• LOC Marlène Schiappa, Macron's controversial Secretary of State who has posed for Playboy

On April 1, France woke up with the cover that hours later would become fake, but also a scandal: Marlène Schiappa, French Secretary of State for Social and Solidarity Economy, had posed on the cover of Playboy magazine. The impact on French society was enormous. The first policy of the neighboring country that will appear in the most famous erotic magazine of the newsstands, which will go on sale on the 8th.

Surely, many of the French scandalized or not by the cover of Marlène Schiappa remember the stir that was made in 1987 when the mother of Marine Le Pen and ex-wife of Jean Marine Le Pen, Pierrette Lalanne de Le Pen, decided to 'celebrate' her divorce with the politician by becoming the cover of the erotic magazine. Pierrette posed dressed as a sensual domestic worker – with cap and duster included – and as a sexy peasant. The impact, then, was absolute. 36 years later, history repeats itself.

In total 12 pages of interview and an extensive photo shoot in which the Secretary of State poses in different positions and various blue, white or red outfits, the colors of the flag of France, and in which she compares herself with Pamela Anderson herself, since for her to appear in this type of magazines "is a sign of emancipation".

In the collective memory there are hundreds of historical covers of Playboy magazine: actresses, singers, presenters, unemployed hostesses, athletes ... Applauded for a long time for posing for Playboy, criticized over the years for agreeing to be part of a magazine that "hypersexualized" women and, again, praised in recent times for posing for Playboy rising as symbols of empowerment and female freedom. But when she has been a former minister and now secretary of state, the praise has disappeared and she has returned to that time of signaling. Why?

Pierrette Lalanne de Le Pen, mother of Marine Le Pen, cover of Playboy in 1987.

Beyond the political circumstances of this case, such as the protests or the struggle between parties that France is experiencing, the controversy that this cover has provoked "is something more structural," explains Cecilia Bizzotto, sociologist and spokesperson for JOYclub, a community based on liberal sexuality advocates for the freedom of women regardless of their profession. "If you want to be respected, you can't sexualize yourself," she says. "The article has not yet come out and there have already been hoaxes, fake covers and all kinds of disqualifications because appearing in Playboy, even appearing dressed and talking about feminism implies sexualizing and that implies taking away your reason in a society in which it is still said of the woman that 'you are either a whore or a nun', "he adds.

Indeed, the reactions have not been long in coming, and it is known that Marlène Schiappa has received calls calling her appearance in Playboy "inappropriate". Even the day it was known that she was the cover they tried to discredit her with a 'fake' cover, with a montage in which the secretary of state appeared in a more than erotic position.

Nothing to do with what is the real cover, but enough, despite being a hoax, for hordes of people to have launched these days against it, even from their own party, where they have branded it as "heartbreaking", "innocent" or have considered it "a feminist provocation, for giving an interview to talk about feminism in a medium that has transmitted macho clichés and a provocation at the social level, in full mobilization for pensions."

"It's not the particular case with Playboy, it's the connection between politics and sexuality," says Bizzotto. "Pretending to be taken seriously and talking about topics that are still taboo such as sexuality, today is impossible because we still consider that talking about sex is bad," he explains.

For this sociologist, although many of the voices critical of the minister assure that the controversy has nothing to do with Playboy, but for doing so at a time when France is in full social crisis due to protests against the pension reform, it is not the real reason. For her it is because society is "so backward" that we continue to "sexualize women, although women, as in this case Schiappa, are doing what they want with their bodies."

What if Marlène Schiappa's cover had been produced with a Spanish politician? What would have happened if it had been Yolanda Díaz, Ione Belarra or even Cuca Gamarra? with Ione Belarra it already happened when she came out without a bra and with a shirt in which her nipples were transparent. Bizzotto has no doubts about what would happen: "The same thing that is happening in France would happen, even more, surely they would end up being dismissed, they would be on the street." In fact, this sociologist remembers that campaign ad in which Albert Rivera went out naked, "imagine if a woman had done it, they would have called him everything." He was criticized, "but no one talked about the sexual connotation of that poster because the naked body of a man is not sexualized," he said.

"In France women are free"

"Defend the right of women to dispose of their bodies, at all times. In France women are free. Even if it annoys retrogrades and hypocrites," wrote the secretary of state to defend herself from the wave of criticism. A secretary of state who introduced a law in 2018 to ban whistles and street harassment when she was equality minister.

Why is it still generating to see a in a magazine so much commotion? Why is it criticized that a policy is the cover of something like that? In Spain there has never been a Playboy cover of a minister, former minister or secretary of state. In fact, there are very few women dedicated to politics who have dared to be part of the history of Playboy. Why Schiappa does?

According to an article published in Paris Match, which has had access to the 12-page interview, "there is no doubt that the six photos of a former Minister of Gender Equality, published in a media little known for her feminism, will make rivers of ink flow and find numerous reactions in the political class. Two effects probably sought by both the Playboy editor and politics."

Even the magazine itself has had to come to the defense of Schiappa claiming that the French secretary of state was the "most compatible with Playboy" of all government ministers "because she is attached to women's rights and has understood that it is not a magazine for old males but can be an instrument for feminism ". editor Jean-Christophe Florentin told AFP. "Playboy is not a soft pornography magazine, but a quarterly 'mook' of 300 pages that is intellectual and up to date," they said from the newsroom.

In fact, in recent years Playboy magazine, although it has not lost its erotic character, has tried to turn towards that "instrument for feminism". He did it with Noor Tagouri, the Muslim journalist who appeared in the magazine without shedding her burqa, who during the interview said that "I know I will have made a positive change when all girls realize that they can be whatever they want without having to sacrifice who they are as people." It also received countless reviews.

While most believe Schiappa's reason for choosing Playboy for a 12-page interview is meant to create a big impact and rivers of ink, Bizzotto believes there's a reason few have noticed: the magazine's target audience and the secretary of state's message. "She has chosen Playboy because 90% of Playboy's consumers are men and if you want to make feminist demands you have to address the male community. If feminist demands are to be heard, women's freedom must be directed at that specific audience."

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