Does This Photo Shoot Glamorize Violence?

This might be one of the most disturbing, distasteful things we’ve ever seen. A Bulgarian fashion magazine recently featured a photo shoot of models who appear bloodied, bruised, slashed, punched and burnt, with the tagline, “Victim of Beauty.”


But if the images make you think of domestic violence, the editor-in-chief of 12 Magazine says that’s your own sick mind at work. “This shoot was left without an introductory text, thus allowing everybody to translate it the way they want,” editor-in-chief Huben Hubenov told The New York Daily News. “A lot of people read ‘domestic violence’ in those pictures, but it is their mind who came up with that explanation of the shoot, not ours."


Hubenov adds: “And if they took the time to actually examine the photographs, instead of superficially jumping to [conclusions], they would’ve seen girls who look at us strongly, who look confident, who are above the wounds, above everything. They are independent.”


Others strongly disagree. “Violence against women exists way too frequently in real life for us to want to look at it in a fashion magazine,” blogger Cheryl Wischhover wrote on Fashionista, joining a chorus of other outraged bloggers. However, some readers called the shoot beautiful and “thought-provoking.” What do you think? Do these photos glamorize violence?