Nude Photos

Whether or not the nude photos making the rounds on the Internet are actually Blake Lively (she says they're 100 percent fake), the young actress can take solace in the fact that similar scandals have rocked past glamorous superstars, including Marilyn Monroe.

Even before the days of iPhone cameras, sexting, and computer hackers, naked snapshots of the bombshell captured the public's attention in 1952 when they were featured in a calendar, and later in the inaugural issue of Playboy. Everyone speculated that the woman looked an awful lot like Marilyn, and as her movie studio contemplated how to deal with the crisis she suggested she admit she posed for the prefame photos in 1949 for $50. So Marilyn gave an interview in which she copped to going nude for the camera because she needed the money to pay her rent. Suddenly the former struggling actress was sexy and sympathetic.

Marilyn's response may be a PR lesson for today's starlets. She admitted that the photos were of her, while leveraging them to further her career. And she owned the heightened sex appeal they brought her, famously responding to a reporter's question about what she wears to bed with this cheeky answer: "Why, Chanel No. 5, of course."

Have you had your nude pictures taken yet? I for one am creating a short list of photographers whose results I'll put in a time capsule marked "Do not open until Christmas 2060." The pin-up photos of Betty White that surfaced have been called "adorable," and I don't really disagree! Maybe it's because they're from a more innocent time, when nude photos were less raunchy, or maybe Betty White just has that effect on people. I'd say it's a bit of both, but it also has to do with age.

Once a woman reaches a certain age, and I'm thinking 80, it becomes completely adorable that she was once hot. Have you ever seen a picture of your grandmother in her prime (maybe wearing more clothes?) and found it amazing that the loving woman you know as "Grandma" or "Nana" was once sexy? I suppose it's just the juxtaposition between sweet, old woman and young, sexpot that induces those "awww"s. But now I can't tell — is it adorable or just another insult to older women?

This week I asked what on earth would possess a person to send a nude photo to someone — and readers gave me tons of sexy and surprising answers. One thing I learned: if you're smart, you don't include your face! Here are some of the best explanations.

• It's a turn-on: "It turns me on to know I'm turning him on. I love receiving one's from him too. I feel a connection to him and I think it keeps things going quite nicely."
• To feel empowered: "I've done it. It can feel quite empowering with the right person. Once I was let down but that's life! In the summer I use naturist beaches and several beach friends from my secret beach have beach shots. They are just like normal holiday pics minus clothes!"
• To keep things interesting: "In my opinion it's one (of the many things) that keeps the relationship so fun. When I don't get to see him for a few days it makes me anxious to get my hands on him."
• You made a mistake: "No matter how many times I go over it in my head, I can't understand what really made me do it. But it comes down to this: Everyone makes mistakes, some worse than others because they stick around forever like nude photos, but it helps broaden your empathy for people who fall into things they promised themselves they'd never do."
• You've been drinking: "I recently sent a rather suggestive one to a friend while I was out drinking . . . completely covered (just cleavage), but probably not something I should have done."
• Why not?: "I'll never be famous. And if I am someday, I'm sexy and it's not taboo anymore to have nude pics floating around."

Anything to add?