#1 July 20th, 2005 09:51 PM

liandra_dahl

Member

Who Are You?

Well, I think the ISM girls have been asked at least a couple of times why they have brazenly stripped off for an internet site like this. I would like to know what is it about the sponsors that makes them join ISM. I don't want to know what it was about the site that made you join, I want to know what it is about you, that made it appealing to you.

Candide asked us if it was a new wave of feminism, a punk movement or just for kicks; I want to know, is it just a desire for reality with your pornography? or the appeal of ordinary girls that can almost seem attainable? or for photographers that once in while you can find some bloody great photography? or do you love the energy and vibrancy that the girls on this site exude? or does it give you a sense of power (benevolent or malicious) where normally you experience a feeling of emasculation around potently sexual/ beautiful/ vivacious females? Or do you simply just adore women, and see their naked bodies as the finest thing the world has ever thrown up to be admired? or do you rarely get a chance to look at young naked females? Or what?

MrPicMe

Member

Re: Who Are You?

I signed up to see some high-resolution cutting edge, racy, candid, selfportraits. I love all aspects of photography, and what this site offers is somewhat unique...

wantingscott

Member

Re: Who Are You?

hi Liandra,
for me, it has helped to overcome my own body dysmorphia issues, seeing people so free and open with their bodies. seeing that the perfect aren't perfect anywhere, and the not perfect sure carry themselves and look GREAT once you factor in a load of confidence.

sure i had hoped that by joining, i'd get to post some pics of myself through soome "back door", but the Beautiful Agony project has me suddenly interested.

I was abused as a kid and developed a fear of sex and women by the time i was 4. this site, plus seeking counselling/medication has helped a great deal and has carried over in real benefits i now share with my wife. i'm alot more comfortable around her naked and around her naked body. she is stunning, and i will admit, i put on alot of show before we were married. but now, things are great.

thanks for asking, Liandra

Scott

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that's the way it goes. but don't forget, it goes the other way too.

Torstar

Member

Re: Who Are You?

You hit on a few points that make this site the best:

ordinary girls, vibrancy, photography.

For me the thought of being alone and naked with a camera knowing the camera is a window to a group of apreciative people thrills me. So in a sense I live vicariously through the models.

Also, what could be better than seeing naked women who enjoy sharing their bodies?  It's the women who enjoy doing this that inject the energy into the project and make it so intreguing.

Thanks for asking

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And the third beast came forth from the ground

trebora

Member

Re: Who Are You?

What is it that drew me to ISM?  What is it about me that is drawn to ISM?

Reality with my pornography?  Yeah that is definitely a draw.  I want to know that this is real.  This is not just someone else’s idea of what a picture or video should look like.  This is just a slice of one woman’s life.  It is her view of herself.  It allows me to see a piece of her life that maybe the people in her life never really get to see.  It allows me to see some real emotion in the photos.  Maybe for some its just another mask but for others the mask is off. 

And that’s it I think.  My work and my life revolve around knowing why.  Why does this thing operate in this way.  Why does this person act this or that way.  I always want to know the whys of things.  The photos and videos show me one of the whys of the artist.

The appeal of ordinary girls that can almost seem attainable? I wouldn’t call any of the women on here ordinary.  But I do like the fact that one day I could run into one of the women on here.  Would I say anything if I did happen to run into her, maybe.  It all depends on the circumstances.   It would be interesting to just to see if there was a difference between the person I saw in the photos and the person I met.

Or do you simply just adore women, and see their naked bodies as the finest thing the world has ever thrown up to be admired?  There is definitely that though I doubt that is part of what drew me to ISM at all.

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One by one, the penguins slowly steal my sanity
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No1Steelerfan

Member

Re: Who Are You?

Since I have gotten older, my idea of what is erotic has changed drastically. It used to be the silicone-breasted sex-kitten having obviously fake orgasms during unrealistically staged scenarios. But as I have matured, I have discovered that there is more pleasure for me in seeing a more natural form of sensuality. This site is exactly that for me. But it is also something deeper.

And I enjoy the fact that each person is, and should be, different and not "cookie cutter" models that are a dime a dozen in mainstream adult sites. Here, one can see amazing amateur photography of imperfect (or even scarred) but still sensuous bodies and still get an insight into the real person behind, or as is the case here, in front of the camera.

