ArtA nude drag queen as political commentary? Yes.
In 1996, Dame Edna Everage (performer Barry Humphries) posed in the nude for Lewis Morley, imitating Christine Keeler's infamous 1963 pose.
Keeler was sexually involved with a UK minister, a Soviet naval attaché, and a third lover who was shot. The press portrayed it as a national security threat. The minister denied it, but later resigned and admitted he lied.
As publicity for a related film, The Keeler Affair, Keeler posed nude. One photo was exploited, widely distributed by a UK newspaper, showing Keeler on a modern, curvy chair, an Arne Jacobsen knock-off of which millions were made.
The scandal led to several questionable trials—only for some involved. Keeler served 6 months in prison for perjury.
Dame Edna’s spoof photo may combine several messages: the 1963 attempted coverup and government scandal, the exploitative Keeler photo, nudity, feminism, and Danish design.
