French minister Marlene Schiappa criticized over Playboy cover photoshoot
French government minister Marlene Schiappa is under fire from members of her own party after appearing on the cover of Playboy magazine.
A government minister since 2017, Schiappa, appeared on the cover of Playboy to accompany a 12-page interview she participated in about women's and LGBT rights.
The 40-year-old French Secretary of State for Social Economy and Associations was photographed clothed on the cover donning a white dress.
Invité ce matin sur Europe1 le Ministre de l’intérieur @GDarmanin apporte son soutien à @MarleneSchiappa sur sa Une Une de #playboy. Il cite Cookie Dingler : « vous ne me ferez pas dire de mal de Marlène Schiappa (…) être une femme libérée, c’est pas si facile » pic.twitter.com/pz50OoQdls
— Jeanne Baron (@jeannebarontv) April 2, 2023
Women's rights and politics
The self-proclaimed 'sapiosexual' reportedly agreed to the Play interview to discuss women's rights, feminism, violence against women as well as politics, the Daily Mail reported.
Sapiosexuality means a person is sexually attracted to highly intelligent people, so much so that they consider it to be the most important trait in a partner, according to WebMD. It is a relatively new word that has become more popular in recent years. Both LGBTQ+ people and heterosexual people may identify as sapiosexual
After receiving backlash, Schiappa defended her decision to appear on the cover of Playboy tweeting, "Defending the right of women to do what they want with their bodies: everywhere and all the time. In France, women are free. Whether it annoys the retrogrades and hypocrites or not."
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Minister Marlene Schiappa cover shoot for Playboy criticized
