VENUS ENVY

Letters

V.F.'s August cover, featuring Cindy Crawford giving k. d. lang a barbershop shave, made headlines across the U.S., Canada, Great Britain, and Europe. Not only did the photos by Herb Ritts and the article, "k. d. lang Cuts It Close, ' ' by Leslie Bennetts, generate enormous press—the story was broadcast on 77 stations to more than 16 million viewers and was the subject of more than 1,000 articles—but they helped put lang's album Ingenue (released in March of 1992) back on "The Billboard 200. " Judging from the hundreds of readers' letters received so far, the response was overwhelmingly positive.

Many thanks for Leslie Bennetts's wonderful, perceptive article on k. d. lang. It's the best interview, and write-up, I've ever seen on k.d.—and I've seen most of them!

ELIZABETH A. HARDY Memphis, Tennessee

I imagine that a lot of women like myself will be buying their first-ever issue of Vanity Fair this summer, thanks to your astonishing cover story on k. d. lang. Leslie Bennetts managed to shed even more light on this luminary, whom I have studied for years. And, Herb Ritts, thank you for your notorious fantasy photos, especially that tongue close-up. My "constant craving" shall always be!

NAME WITHHELD Houston, Texas

A standing ovation is certainly in order for Leslie Bennetts's profile of k. d. lang. We at GLAAD found it to be an exciting and accurate article detailing the life of a musical genius who also happens to be a Canadian, a vegetarian, a motorcycle owner, and. . . oh, yes. . . a lesbian.

It is certainly refreshing to read about a celebrity who is as comfortable with her identity as lang is. And equally refreshing was the up-front, conventional attitude of both Bennetts and the photos by Herb Ritts. Lang was presented as a true personality whose lesbianism was just another basic element of her persona. Nothing special. Nothing controversial. Just another part of her.

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Bennetts's article is a model for future profiles of celebrities who choose to be "out." I hope this matter-of-fact treatment of sexual orientation will assuage the public-relations fears of closeted performers and public figures and encourage them to come out, come out! Thanks, V.F.\

CHRIS ANNE F. EASTWOOD Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation/NY New York, New York

To both V.F. and Leslie Bennetts, kudos. Not only was the article tasteful enough for anyone to read, but it was done with compassion and humor.

I have to applaud Cindy Crawford as well. I am sure that many small minds in this world will be wagging their tongues about this article. It must have taken a very sensitive individual to do this photo shoot, and yet I feel that "class" was the key word all the time.

BEVERLY A. LENT Fort Lauderdale, Florida

What a disgusting commentary on our world today that a lesbian can be shown on the cover of your magazine receiving a pseudo-shave from another woman. Perhaps I should be thankful that you saved the more indecent picture of k. d. lang being straddled by Cindy Crawford for the article itself. You have shown me just how far a magazine can and will go to get a little publicity and maybe a few more bucks.

DARION NEVINS Portsmouth, Virginia

I find your cover with k. d. lang reckless, revolting, and reprehensible. If anything would make me homophobic, this cover would.

NAME WITHHELD Tarzana, California

Leslie Bennetts's profile of Ms. lang was one of the few I have read that emphasized intelligence over insipid and snickering comments about lang's lifestyle. I was a little bit put off by the odd photo of k.d. and Cindy Crawford on the cover—there have been so few cover stories of national magazines that feature lesbians that I am concerned your readers might seriously think that the bizarre pose taken by the two women is representative of what lesbians are all about. I am, however, willing to put aside my wish for accuracy in favor of the humor which the photo, I am sure, meant to convey. Besides, if it got people to buy the magazine and read the excellent article, it was worth it.

MARIA E. CHMAJ Oakland, California

Regarding Leslie Bennetts's article: I can truly appreciate Ms. lang's enjoyment in "jamming the radar" by dressing in men's clothes. But appearing on the cover of your magazine dressed as a man, and having her face shaved, only feeds the homophobic and erroneous beliefs that lesbians want to be men and don't like being women, and that in homosexual relationships one partner plays the "male role" and the other plays the "female role." (Perhaps a photo of Cindy Crawford shaving k. d. lang's legs would have been a more appropriate portrayal of a real lesbian fantasy!)

DEBRA A. DASPIT Mandeville, Louisiana

I was shocked by the front cover of V.F.! Finally, one that pokes fun at America's "normal" images. I am a 38year-old straight male who has never purchased nor read your magazine before. I bought this issue without a second thought.

