The model. Deliciously beautiful, unobtainable, mysterious and alluring. She can bring boys to their knees, and make grown men weep. Men have been worshipping women for centuries, but in the 20th, and the 21st century, the model has become a staple of pop culture.

As long as men have fought wars, they have dreamed about women and more about models. This was never more evident during WWII. Pin-ups accompanied G.I.s in the form of movie star photos like Betty Grable and Rita Hayworth. Vargas pin-ups were also very much in evidence in the barracks and as nose-art of the Airforce.

By the 1950's the world was obsessed with Marilyn Monroe. She became a fixture of the American landscape by becoming the first Playboy centerfold. By the 1970's, the introduction of explicit men's magazines such as Penthouse and Hustler plunged society into the golden age of porn. Models were pushed to satisfy the carnal pleasures of man, and anything left to to imagination was thrown out with the baby and bath water. The porn industry flourished, and with the advent of home video, the 'models' of print became 'stars' of celluloid.

However, throughout the 70's and 80's, the model not only survived, but spawned a new type of model... the Super Model. Sports Illustrated kept the spirit of the pin-up, by releasing an annual swimsuit edition of their magazine, launching such names as Brinkley, Ireland, Tiegs, Banks, and Crawford.

Women as well as men admired the super model. Where porn seemed to objectify women, the swimsuit edition elevated them. These were no mere mortals, but goddesses. With exotic locals, pristine makeup and the artistic eye of the photographer, the photos became art.

Playboy also transcended into an art form. Not considered 'porn', but more of a celebration of the female form. In the 70's and 80's, diversity was the key formula for Playboy, showing women of all shapes, sizes and colors. Only the best photography was allowed, and the best photographers in the world flocked to Playboy. This quality elevated Playboy to the status that it enjoys today. Playboy is not a magazine, but an institution. It's not a brand name, but an icon.

By the 90's, the s**t started to hit the fan. Porn was abundant, and the home video industry was hitting the mother-load. Bigger was better. The more decadent, the more we ate it up. Plastic Surgery became the norm, and fake breasts were becoming as ordinary and American as apple pie. Like the 50's, the busty blond was back, and we couldn't get enough.

From Jenna Jameson to Jenny McCarthy, the industry was a blur of blond and silicone. Technology was also progressing at an alarming rate. The make-up artist was replaced by the photoshop artist, and anyone with a digital camera became a photographer or film maker. Centerfolds became carbon copies of one another, and trying to distinguish one blond from another was nearly impossible. The industry became bloated, to fat to move and make changes. Fat on money, fat on blonds, and fat on mediocrity.

Then, something happened. The internet.

Sure, in the beginning it was just more of the same-old same-old. Danni Ashe became the most downloaded woman, big, busty and blond. Cindy Margolis became the most downloaded non-nude model... big, busty and blond. But once the average joe got a hold on the internet, things started to change.

Porn was everywhere. Porn drove the internet, and it still drives it today. With so much porn, men became bored with it. Like giving a child too much candy, we all became sick. Pushing the limits of decency, men pursued more and more decadent and perverse forms of porn, and the 'niche' industry was born. Want to see women being whipped? Internet's got it. Into water sports? Internet's got it. Woman blowing a horse? Hell, you've seen it. The limits were pushed, farther than any WWII soldier in a foxhole, looking at Betty Grable, ever imagined. The result? Something that the porn industry never imagined.

Men started to stray from conventional porn.

In a shocking twist, porn became... well, boring. Men were looking to get their thrills from other places. Sure, porn will always be a standard, but never underestimate men's imagination. When nothing is left to the imagination, things become boring. The girl at the mall was so much hotter than the slut spreading her legs. The young woman that sold you your movie tickets gave you a bigger woody than the skank that looked like a crack whore in the latest porn movie you saw. It was these thoughts that spawned a new age in internet modeling. The non-nude, or 'amateur' model.

With the undeniable success of "Girls Gone Wild", industrious men all over the nation stood up and took notice. There was something hot about normal girls doing things that we could only dream of. These girls were not strippers, professional women who take your money. They were not porn stars, selling themselves and acting 'dirty'. And they were not models... none of them being tall enough, blond enough, or busty enough. Yet, they all were cute and hot, evoking feelings of lust and desire; not because they were goddesses, but because they were the girl next door. It's the girl at the mall, the girl that sold you movie tickets, the waitress... and they are all in hot outfits, hot swimsuits, or hot fantasy wear.

