It is hard for some to imagine that this 56-year-old bird was once on the covers of many youth magazines in the past decades.
But it’s true. I did.
12
Ulrika – who poses in the 1990s – says she is proud of her boys’ photo shoots from the show Credits: Scope Features
12
Ulrika on the cover of FHM in 1996
12
The Sun told Inbetweeners actress Emily Atack, 34, is proud of her boyfriends’ magazine shoots — and even has pictures hanging on her wallCredit: © Form Photos
I was recently asked how I felt about being splashed across the front and center.
Did I believe I was being used or objectified?
Did I feel that I was being urged to strip down to less than a handkerchief to protect my dignity and spare the blushes?
Did I feel wronged as a feminist because the pictures would undoubtedly cause some dirty men to get hot flashes?
READ MORE ON ULRIKA JONSSON
The answer was always: “No. Definitely not”.
Like many other women invited to appear in these magazines, I felt proud and amused and, moreover, in control.
And I’m not alone.
Like many other women invited to appear in these magazines, I felt proud and amused and, moreover, in control.
Ulrika Jonsson
Yesterday, The Sun told how Inbetweeners actress Emily Atack, 34, is proud of her boyfriends’ magazine shoots – and even has pictures hanging on her wall.
She defiantly declared: “I did my first bachelor show when I was about 17 years old.
“I had no problem with that.
Celebrities who posed naked for World Garden Day
“Everyone must think you’re sexy – that suited me.
“I’ll never look like that again — I looked amazing.”
For me, being featured in those magazines was a job, like most of the other photo shoots that many of us were doing at the time.
Except that the money did not change hands.
They gave you cover, and we posed sexy (or otherwise) for them.
It was a victory.
TV presenter Denise Van Outen, 50, has revealed that she too “looks back fondly” on her sexy nineties cover shoots, which helped her become a household name.
Denise said she will be using her vibrant photos on the front of Arena, FHM, Nuts and Loaded as part of her research as she works on her autobiography.
She said: “I have no regrets about filming.
“They were fun.
“It was very fashionable at the time and I enjoyed it all.
“I never felt uncomfortable.”
12
TV presenter Denise Van Outen, 50, has revealed that she too ‘looks back fondly’ on her sexy nineties cover shootCredit: Celebrity Pictures
12
Rachel Stevens was on FHM’s annual 100 Sexiest Women list for 11 years before being named Sexiest Woman of All Time in 2014 Credit: Lickerish
12
Rachel Stevens strips down to her underwear for FHM 2014
It exudes sexiness
There was always a reputable photographer on the other side of the lens and I was never forced to do anything that made me feel uncomfortable.
For one Loaded cover shoot, the stylist presented me with what can only be described as a skin-tight mini dress. And foxes.
As one of the founders of the “ladette” generation – myself, along with excellent DJs such as Zoe Ball and Sara Cox – I did it almost as a right of passage, an expression of unfettered freedom.
Others may have seen it as a crazy time in our lives – but we were girls who just wanted to have fun.
The fact that we were labeled as “ladettes” was a bit infuriating, because we were just women doing our thing.
We enjoyed and proved that women are capable of having morals, opinions and wanting sexual equality at the same time by pulling steamy poses in revealing clothes and exuding sexiness.
Why we had to be referred to as the female version of fun-seeking men had a huge impact on my speed.
It was an opportunity to grow up a bit, to be more feminine and sexy.
Rachel Stevens from S Club 7 in her photos.
S Club 7 singer Rachel Stevens, 46, Kelly Brook, 44, and former Hollyoaks actress Sarah Jayne Dunn, 42, spoke of their pride in their boys’ show days.
Like Emily, Rachel displayed some of her covers at home.
Rachel — who featured in FHM’s annual 100 Sexiest Women list for 11 years before being named Sexiest Woman of All Time in 2014 — said: “I’m extremely proud of my boyfriends’ magazine shoots.
“They were so much fun.
“The first cover I did in 2000 was really exciting.
“I was 22 years old and the band was so used to everyone being childish, sweet and nice.
“It was an opportunity to grow up a bit, to be more feminine and sexy.”
12
Model Kelly Brook was the first British woman to top FHM’s 100 Sexiest Women in 2005 Credit: celebritymedia.com
12
Kelly graced the cover of FHM 2005. Credit: FHM Magazine
Model Kelly was the first British woman to top FHM’s 100 Sexiest Women in 2005.
She posed in the sea in a blue string bikini on the July cover of that year, which read: “There are three billion women in the world.
“FHM represents the sexiest.”
She entered the top ten more times than anyone else.
British Louise Redknapp (49) was named the sexiest woman of the decade by FHM in 2004.
The former Eternal singer appears to have given a nod to her boyfriend days when she shared sizzling throwback photos on Instagram earlier this year, including one on a bed in a thong.
Former Hollyoaks actress Sarah also enjoyed the sexy shoot, saying: “I did my first boys’ show when I was 18.
“I loved doing those shoots.”
And actress Michelle Keegan (37), who rose to fame in 2007 when she played Tina McIntyre in Coronation Street, was regularly posing for men’s magazines at the time.
The photo shoots were just good fun and didn’t annoy me at all.
I did not promote any particular sexual practice.
I wasn’t representing what I might do in the bedroom – it was pure role-play, much like an actor portraying a new character.
I liked it because I felt in complete control, I didn’t feel threatened in any way. I was able to express a different version of myself. It was fun, cheeky, touching.
Of course, I hear those who say that it played into the hands of the patriarchy and that it was sexist and maybe even misogynistic and objectifying.
I hear those who claim that it was done solely for the sake of pleasing people.
But I’m afraid I don’t fully agree.
Why can’t we women enjoy feeling sexy or raunchy between the grind of home, kids and society’s relentless insistence that we behave decently?
I genuinely enjoy the alluring images of both men and women and, if anyone wants to see it as something else, by all means go for it.
Like all other women, I look at those pictures with pride and awe and wonder if I would have the same courage today.
12
Actress Michelle Keegan, 37, who shot to fame in 2007 when she was cast as Tina McIntyre in Coronation Street, has regularly posed for lads magazines Credit: Alan Strutt – Celebrity Pictures
12
Michelle says she has no ‘regrets’ about her shoots for men’s magazines Credit: FHM Magazine
12
Louise Redknapp, now 49, was named FHM’s Sexiest Woman of the Decade in 2004 Credit: Chilli Media
12
Louise on the cover of FHM in 1997
Categories: Optical Illusion
Source: HIS Education