When Taylor Hale stepped in front of the camera as Playboy’s Miss March, it was more than a glamorous photo shoot.
Hale, 31, reclaimed her narrative and ownership of her body after making history as the first Black woman to win Big Brother by posing for sultry topless portraits and writing a powerful new personal essay, Us Weekly can exclusively reveal.
The reality star, who was an “active participant” and “collaborator” in the shoot, struck a series of poses as an act of reclamation in an era defined by surveillance — whether on TV or social media.
“Inside the Big Brother house, I understood that I was being watched. It was explicit and contractual. But even there, the psychological boundaries of consent were more fraught than they appeared,” Hale explained in her essay.
“There are corners of the internet where fragments of my naked body exist,” Hale continued. “They were clipped from live feeds by viewers who were not interested in the story I was living, but in the access this surveillance provided them. They shared images of my body in vulnerable moments … they commented on my form, they got off on having ‘caught’ me off guard.”
Hale said that she personally selected photographer Kanya Iwana for the photo shoot, “a woman who understands what I mean when I say I want these images to be something that allows me ownership over my body.”
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The former Miss Michigan USA 2021 described her Playboy collab as an opportunity to take back her power. “Even now, I question writing about this experience,” she admitted. “Technically, I consented to being filmed.”
Hale added, “But when someone intentionally searches for, saves, and circulates images of your body, the image becomes a version of nonconsent — exploitation, even. If your image exists publicly, it’s treated as public property.”
One iconic snapshot captured for Playboy shows Hale standing behind a red velvet chair, seductively leaning forward with both hands as she covers her chest and her hair flows over her shoulders. Another photo has Hale oozing confidence while flaunting her glowing complexion and legs in black pointed-toe pumps.
She also wore a lacy thong for a stunning third shot as she balanced on one leg while the other was bent behind, pulled up and pushed away from her body.
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A close-up image of Hale displayed her stunning manicure and seamless glam with rosy pink cheeks and a merlot-toned lip. She also posed with her backside on full display, rocking the sheer thong featuring the iconic bunny logo as her curls cascaded down her back.
“Choosing to be photographed in this way, now, is a direct engagement with this new reality,” she explained. “It’s a reminder that my body is not public property simply because it was made public before.”
While only a limited number of photographs are available now, more will be published in Playboy’s Spring Issue, which hits newsstands in April but can be pre-ordered.