Here I can feel how a person views themself through their photos. I can feel the sincerity, the whimsy, the anxiety, the shyness and in some cases, the anger or frustration. I can see how passionate or intense a woman or a couple is by how they move, how they portray themselves. I can feel their thoughts as they discover things about themselves that they didn't know, had never explored or had kept hidden only in their fantasies; or show the world what they have already discovered, explored or fantasized about.

There is nothing routine or "cookie cutter" about ISM. But some do stand out as prime examples of what I say. Your "Sizzle" and "Heat" series are the exemplification of intensity, artistry, eroticism and intelligence. Zille just oozes sensuality and heat. Dandy is as funny as she is controversial. Jules is just delightfully kinky and sexy. Clancy and Babette's photos illustrate how two people in love should be. Mia's contributions are a documentary on how sexy and sensual pregnancy can be.

This site has it all for me. It satisfies my new tastes without the vulgarity. It is going in a direction that I think all "adult" sites should be going. Erotic, yet tasteful. Kinky, but subdued. And above all else, natural.

ProfessorSM

Member

Re: Who Are You?

Excellent question. The first word that comes to mind is "immediacy," which, by the way, my dictionary defines very nicely as "lack of an intervening or mediating agency." I have seen quite a bit of erotic photography - in print, on the Internet, hanging in a gallery, etc. - and what seems to be present in most examples is something that intervenes between the subject being portrayed and the viewer. These mediating influences include camera effects (e.g., special effect lenses), airbrushing, weirdo lighting, etc. All of this conveys to the viewer a distorted image of the subject.

By contrast, ISM imposes very few barriers between the artist and the viewer. One gets the sense that the artists are right in the same room with the persons seeing them. This is the real appeal ISM holds for me. I feel that a great deal of erotic photography keeps me at a distance, and that is very alienating. But with ISM I feel welcomed as an appreciator of the art on display and a closeness with the women who are gracious enough to share themselves with me. It is comforting, and who doesn't like to feel comforted?

wantingscott

Member

Re: Who Are You?

thinking about this makes me wonder something else, about myself. there are some duet folios that are so intimate (the one by Allanah, for example), and a few of the contributers who also post to the forum are into girls, too... now follow me- i feel most of the time that I wish that i was a girl, too, that i don't love women the same way other guys do, don't form friendships the way other guys do with girls. the women i know, love and have as friends say i'm like a sister to them alot of times. at 6'2 220lbs, hairy & muscular, i'm not effeminate, but i'm not afraid to say that i think i have at least 60% of a  woman's brain floating around in here... i look at your photos because I WISH I LOOKED LIKE YOU, I WISH IT WASN'T PERVERTED FOR ME TO TAKE MY KIT OFF AT THE BEACH, i wish that i could put on a tank top and cause traffic accidents, too...

Scott

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_________________________________________________
that's the way it goes. but don't forget, it goes the other way too.

wantingscott

Member

Re: Who Are You?

um EDIT: when i said "YOU", i meant females in general- just so there's no, um, fears that i'll be stalking Liandra...

stay frosty,
Scott

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_________________________________________________
that's the way it goes. but don't forget, it goes the other way too.

liandra_dahl

Member

Re: Who Are You?

thinking about this makes me wonder something else, about myself. there are some duet folios that are so intimate (the one by Allanah, for example), and a few of the contributers who also post to the forum are into girls, too... now follow me- i feel most of the time that I wish that i was a girl, too, that i don't love women the same way other guys do, don't form friendships the way other guys do with girls. the women i know, love and have as friends say i'm like a sister to them alot of times. at 6'2 220lbs, hairy & muscular, i'm not effeminate, but i'm not afraid to say that i think i have at least 60% of a  woman's brain floating around in here... i look at your photos because I WISH I LOOKED LIKE YOU, I WISH IT WASN'T PERVERTED FOR ME TO TAKE MY KIT OFF AT THE BEACH, i wish that i could put on a tank top and cause traffic accidents, too...

