Vintage Pinups

Summary:

            Pinups during the time of World War II cherished aircrafts and G.I.’s bunks to serve as motivation for the girls and all they hoped to accomplish. One of the major sex symbols of this era was Betty Grable. Grable had been famous for one of her shots in a bathing suit. Rita Hayworth, Bettie Page, Marilyn Monroe, Theda Bara, Jean Harlow, Dorothy Lamour, Vivien Leigh, Greta Garbo, and Jayne Mansfield were all considerably famous pin up girls of this time period.

            Tattoos of pin up girls are very popular to this day- many people wear them to represent that they believed in what pin up girls stood for. From the 1930s-1960s, there was an uproar of vintage pin up girls all over the media. There has been talk of the reveal of Playboy causing the style of the vintage pin ups to dissipate. Vintage pin up girls were classier in nature; poses weren’t often, if ever, nude and there had been more mystery for the viewer. Playboy took that away and gave it all in one shot.

            Although the vintage style pin up girls is no longer the most popular type of erotic images viewed today, recently there’s been somewhat of a comeback of this style consisting of new lines, red lips, and a whole lot of tattoos!

Analysis:

            There were several pin up girls in the World War II era and it’s fascinating that the poses found in the images truly did leave more for the imagination than do the erotic images we’re used to today. It’s almost sad, in a way- the urgent need of immediate gratification. Pin up girls were beautiful women that made you want more; pin up girls were teases, in essence. It’s good to see that there’s a comeback in the style.

Reflection Questions:

What exactly did pin ups stand for?

Why were nude images not found in the pin up girls’ images?

Stanley, M. (2010, November 24). Vintage pinups. Examiner. Retrieved from http://www.examiner.com/tattoo-designs-in-national/vintage-pinups