30 is the new black

Lara Bingle’s career has hit another speed bump this week with an image of her naked in Woman’s Day.

Apparently the image was taken without her consent and originally circulated by former lover AFL player Brendan Fevola to team mates years ago. The photo was offered to major newspaper outlets who decided in their better judgement not to publish the image.

It is really of no surprise to me that a woman editor of a high profile magazine decided to publish the image. Another step backwards for feminism and sadly another step forward in circulation for Woman’s Day.

Conspiracy theories abound as Lara has recently changed management companies to Markson Sparks! more known for 15 minute of fame celebrities like Corey Worthington and Chk-Chk Boom girl Clare Werbeloff than the high fashion contracts Lara is or was trying to court with allegations that the picture was leaked by her new management team.

The Sunday Telegraph today says that now Lara is being marketed as a TV presenter rather than a fashion model.

And while I don’t really see Lara as a feminist warrior as her agent claims but as much as I’ve given poor Lara a bit of flack, you have to feel a tad bit sorry for her. She was only 19 years old when she went out with Brendan Fevola and she claimed she didn’t know he was married.

Living in Sydney, I wouldn’t be able to name ten high profile AFL players let alone their single status and at 19 years of age, the thought of a guy being married and/or having children probably wouldn’t even occur to you. Although it’s not model behaviour, we’ve all done stupid things at a very young age that we’ve lived to regret.

The only saving grace is that we’re not celebrities and we don’t have our misdemeanours splashed all over the pages of Sydney Confidential. And on that, I’ve always been amused by the hypocrisy of the gossip pages and what they choose to disclose.

The Tiger Woods scandal is a good example of how the media can keep its mouth shut. Having worked in public relations, you might be surprised at how much influence the mighty advertising dollar has on the editorial we read about. I guess Lara is fair game not being protected by any major endorsements or sponsorship deals.

As for Brendan Fevola, can a tiger or rather leopard change its spots? But writing about the denigration of women in sporting culture is another topic altogether. I do wonder though even with three children, you have to wonder when his wife’s self respect is going to kick in.

Irrespective of how many naked photoshoots Lara has done in the past, this photo was taken without her consent and distributed to Fevola’s team mates. She has a right to feel hurt and violated. As others have said on the forums, it’s like saying a man cannot rape a prostitute because  a prostitute sleeps with men for a living.

No stranger to controversy Lara sued Zoo Magazine for defamation, misleading conduct and breach of copyright after it used photographs of her in a bikini on a beach after she turned down their requests for a nude shoot.

Like Sienna Miller, Lara is quickly becoming more known for the people she has dated and her notoriety than she is for her talent. And just for the record, I think Lara is an incredibly good model and has exquisite taste helped out by her stylist and friend, Christine Centenera, Fashion Editor at Harper’s Bazaar.

More than an agent, she needs a good public relations firm to clean up her tarnished image as my prediction that being groomed as the first lady of cricket isn’t actually enough. More disturbing is the news that Lara is going back to the hand that bit her ie Woman’s Day in a case of impressive double dipping by the magazine and telling her story for a tidy sum. That sort of behaviour will not silence her critics or an unforgiving public.

Trying to play the media is like playing poker at the casino; you may have a few wins or losses but the house always wins.