Scott

Bravo! LMAO! Anyway perhaps you feel that way not because you want to be a girl but you want the the male body to encite the same sort of media attention as the female does, or maybe you do have a a more feminine brain, and you simply want the body that goes with it. My on/ off boyf thinks I am more like a man, I don't agree though. I think I'm just different from other girls he has been involved with. I'd like to have great muscely arms and long muscely thighs, but so far I have been too lazy, not that I could ever make my thighs long. In fact I wish the fashion for woman was to be very strong and athletic rather than skinny and weak looking. I think I've said this before, but repetition can be effective, Natalie Angier, in her book Woman, proclaimed all women should be able to lift her own body weight in a pull up. I might add this would be useful should you ever find yourself dangling from a cliff, or any similar precarious predicament, you'd be mighty pissed you had fashionably skinny but useless arms then. ;-)

IT'S NOT PERVERTED FOR YOU TO TAKE YOUR KIT OFF AT THE BEACH. Will it help if I promise that should I ever see a "6'2 220lbs, hairy & muscular... not effeminate man" in a tank top I'll crash into the nearest wall...

SCSIgirl

Member

Re: Who Are You?

Well, I think the ISM girls have been asked at least a couple of times why they have brazenly stripped off for an internet site like this. 
>>>  snipped for brevity  <<<<
Or do you simply just adore women, and see their naked bodies as the finest thing the world has ever thrown up to be admired? or do you rarely get a chance to look at young naked females? Or what?

Sorry I didn't respond yesterday, L, but I'd just come off a Eminem/50 cent show that went until 4am and I was brain-useless yesterday.  (I got laundry done!)

I've been shooting nudes since college.  Some while I was a professional photographer,  most while a hobbiest.  Most of the amatuers I shot said they felt "empowered" by the shoot.  More confident after the sessions.

One of the things I find sexiest in a woman is confidence in her sexuality and herself.  When a woman is bold enough or brave enough to step forward,  and put her most intimate presence in front of the world,  then she can do anything;  including asking her boss for a raise or telling the landlord to "get this fixed, now!"

I could write a disertation,  but suffice it to say that ISM models are the "girl next door with true grit".  Nothing on this planet is sexier.

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"Apple of my Eye", "bated breath", "brave new world", "caught red-handed" - all coined by Shakespeare.

liandra_dahl

Member

Re: Who Are You?

Thanks for responding guys, I think your reasons for coming to view the girls could go a long way to explaining why the girls are so interrested in participating in this project themselves.

SCSIgirl

Member

Re: Who Are You?

proclaimed all women should be able to lift her own body weight in a pull up. I might add this would be useful should you ever find yourself dangling from a cliff, or any similar precarious predicament, .

As I mentioned in the "movie" thread.  Being eaten while doing pull-ups is very erotic.  I think the movie was "Tie me up, tie me down"  Victoria Abril is killer.

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"Apple of my Eye", "bated breath", "brave new world", "caught red-handed" - all coined by Shakespeare.

wantingscott

Member

Re: Who Are You?

IT'S NOT PERVERTED FOR YOU TO TAKE YOUR KIT OFF AT THE BEACH. Will it help if I promise that should I ever see a "6'2 220lbs, hairy & muscular... not effeminate man" in a tank top I'll crash into the nearest wall...

you know who actually gets like that? when i go out to the suburbs- middle age (45-55 "Mrs Robiinson") women in SUV's... last night i caught one looking and she almost had an accident. true story- my wife was there...

you're so cool Liandra... thanks for the encouragement, i really wrote from the heart. my wife is an athlete, that's why i was attracted to her. i don't go for "waif-women" at all. muscles ripling on a girl (not steroidal muscles, just healthy ones, you know?) are a MAJOR turn-on for me.

i see that in your videos heat_ & heat_2, you lie there like a panther ready to strike. don't change...

oh, and BTW- i'm U LMAO, not ROFLMAO
TTYL

Scott

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_________________________________________________
that's the way it goes. but don't forget, it goes the other way too.

neilj67

Member

Re: Who Are You?

I don't want to know what it was about the site that made you join, I want to know what it is about you, that made it appealing to you.

I just stumbled on some pics from the site that were 'stolen' and posted in some newsgroup. I loved the concept right away. Standard 'porn' has grown quite stale for me. There's a nice blend of art and flesh here. I like to see the girls in various stages, from fully clothed to fully exposed. I guess the main thing about me that made me join and makes me excited to come here twice a day is that I love the way women look, feel and smell. Some of the girls take great shots that really draw me in and then blow me away. And it helps that every 9 out of 10 of them are pretty much delicious.

nwas6uk

Member

Re: Who Are You?

