55-year-old Cynthia Manning took up modeling for life drawing classes at New York's Art Students League after divorcing her husband a few years ago. The (heated) gig pays a very respectable $12 an hour, and Manning's only objection is the itch factor. (Although, really, it's always the risks of male life modeling that seem more dangerous.)

As far as body self-consciousness goes, as anyone who's been on either side of the easel knows, it shouldn't be an issue: the atmosphere is not sexualized and ideally subjects come in all shapes and sizes; says Manning,

Everybody has character in their body. There was a model here, she weighed 350 pounds. People clamored for her. You have to figure out where the skeleton is, what the body is doing under the flesh, body type-wise. That’s what you go for, to teach you how to understand human anatomy.

We say: where do we sign up?

Strike a Pose, at Full Exposure [New York Times]

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