A friend sent me this series of men photographed in traditional “pin-up” girl poses. They sure capture the pin-up girl vibe: Look at those arched backs, pursed lips, and inviting gazes!
Yet the difference is obvious: these “pin-up boys” wear jeans and camo and are depicted with traditionally masculine props such as dumbbells and a wrench. What do these recognizable poses on different bodies do for us viewers?
I love these pictures because they subvert the pin-up girl image. Seeing male bodies in pin-up poses takes apart what we’re used to seeing, and for me expose the silliness of pin-up girls while questioning their supposed sexiness. These guys do look silly! We’re used to seeing women with their backs arched and chests thrust out, even in the midst of their regular activities (like vacuuming, apparently). Seeing men in the sam poses while doing their regular activities (fishing? Skateboarding? Talk about the sexual division of labor!) exposes its artificiality; exposes the pin-up girl as the fantasy she is.
Do these men look sexy to you? I think they look funny, which reminds me that “sexy” means different things on different bodies. In U.S. culture, one kind of sexy = slender white women doing chores with their underwear exposed. Does it work in reverse? Do these men look sexy, or goofy and posed?
Unruly Bodies 
I love these pictures too–they really expose the strange double standard that shapes images of men and women. One could argue that the women in these poses have some form of power, but I’m not sure if that’s the power I want…
As much as I enjoy seeing the subversion of traditional pin up roles, in my opinion the pictures of the male “pin-up girl” poses aren’t equal to conventional pictures of the 1950’s. These men are still clothed and though their backs are arched and posed in a “feminine” fashion they are still a far cry from the über sexuality of the pin-up girl.
This pin-up picture: http://www.nowthatslingerie.com/bradoctor/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/typical-pin-up-girl-with-dog1.jpg, portrays the average pin-up girl. Take note of the legs up in the air, underwear exposed, skirt hiked back, and thigh high tights available for the entire world to see. This picture is standard issue for pin-up girls. The male pin-up pictures do not have the same overt sexuality. They may be posed in an alluring fashion but overall they are not equal to the hyper sexualized pin-up girl. These men are parodies, enjoyable to view (eye candy perhaps?) but their clothes still cover their bodies. The true allure of the pin-up girl is the flash of skin, the promise of ‘more’. These men offer only the physical shapes of the sexual poses but none of the promise.
From my perspective these men are a positive contrast to the pin-up girl, they offer a humorous view of a different type of sexuality. Male sexuality is often portrayed as tough, rugged and unyielding. Having these pin-up pictures, with men posed in positions that are stereotyped as “feminine”, creates a playful contrast with traditionally viewed masculinity. These men are sexy, albeit differently than traditional media often portrays, however; I do not consider the male pin-up pictures comparable with the established 1950’s pin-up girl.
I think the poses and the type of props used in the pieces definitely work to reference the pin-up girl image, but I think this is more comedic than sexy. The bodies look feminized by their softened expressions and rag doll poses, which seems to deeply contrast how men are predominantly stoic and rigid. I would say that this also plays into the way that these men are doing stereo typically men’s activities, but look completely out of place because of their body language and countenance.
I think the Pin-up Boys are actually very cute, but I’m not sure that I would consider them “sexy”. I like that someone took the traditional and turned it into not only the non-traditional but also the non-conventional and potentially the scandalous or even potentially offensive. I’m glad they have men doing masculine things, but I’m not sure that they completely accomplished their goal if their goal was to have them be comparative to and as effective as the pin-up girls of the 1950s. I think for that to happen, they would need to be wearing less or more scandalous clothes, be in more scandalous poses that show their underwear or more of their skin, and be more suggestive.
Compared to traditional pin-ups, the boys in these pictures don’t reveal as much, typically don’t show the legs or stomach of the guy (and the ones that do show their legs don’t show as much), or . In my opinion, wearing tight clothing is very different from wearing LESS clothing.
In a way, to some older, more traditional, and conservative folks, I feel that these images may be even more offensive than the pin-up girls of the 50’s.However, to the average viewer today, I’m not sure that these images are as scandalous, or carry the same weight as the images of Pin-Up girls in the 50s did or would have to the same average audience in the 50s. Today’s society is much more revealing and the idea behind the pin-up girls is that they reveal and show by suggestion, not by actually showing most of their bodies, which we are used to today.