Vanity Fair’s Beautiful Game

Vanity Fair’s latest cover is proof that we live in an era in which men have the privilege of being just as objectified as women.   Nominally a celebration of the 2010 World Cup that kicks off in South Africa in June,  the magazine’s gay porn-ish cover features soccer superstars Didier Drogba of the Ivory Coast and Portugal’s Christiano Ronaldo in nothing but their flags, photographed by Annie Leibovitz.  Within (oh, my stars & stripes!) you can behold the U.S.’s Landon Donovan, as well as Brazil’s Kaká, Italy’s Gianluigi Buffon, England’s Carlton Cole, Germany’s Michael Ballack–all in their undies.  Cheers to you, Vanity Fair: Your enterprising shamelessness truly knows no bounds.

is a staff writer for The Millions living in Virginia. She is a winner of the Virginia Quarterly's Young Reviewers Contest and has a doctorate from Stanford. Her writing has appeared in The Washington Times, In Character, VQR, Arts & Letters Daily, and The Daily Dish.