My girlfriend turned me on to k. d. lang a year ago. Lang doesn't strike me as either male or female, but as a friend I have never met in person. Thank you, Ms. Bennetts, for bringing this friend into our homes. I welcome entertainment from women who remain true to their individuality.

JAMIE AMOS Los Angeles, California

Don't get me wrong. I'm no prude, not by a long shot. I survived Haight-Ashbury in the 60s, the L.A. music scene in the 70s, N.Y.C. in the 80s, and am now, happily, on the central coast of California. "Clowning around" is an interesting description of Herb Ritts's photos of k. d. lang and Cindy Crawford. About a million other descriptions come to my mind. My first reaction was embarrassment. Then I decided Cindy is orgasmic as she prepares to cut k.d.'s throat. Too bad—lang was such a talented singer. At least now she won't be tempted to indulge in such tastelessness again. Why does one's sexual preference override one's obvious calling in life?

CINTHEA T. COLEMAN Los Osos, California

It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words. Vanity Fair's pictures of performer k. d. lang and model Cindy Crawford were, however, worth a hundred thousand. From among them I would choose wit, beauty, and bravery to describe the layout. Vanity Fair is, quite simply, the forerunner among today's magazines for insightful journalism and photojournalism.

TALLY GOLDSTEIN Washington, D.C.

I loved your article about k. d. lang and really got a chuckle over the cover photograph showing the voluptuous Cindy Crawford giving k. d. lang a sensual barbershop shave. However, I don't know why the photographer, Herb Ritts, felt the need to explain to us that "it was all done in fun." Duh! The cover speaks for itself. It's fun, dammit! It's fun!

GREG COURTNEY Washington, D.C.

Thank you so much for the recent cover and article on k. d. lang. I don't know what I admire most about this lady, her exceptional talent or her unwavering sense of self in such a high-profile industry.

BARBARA KLINGER Phoenixville, Pennsylvania

I wanted to drop a note to congratulate Leslie Bennetts for an enlightening article on k. d. lang. I must confess I am somewhat embarrassed for the first time in my life to be a Canadian, simply because the Canadian public has not been nearly as responsive and appreciative as her newly found European fans.

k.d.'s phenomenal success is what she clearly deserves, and is based solely on her incredible talent. The fact that she "came out" publicly obviously has no bearing on her potential as an artist, and I resent her having been pressured to do so. As she clearly explains, she never hid any part of her sexuality—she was just herself.

Perhaps, with her popularity abroad, her home country can trash its sexual hang-ups and finally recognize k. d. lang for the beautiful musician she is.

J. KYOKO IN ABA Toronto, Ontario, Canada

I couldn't keep from staring at the cover of your August issue. As I picked up Vanity Fair off our coffee table for the umpteenth time and perused the magazine, my eight-year-old son looked over my shoulder for a few moments as I turned to the cover article and its provocative pictures. With that, my son yelled out at the top of his lungs in a house full of people, "Mom, Dad's reading Fantasy Fair again!" He said it all!

LARRY A. RUSSAK Seattle, Washington

When I first picked up the August issue of Vanity Fair, I literally turned away in shock and embarrassment at the picture of Cindy Crawford giving k. d. lang a "shave." But being the Cindy Crawford and k. d. lang fan that I am, I bought the magazine because I wanted to know more about lang, who is talented and a role model of courage for young women like myself.

Although I'm still uncomfortable to have the magazine on my coffee table, I do congratulate V.F., Crawford, and lang for showing that a sexy woman (Crawford) can be an "object" of desire not only for men but for us women too.

Although I am a heterosexual woman, I applaud k. d. lang for coming out as a lesbian in a totally unapologetic manner. Indeed, the truths of who we are shall set all women and men free from the lies and molds we are expected to fit.

DONNA R. NEYLON Cleveland, Ohio

Demi Moore in a beautiful state of pregnancy was O.K. [August 1991], but Cindy Crawford and k. d. lang is not something I care to leave sitting out on my coffee table. I have kids and I have my limits, CLEAN IT UP!

JANE W. HARRIS Geneva, Illinois

It's not every day that getting the mail is so much fun. I got the biggest laugh out of your August cover and photos of k. d. lang and Cindy Crawford. I don't know what kinds of letters you'll get from Peoria, but I'm glad to (again) see the magazine go out on a limb and have some fun. Definitely one to keep on the coffee table!

ELIZABETH ANDERSON Huntington Beach, California

Letters to the editor should be sent with the writer's name, address, and daytime phone number to: The Editor, Vanity Fair, 350 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10017. The letters chosen for publication may be edited for length and clarity.