The outcry against airbrushing was deafening. With centerfolds looking more like computer generated images, the candid amateur photography gained momentum. Katie from Katies-World.com struck gold, and within a few years, the internet landscape had changed. Non-nude was in, and making serious money.

This influence garnered many magazine adaptations as well. Maxim, Stuff and FHM were knocking Playboy on it's heels, appealing to the younger man, the internet man, with humor and models, and nothing nude. How can this be? The red blooded American male wanting non-nude? Had the world turned on it's head? Hardly. The influx of porn made it possible.

Maxim even copied the success of amateur models on the internet, by launching it's successful "Home Town Hottie" tour, with Stuff and FHM soon to follow with their own versions. But the real explosion of non-nude amateur photography came at the turn of the century, with the birth of "non-nude" modeling.

Where Maxim can be sold on the rack at your local Walgreens, if "Non-Nude" had a magazine, it would definitely have to be placed behind the counter. A strange new breed of modeling had been born, and "non-nude" is not the right way to describe it.

Without the studios, without the airbrushing, and without the lighting, photographers and the girls realized quickly that traditional modeling was not going to cut it. What they needed to do was to push buttons, push the boundaries, and push things to the limit. Sure, hand-bras had been done for years, but now crotch shots and ass shots are now the standard. Standing over a model, with legs spread, or under a models, with ass checks spread are popular shots in the non-nude world. Getting closer than a camera lens has ever been, these photographers expose the most intimate details of their models, all the while keeping a thin strip of cloth covering the sacred treasure.

What we are left with is somewhere between Playboy and Sports Illustrated. A debate on what pornography is, that could last forever. A debate that is also, on what makes a model. Calling these young woman models is kind of like calling a stripper a dancer. They do model, and a stripper does dance, but even those with modest intelligence knows the difference.

So, here we are, the year 2005. Non-nude websites keep gaining ground, and keep pushing the limit. It won't be long before non-nude models go nude, realizing that there is hardly a difference between the two. These models have been pushing the limit for years, some of them finally breaking through, and ditching the clothes for good. Some has always been nude, but dildos are introduced, and full on porn won't be far behind for most of them.

Whether this is bad or good for the industry, the photographers or the models is debatable, but one thing remains clear: Non-Nude is now adult. ISP's, advertisers and society have deemed it as such. No longer can you be an amateur model, and not be considered adult. Non-Nude has defined itself, and crotch shots or no crotch shots, if you are an amateur model, you are adult.

You can still find models on the internet, at least what might be called 'traditional' models. But the sites are more about the photographer, and not the model. It seems that a 'traditional' model can't make a successful, profitable website. No one wants to look at a 'model' picture anymore, at least not of just one model. Unless she spreads her legs, or sticks her butt out, the demand has waned. A pretty face is just that... a pretty face. The pendulum is swinging again, much to the glee and delight of the porn industry.

A lot of models feel the pressure, and drop out of internet modeling. Privacy being their number one issue. Getting a weird look from the guy behind the counter at 7-11 has to be unnerving. Especially when you know he probably pleasured himself to your photos. However, Tyra Banks seems to be fine with it, millions of teenagers experiencing the joy of self pleasure to her Victoria Secret catalog every month or so. Society is a fickle beast, Pam Anderson has been naked more times than anyone really wanted her too, and she a super star; yet most non-nude model sites are considered 'adult'.

Maybe it comes down to preference, and opinion. Was Christie Brinkley really 'modeling' a swimsuit, or was she just showing off her body? Were the great Renaissance painters showing the beauty of the female form. or just titillating the masses? Is 'non-nude' porn, or just modeling?m Questions that can be debated for sure, but no one will ever have the definitive answer.

As for me, I'm just an internet guy. I think I'm funny, I do some humorous animations, and go on and on about what might be on your mind, I know it's on mine. I leave the photography to the photographers, and the modeling to the models. When it comes to my website, I make judgments based on personal opinion, and what's good for business.

In the end, opinions are like assholes... everybody's got one.

-the_walrus

EDITORIAL NOTE: I have met a lot of models and photographers, and find them to be great, personable people. This article was meant to pose questions, and spur intellectual discussions on modeling, porn, and the difference in today's society. Let me make it clear, that I love amateur modeling, and totally support that industry. ZipperFish has always supported "non-nude" modeling, helping to drive over 5 million hits and over 12 million views of the models and their sites, over the last year alone.