Last Update: Apr 06, 2023, 06:25 am IST
French Secretary of State for Social Economy and Associations Marlene Schiappa arrives to attend a traditional breakfast at the Ministry of the Interior, Place Beauvau, Paris, January 4, 2023. (AFP)
The current Minister of Social Economy and Associations, Marlene Schiappa, appears in the French edition of Playboy this month
A feminist French minister who posed for Playboy told the magazine she supports women’s right to pose naked amid fresh criticism from her cabinet colleagues about her stunt on Wednesday.
The current minister of social economy and associations, Marlene Schiappa, appears in this month’s French edition of Playboy, which is set to hit shelves on Thursday, although the photos have already been leaked to French media.
In the accompanying shots of the 12-page interview, Schiappa strikes a series of poses featuring extravagant clothing and outfits in the red, white and blue of the French tricolor.
Schiappa told the magazine, “If some (women) want to pose in a men’s magazine and enjoy it, I think we shouldn’t blame them.”
She cited Pamela Anderson as an inspiration when the American glamor model spoke of how posing for Playboy was an “act of liberation”.
“Like Miss France. If they enjoy winning a beauty pageant, I love that too and we should support them,” Schiappa continued.
In the long interview “Is politics an aphrodisiac?” Including many intuitive questions, and discusses issues such as the female orgasm in the 40-year-old’s past as an erotic novelist and writer.
But for the most part it focuses on her work as a women’s rights defender within the government of President Emmanuel Macron, tackling topics including domestic violence, street harassment and sexual abuse.
The timing of the interview has left some aides speechless amid a major political crisis for the government, which is battling violent protests and strikes over a rise in the retirement age.
– ‘Sexist stereotypes’ –
After Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne made it known that she had called the media-savvy Schiappa to tell him that the unauthorized shoot was “absolutely not fair”, Equality Minister Isabelle Rome broke cover to condemn the initiative.
“I wonder to myself: When this magazine is so focused on sexist stereotypes, why would you choose Playboy to try to advance women’s cause? It’s about women as objects of culture,” she said. told Figaro newspaper.
Rome, a former magistrate, recalled Playboy founder Hugh Hefner being accused of sexual assault, saying that “when you’re a minister, you have responsibilities”.
The late mogul has been accused by women of rape and violent behavior at his Playboy mansion in California, including in last year’s docu-series “Secrets of Playboy”.
Rome’s comments raise further doubts about whether Schiappa can stay in government at a time when Macron is said to be considering a cabinet reshuffle.
Schiappa did not hesitate to make headlines during his six-year political career, which made him one of the most recognizable ministers in Macron’s governments.
When asked if his outspokenness is a danger in politics, he told the magazine, “It’s an advantage, quite the contrary.”
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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)
