CEDTalks

In 2007, I was working with Y.M.e? Photography, a company that my friends and I started at our college. We started in studio photography, eventually expanding to events, but we made a name for ourselves with our model photos. In our heyday we were GOOD; G, Jeff, Rob, and I snapped a lot of classics with Devyn infusing his music genius and Ray marketing the product. One of the intangible skills that separated our photography from competitors was...we found the sexy. Looking at our old pics, it is still evident: We were able to capture the best essence of each of our models. Sexy or cute?  Zooeeeeee.... Doing so, however, would always prompt the question, "Which models were naturally sexy?", which expanded into what girls we knew were sexy and who was just cute. At first listen, it sounds like a vain and pretentious statement but there are great benefits in identifying the difference. Recognizing the stark contrast between cute and sexy allows women to maximize th...

During the 2000s, The Jerry Springer show rose to stardom and changed the landscape of talk show television. Its charismatic host, enthused audience, and raunchy subjects revolutionized (for better or worse) television content and set the bar for shocking, must see tv. The Springer Show's wild segments (which ironically coincided with my years of puberty) featured fights, foul language, and of course nudity. One of the episodes I remember the most was,  "I Refuse To Wear Clothes!" A topless white woman barked back at "Gerald", "Men can go shirtless and no one says anything to them! Well d*mnit, I can too", stood up and jiggled her breasts to the delight of the crowd.  In Spike Lee's "She's Gotta Have It", Nola Darling consistently tested the theories of double standards. While the ability to go shirtless is not the most debated subject, it is one of many principles known as a double standard. Known in some circles as hypo...