Marilyn Minter on Pioneering Sex-Positive Feminism in the Art World and Beyond

Over the past 50 or so years, Marilyn Minter has been on a roving exploration of feminist, sex-positive thinking. In her art-making, she harnesses the power of sexual imagery—a realm long controlled by men—and presents it through the lens of female desire. Among her most acclaimed works are her “Bathers” series, which reimagines classic female bathers; her “Bush” series, originally a Playboy commission; and a group of new portraits, currently on view at the New York gallery LGDR (through June 3), featuring impactful cultural figures she admires, such as Roxane Gay, Gloria Steinem, Lizzo, and Monica Lewinsky. On the episode, Minter talks about the unrealistic societal and body-image standards young women continue to face, the importance of embracing complexity and multiplicity in artwork, and the hope she has in the next generation to fight social injustice.

Special thanks to our Season 7 sponsor, L’ÉCOLE, School of Jewelry Arts.

Show notes: 

[00:49] Marilyn Minter

[04:02] Bettie Page

[06:10] Susie Bright

[24:31]  “The Joys (and Challenges) of Sex After 70”

[27:31] HBO’s The Deuce

[33:37] Pamela Anderson for Parkett

[40:33] LGDR

[46:30] Minter’s “Coral Ridge Towers” Series

[52:19] Linda Yablonsky

[53:23] Diane Arbus

[55:24] James Harithas

[56:35] Sylvia Mangold

[56:59] Kenneth Snelson

[58:16] Christof Kohlhöfer

[01:04:15] Neville Wakefield

[01:07:32] Planned Parenthood

[01:07:45] ADLAR AR App