For me, I like the extra element of personality that shows through with most of the sets - it makes it more intimate (not in a scary way!). And you were right Liandra, I find women (pretty much all women) beautiful - I'd rather spend 10 minutes at this site (even with my trousers on) than a day at any art gallery. At risk of getting too scientific about it, it's only to be expected that the eyes, smiles, hair, curves, shadows, breasts, er, noses?!? etc. of women trigger this reaction in most men  - we'd probably die out pretty quickly if it didn't.

Also, the pictures that many of the contributers make tend to cover more angles and unusual parts of the body and they are taken with a sense of fun that is very sexy. It's easy to get arousal confused with beauty, but I experience both at this site. I haven't been interested/excited by any other site since I found this one.

If I could take the opportunity to make a request, it would be for an even greater variety of shapes and ages of women - women don't stop being beautiful or sexy when they get past 25 or size 10.

Markk02474

Member

Re: Who Are You?

I like seeing the interesting angles, perspectives, and creativity of the girls - sometimes I feel stale and stylisticly stuck taking photos and they really help. Yes, I very much like the subject matter too, though seldom find it erotic - sometimes when the model shows obvious signs of arousal, which is beautiful too. Society doesn't think the same for men in such a state (or not). Maplethorpe did scare the wowsers with them, big, black ones, no less!

I agree with Scott about attitudes toward men. I have many lesbian friends and if I'm at a lesbian  beach with them, I really can't go starkers even though many women there are already breaking the law going topless or nude. Yes Scott, there are more than a few girls here who have at least dabbled. Today's video breaks the stereotype for "diesel dyke" in an attractive way. I favor sporty women and women who generally don't let social norms keep them from being themself or realizing their potential. That's the girls here, and having a go with another girl to see what its like seems right.

liandra_dahl

Member

Re: Who Are You?

you know who actually gets like that? when i go out to the suburbs- middle age (45-55 "Mrs Robiinson") women in SUV's... last night i caught one looking and she almost had an accident. true story- my wife was there...

you're so cool Liandra... thanks for the encouragement, i really wrote from the heart. my wife is an athlete, that's why i was attracted to her. i don't go for "waif-women" at all. muscles ripling on a girl (not steroidal muscles, just healthy ones, you know?) are a MAJOR turn-on for me.

i see that in your videos heat_ & heat_2, you lie there like a panther ready to strike. don't change...

oh, and BTW- i'm U LMAO, not ROFLMAO
TTYL

Scott

Panther! now I really am  ROTFLMAO!  Oh I proclaim fitness and muscular strength for women but I haven't been since I had my daughter five years ago, though I did used to be. I don't have spare time or money. I don't like steroids or any of that nonsense, just healthy strength. I don't think women are encouraged to be strong, I think slender is the ideal, which doesn't permit as much physical strength as women are capable of, which perpetuates women as feeble inferior physical beings. proportionally women are capable of more than they know and perhaps if they didn't adhere to ideas of feminine as soft and weak they would experience a fuller life. However I am basically saying "do as I say not a I do". I know I am opinionated, but I think I learn more from how people respond to my opinions than I would if I never voiced them.

Belgareth

Member

Re: Who Are You?

Panther! now I really am  ROTFLMAO!  Oh I proclaim fitness and muscular strength for women but I haven't been since I had my daughter five years ago, though I did used to be. I don't have spare time or money. I don't like steroids or any of that nonsense, just healthy strength. I don't think women are encouraged to be strong, I think slender is the ideal, which doesn't permit as much physical strength as women are capable of, which perpetuates women as feeble inferior physical beings. proportionally women are capable of more than they know and perhaps if they didn't adhere to ideas of feminine as soft and weak they would experience a fuller life. However I am basically saying "do as I say not a I do". I know I am opinionated, but I think I learn more from how people respond to my opinions than I would if I never voiced them.

