Wearing only a black t-shirt and pink underwear, Nicole McInnis poses on her knees, straddling her bed. She looks over her shoulder, lips pouting.
Some might say it’s vulgar porn. Some might say it’s quaint erotica. The man behind the camera calls it art.
“That’s the funny thing: when does erotica become pornography? That’s something we will never be able to define,” says Thomas Larson. “And I’m going to play with that a bit.”
Larson, owner/designer of Zeroboutique t-shirts and apparel in Halifax, will use the photos for his new website, www.zerotique.com. Starting at around $10, users can buy prints or posters of the erotic art, or look at them for free on the site.
There isn’t any nudity on zerotique. Most of the photos are a higher-brow version of American Apparel advertisements. Still, Larson says, “it’s not going to be a site for grandma to peruse.
“I don’t want to discourage people looking for pornography. They can find what they’re looking for without nudity.”
With sex and skin used to sell everything from cough syrup to lawn fertilizer, Larson believes we’ve become desensitized to the erotic. Sex is no longer visually exciting and mental stimulating.
“I’m looking to push all the mental buttons pornography used to push. I want to bring back the wonder of sex and I think the best way to bring back that mystery is by covering up.”
McInnis is one of Zeroboutique’s zerokidz. Originally from Hubbards, She is at Ryerson taking fashion studies. She knew the guys at Zeroboutique, and they knew she had done some modeling before. Her photos aren’t overtly erotic, says McInnis because she didn’t want them to be.
“In the fashion world we are bombarded by sexuality, and in this situation the photos that are sent to Thom are by women that are posing and expressing themselves however they feel comfortable…. It’s the woman that is in total control of the photos.”
Zerotique was a natural progression for Larson’s interest in fashion photography and erotica. “I always had an interest in pin-ups and pornography from the ’50s and ’60s,” says Larson. “Not so much the airbrushed ’70s and ’80s pornography. That kind of lost me.”
The idea for the site evolved out of the zerokidz section of Zeroboutique’s online store. Zerokidz started seven years ago when Larson posted photos on the internet of his friends and family wearing his t-shirts.
Zerokidz took off after Larson was contacted by Suicide Girls, the original alt-porn website featuring girls with tattoos, piercings and wild hair. In exchange for the t-shirts they sent him photos of the girls posing provocatively wearing only his t-shirts and their underwear.
“It was a paradigm shift in how I saw eroticism and the female gender. Instead of the traditional pornographic view, where woman are less than equal, Suicide Girls made the whole woman the focus.”
The new zerotique is only a beta version of what Larson is aiming to do. Although erotica is a big part of his focus, Larson is aiming for to be more artistic than sexual. He hopes the restriction of clothing pushes the photographers’ and models’ creativity.
“They’ll come up with the content. I’ll just be the person at the gate saying yea or nay. I’m sure some of the photos will surprise me just as much as other people.”
Along with adding video and written content, Larson is envisioning an online community of erotica enthusiasts, especially in Halifax. He’s trying to use as many local photographers and models as he can.
“In terms of sex Nova Scotia in general can be a little puritan. We live not too far from the Bible belt. There’s some opposition because of that.”
The move from t-shirts to non-nude erotic art isn’t without moral dilemmas. Larson does sometimes find himself wondering why he’s doing this.
“This isn’t the sort of thing I’m going to brag to my parents and extended family about, but at the same time I have to feel good about it. I think my intentions are good, so the end product is good. I’m not out to exploit anyone.”
This article appears in Jun 14-20, 2007.
Literature or art intended to arouse sexual desire can describe erotica. These days, so can commerialism. And most unfortunately, it is not an even playing field. Women are hired to pose and squat and grope themselves in defamitory images to sell a product- and meanwhile, what are the consequences? Women are manipulated, objectified, segregated and defaced- for style, for expression, for a sexual whim. This isn’t original- this isn’t something new. And you wonder why women have such a hard time levelling the scales when it comes to pay equity, political leadership, or international human rights. It is difficult to be heard, to be respected, to be equal when there is a devistating propensity to cut and paste female anatomy on t-shirts, videoes, Internet sites, billboards, and magazines. Worthy of so much more when she is broken down into pornographic pieces- making more money for the producer than the individual. When are people going to come up with something little more…oh I don’t know, CLEVER? This age uses erotica to sell everything from waffle cone sundaes to cat food- it’s pathetic, it’s unoriginal- We live in a time where a woman’s breast size or how neatly coiffed her pubic hairs are is worth more than what is in her heart and in her head. The wonder of sex and sexual desire can not be revamped and revitalized by sticking a woman’s behind on a t-shirt and selling it for a 10 spot. Erotica has become spin- a marketing ploy, base commerical gain.
“Zerokidz took off after Larson was contacted by Suicide Girls, the original alt-porn website featuring girls with tattoos, piercings and wild hair.”Supercult.com was the original girls with tattoos alt-porn site, started in January 2001. Suicide girls was a ripoff that was started in late 2001.
It’s sad when any frank expression of sexuality is immediately demonized as being exploitative, crass and based on some kind of desire to dominate or control women for profit or other gain. To think that anyone could enjoy & want to share these types of images purely for visual pleasure, to appreciate the natural form and beauty of one of nature’s creations, is unacceptable to you, and so you paint anyone who has any interest in these types of images with the same dirty brush. The brush I knew I would be tarred with by some people after this article came out. To those people: I’m sorry if you are offended, there’s nothing I can do about that. Sex is a touchy subject and I’ve wandered into a minefield. Just for the record- most of the feedback I’ve received on this article has been very positive, many women included. Thanks for the feedback.-Thom