Women Warriors

There's a post on Women in Media & News about the cover story of Sunday's New York Times magazine about women coming back from the Iraq war who were raped and assaulted by fellow soldiers. Her beef isn't with the piece, but with what she considers to be cheesecake photos.

I don't think so.

Although the woman are in what could be taken as alluring poses, they are not Victoria's Secret model look-alikes. They look tough and strong and stolid. But the photos also capture a vulnerability and quiet resilience. I also don't think that the mom in the swing with the baby on her lap looks sexy. It's a photo full of pathos, of what she endured, and how she must carry on in civilian life, despite that.

That said, the photos, by Katy Grannan, have a decidedly artistic, posed feeling to them. They are not smiling. And they are placed in familiar settings: a kitchen, a living room couch, on the beach. They could be your neighbor, in fact, they probably are. They gave to their country, and went to hell and back.