I loved the campiness of this whole package, including this still, used to illustrate how catty women can get when they're irrationally stating facts in public.

This was my second favorite part:

Earlier: What's More Important: Rape In Congo Or Hillary's Bad Hair Day?

The magazine, while centered on the idea of "the body," deals with arts, literature, society and spirituality. As the magazine's mission statement puts it,

Jasad aims to reflect the body in all its representations, symbols and projections in our culture, time and societies, and hopes, by doing so, to contribute in breaking the obscurantist taboos. [It] consists of different sections and columns, ranging from reportages, testimonies and articles, to essays, translations and creative writings, all covering the fields of cinema, literature, arts, theater, science, etc. And, of course, a wide variety of photos, illustrations and paintings that revolve around the axis of the body. Each issue will feature on its cover, as well as inside, the works of a controversial [Arabic] artist.

Thirty-eight-year-old Joumanna Haddad, the poet, translator, and journalist who founded the magazine and serves as its controversial pinup, explains her imperative thus in an interview with Muslimah Media Watch:

For me it's outrageous that the body is something that we can't talk about because if you go back to our cultural and literary heritage you'll see that we have Arabic writers who go back to 10th century who speak about these topics in a beautiful free way. On a more recent level in our contemporary time it's become taboo to say things freely. When we come to say a word we say it in Arabic or French because it seems vulgar in Arabic but normal in English or French.

Haddad, who is pictured extensively in the magazine, has faced criticism from family and friends - and, not shockingly, from more powerful critics. Hizbullah officials attempted to shut down the magazine's stand at at the Beirut book fair and vigilantes have defaced posters and been vocally critical online. Still other critics condemn the magazine for playing on easy ideas of eroticized Orientalism rather than exploring intellectual freedom in a meaningful way. However, the commercial response has been encouraging: the debut issue sold out its 3,000 copy run in ten days. Even if some of this interest was purely prurient, Haddad could argue that all these readers got the magazine's message. Is eroticism in this case a powerful tool, or a distraction from the issues? Probably both. But it's a time-honored way of drawing attention, and, even if you choose to put the most critical interpretation on the magazine's content, as PETA would probably argue, sometimes the ends justify the means.

Jasad: Sex, Fetishes, and the Erotic in a new Arabic Glossy [Muslimah Media Watch]
New Lebanese magazine warns "for adults only" [Menassat]
Lebanese Editor Defies Norms With Magazine Glorifying the Body [Huffington Post]
Jasad Magazine [Official Site]

Jamie Lee Curtis is over on the Huffington Post, blaming Miley's parents for allowing this to happen, and that paragon of moral virtue, our bro-site Gawker, (who brought you 14-year-old Taylor Momsen's underwear) is outraged, saying Leibovitz is sexually exploit[ing] minors. But here's the thing: I think Miley knew exactly what she was doing, and the ladies of the View agree with me.

Joy Behar, paraphrasing Donny Deutch, said during this morning's hot topics, that Miley's "fanbase is moving into their late teens and she's trying to keep her fanbase." Whoopi added that when Annie Leibovitz takes your picture, she does so on a digital camera; Miley got to see every shot Leibovitz took almost immediately after it was snapped. And then there's the accompanying article. Miley sounds like a very smart, very press-savvy cookie in her interview with VF. When asked about her desired career trajectory, Miley says, "Before, I'd say like Hilary Duff, or this person or that person. But there can't be a thousand Hilary Duffs. Then that doesn't make Hilary special. And there can't be a thousand Miley Cyruses, or that doesn't make me special. That's what a star is: they're different. A celebrity is different. So, no, mostly I want to make my own path." Does that sound like the same girl who is now calling her topless shots "silly"?

Then there are those racy shots from Miley's MySpace that surfaced last week which show the Hannah Montana star exposing her chartreuse bra to the camera with a come-hither look on her face.

The sexualization of teens is a slippery slope. Where people draw the line between kiddie porn and appropriate magazine fodder isn't something that's so cut and dry. The business world treats her like a grown-up — she recently signed a 7-figure contract to write her memoirs — yet when it comes to her body, she's treated like a child. My point is that Disney is making Miley Cyrus out to be victimized by big bad ol' Vanity Fair, and the reality of it isn't so easy.

Miley Bares Her Torment [NY Post]
Miley Knows Best [Vanity Fair]
Annie Leibovitz Calls Topless Miley Cyrus Pic "Very Beautiful" [US]
The View Women Give Their Opinions on the Miley Cyrus Photos [Red Lasso]
Topless on TV: The Miley Cyrus / Vanity Fair Saga [HuffPo]
Why Its Annie Leibovitz's Fault [Gawker]
Put Your Clothes Back On Miley [XX Factor]
Sorry Disney, But You're Kind Of A Skank Factory [Ad Rants]

[Image via Vanity Fair]