Bunny Yeager's 1955 Photograph of Bettie Page is greatly contextualized by the historical events presented. Many individuals would look at a photo of Bettie Page and purely see a pin-up model who is smiling for a picture. Maybe they are flipping the pages of a Playboy magazine looking for their next fix. Assumptions aside, this image was basically considered contraband in the 50s due to its lewdness. Today you could pull up a search engine and search for breasts and genitalia in under 20 seconds and no one would come knocking at your door. In the same year Page was photographed, with mere months in between, she was in court where she was forced to testify against her friends and colleagues of her field of work. The nation was in political distress due to fear of communism and images of Page were somehow dragged into the discussion. Hundreds of images of her were burned. This image is not only the kick starter of Bunny Yeager and Bettie Page’s prolific careers, but also boldly went against the conservative nature of American society at the time. Notably, Page also left the modeling industry 2 years later, the same year Roth v United States, which ruled obscenity was unprotected under the first amendment.  

In this image, we see Page looking directly at the camera with a playful, yet assertive smile and wink on her face. She is having fun with what she is doing. She sees nothing wrong with it. It feels natural for her to be sporting only a Christmas hat. Page holds the agency when it comes to what is occurring between her and the viewer or photographer. Although, the photographer is Bunny Yeager, who is pin-up model herself. Yeager was the first woman photographer featured in Playboy with this image of Bettie Page. This image put Yeager on the map and displayed women as sexual beings by creation through the lens of a woman herself. This was taboo and typically not a successful field of work for women at the time. Between wars women were still fighting the battle between homemaker and member of the workforce. It took many years into the feminist art movement up until today for women to be taken seriously as artists. Women photographers and artists were often rejected from displaying or profiting from their work. Bunny Yeager truly was a gem of her time in the realm of both women and photographers. 

Image Citations:  

Yeager, Bunny. Bunny Yeager (Self-Portrait). Etherton Gallery, 1956, https://ethertongallery.com/artists/108-bunny-yeager/works/10553-bunny-yeager-bunny-yeager-self-portrait-1956/. Accessed 05 Sept. 2024. 

Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Hollywood Ten". Encyclopedia Britannica, 28 Mar. 2024, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Hollywood-Ten. Accessed 05 September 2024. 

CMG Worldwide, www.cmgworldwide.com/2023/08/10/bettie-page-bunny-yeager/. Accessed 05 Sept. 2024. 

Drinnon, Benny. Bettie Page Advertising Irving Klaw, bennypdrinnon.blogspot.com/2015/12/bettie-page-advertising-irving-klaw.html. Accessed 05 Sept. 2024.