A feminist's journey: From scholar to 'Playboy' Playmate

As your new and unorthodox Women's Issues Examiner, I look forward to covering a fascinating spectrum of topics pertaining to the well-being of women, gender equality and world culture, social progress, and other topics in the realm of feminist inquiry.

To give you an idea of my unusual background in women's issues, I earned my bachelor's degree in women's studies from UCLA in 2006. Before graduating however, I managed to scandalize my feminist senses and pose for Playboy for the purposes of writing about it for my honors thesis which was called: "Posing for Playboy from a Feminist Perspective: How Media Images Impact Women's Empowerment."

Back then I had only modeled for small Playboy features such as special editions, college pictorials, "coed of the week", and "coed of the month." Indeed, my lower profile Playboy work was extensive -- extensive enough that I afforded myself an interval of time after graduation to ponder my previous research and experience. Nevertheless, I eventually decided to work with Playboy again in the capacity of Playmate as Miss June 2008: the final portion of my feminist journey.

Which has led me to finally finish the project that I began so long ago. Having worked with Playboy in different capacities over a span of several years, I am now consolidating my observations and analyses into a narrative book--a veritable expansion and revision of my original honors thesis. My narrative will thus tell a story about myself and Playboy, presenting analysis and alternative interpretations on poignant controversial topics including choice, objectification, body image, judgment, pornography, morality, and more.

But in the meantime, I will share information and commentary about almost every topic under the sun (and in the dark) pertaining to women. As I lend additional perspectives to the wealth of data "out there," please feel free to give your feedback. I am more than happy to receive suggestions and questions about article topics and content.

Thank you for reading and I hope that you find answers to your questions!

Cheers,
Juliette Fretté

See my definitions and categories of feminists

Juliette Frette