.
These women come from all kinds of backgrounds and their accomplishments span a wide spectrum. What they have in common is what they have done with their talents and lives, not how good they look doing whatever. This year is also the first time in over 25 years that a woman has shot the calendar—Annie Leibovitz, the renowned photographer was chosen for this honor.
Only Williams and Schumer are photographed in their underwear—everyone else is fully clothed. It has long been said that it’s what you can’t see that adds to sexiness—perhaps that will be the case here as well. Schumer summed it up in her usual funny way on Instagram when she wrote the caption “Beautiful, gross, strong, thin, fat, pretty, ugly, sexy, disgusting, flawless, woman.”
Beauty is truly in the eye of the beholder and Schumer covers it well… This should be a shot in the arm for all women of all sizes, shapes, races, backgrounds and ages, beautiful is as beautiful does–you go girl.