Being as I got a chance to pop in here, I thought I'd put in my two pen'orth. I believe that a woman's strength is manifest as mental, rather than physical. I don't consider myself as being mentally week but, by comparision to what a lot of women are able to put up with , I am as week as a kitten.

Panther, now there's an image to throw around in the depths of my imagination - aren't they as horny as hell - after dark??

I, for one, certainly respect you for voicing your opinions Liandra. After all - who's going to voice them if you don't?

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wantingscott

Member

Re: Who Are You?

Belgareth,
hey buddy. You can agree, though? Liandra is very panther-like? in more than a physical presence, maybe...  I wonder what kind of a cat Egonarbus thinks of, if you consider yourself a kitten?

Scott

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_________________________________________________
that's the way it goes. but don't forget, it goes the other way too.

Belgareth

Member

Re: Who Are You?

Belgareth,
hey buddy. You can agree, though? Liandra is very panther-like? in more than a physical presence, maybe...  I wonder what kind of a cat Egonarbus thinks of, if you consider yourself a kitten?

Scott

Good question. You'd better ask Egonarbus that question. I'm definitely a kitten, all soft and playful. When I stick my claws in is by accident and when I growl, I'm just practicing ;-)

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wantingscott

Member

Re: Who Are You?

Belgareth,
ever answer one of those job interview questions "what type of animal would you be?"
i did when i worked as an Orientation Group Leader for my university. i said "a squirrel. you know- you don't notice squirrels much, but they're always busy, and organized. well prepared. sometimes entertaining."

i like squirrels, they're the only wildlife i ever get to see (well besides pidgeons EVEDRYWHERE, and rats in the subway. but pidgeons are just rats with wings around here...)

Scott

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_________________________________________________
that's the way it goes. but don't forget, it goes the other way too.

voyeur2

Member

Re: Who Are You?

Belgareth,
ever answer one of those job interview questions "what type of animal would you be?"
i did when i worked as an Orientation Group Leader for my university. i said "a squirrel. you know- you don't notice squirrels much, but they're always busy, and organized. well prepared. sometimes entertaining."

i like squirrels, they're the only wildlife i ever get to see (well besides pidgeons EVEDRYWHERE, and rats in the subway. but pidgeons are just rats with wings around here...)

Scott

In the what kind of animal would you be sweepstakes, try buying an American car.  The big self statement in the US is the car you drive.  Mostly macho stuff and biggish predators in the name list, although Ford came out with the Probe - favorite cars for Proctologists?  I have seen a morphing of names in to less aggression evocative.  Still don't want a Viper because of the name, Mustang is OK, Corvette is OK, Cougar -welll - ok, and so on.

The 'secret name' bestowed on me by a summer camp group was "Prudent Porcupine".  After I got over not being some sorta Fearless Grizzly Bob, I realized it kinda fit.  I am usually cautious, non-aggressive and sort of slow moving.  But also fearless, nocturnal, and a right awkward one to attack.

The shoe fits.  I am wearing it.

Soooo folks, what kind of animal are you?

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Have I ever lied to you before?

Candide

Member

Re: Who Are You?

Well, I think the ISM girls have been asked at least a couple of times why they have brazenly stripped off for an internet site like this. I would like to know what is it about the sponsors that makes them join ISM. I don't want to know what it was about the site that made you join, I want to know what it is about you, that made it appealing to you.

Candide asked us if it was a new wave of feminism, a punk movement or just for kicks; I want to know, is it just a desire for reality with your pornography? or the appeal of ordinary girls that can almost seem attainable? or for photographers that once in while you can find some bloody great photography? or do you love the energy and vibrancy that the girls on this site exude? or does it give you a sense of power (benevolent or malicious) where normally you experience a feeling of emasculation around potently sexual/ beautiful/ vivacious females? Or do you simply just adore women, and see their naked bodies as the finest thing the world has ever thrown up to be admired? or do you rarely get a chance to look at young naked females? Or what?

A girl I met recently pointed this site out to me. It struck me as highly unusual. Somehow I hoped to find out who these mostly normal looking women are, what makes them tick, why do they do this. Why does a cute girl next-door shoot a close-up of her arsehole, parting her buttocks with her fingers? It seems so weird and weirdness attracks me like a flame does a moth. Of course I'll probably never know who these girls are. Getting a bit bored with ISM by now, I must confess.