Hello, Boobies!
Ah, the 1970's. A time in American history when women became more liberated then they had ever been before from the oppressive shackles of a male dominated society. Activists like Gloria Steinem encouraged women to burn their bras, liberate their minds and bodies, and go head to head with their male counter parts. Almost overnight American culture and society was revolutionized with many celebrity females taking center stage.
Among these pioneering young women was a young Barbra Streisand. Ever progressive and eager to branch out , Barbra began to seriously flex her feminist muscles by becoming more politically active and trying to bridge the gap between two generations by experimenting with both alternative and even provocative types of music and film. Her first non-musical role of the decade was the controversial 1970 film The Owl and The Pussy Cat.
The film was based on an original stage play about the unlikely romance between an out of work black prostitute, Doris, and a white book store clerk, Felix. Because interracial romance was a very taboo topic at the time, Doris's ethnicity was changed to white for the film version and played by Barbra, who up until that time had always played the most wholesome of roles. The character of Doris was bawdy, crass, and very outwardly sexual, and much to everyone's surprise Streisand played the role to perfection. In fact Barbra was so confident and comfortable with herself that she agreed to appear topless in the film and use the word "Fuck" (at the time she was only the second female star to do so on film).
While the four letter expletive remained in the film (though was later stricken from home video and DVD releases) Barbra's topless scene was dropped from the film entirely at the last minute, after she reviewed the footage and wasn't happy with how it turned out. However word had already been officially spread about the nude scene and was causing quite the media buzz. Unfortunately what expectant movie goers saw instead of full exposure was a topless Streisand shot from the shoulders up. You can imagine the public's disappointment and anger over the bait-and-switch.
Thought to have been destroyed, the nude shots of Streisand went unseen by the public until November 1979 when the adult magazine High Society, known for getting nude and embarrassing pictures of celebrities, published them as part of a featured story. The cover of the magazine bared the headline "Barbra Streisand Nude! next to a promotional photo of Barbra as Doris in her famous see-thru lingerie costume.
Streisand's people jumped on High Society immediately and sued them for 5 Million unless they stopped the issue. Unfortunately the issue had already been shipped to the distributors and while High Society was able to recall and replace most of them with an edited version, there were still thousands of issues that were sold or sent to private subscribers. In 1982, the German version of High Society republished the original article, translated in German, with the two nude shots and again Barbra sued and won.
Being the ever crazed fan boy and Barbra lover that I am I went in search of the issue, only recently getting my hot little hands on it. I didn't pay nearly as much as I thought I would have to, though I ended up having to buy an entire lot of issues just to get this one. But the purchase was well worth it as you can see:
Yes, that is one of the pics from the magazine and yes they are the real deal. The other looks pretty much the same except that the contrast and darkness were unnaturally adjusted to the point that the quality of the picture was obliterated. Of the two this is definitely the better shot, even without the minor cleanup I had to do in Photoshop.
I may be a Gay man but I have to say that Barbra's breasts are beautiful! LOL Though I was surprised by how flat they are on top. They always appear so full looking in films and pictures. The secret to the fullness I realize are good pushup bras. Still she is fabulous and I don't understand why all the fuss and embarrassment. Looking at that picture is like looking at a work of art. It IS a work of art!
My brother Bryan on the other hand (who hates Barbra) disagrees with me strongly on this. His responce when I surprised him with the pic was:
"AAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'm BLIND!
I almost lost my breakfast too.
What are you trying to do, kill me!?!?
You are a sick man. You need help. LOL"
LOL He's such a nut, which is why I love him so.
The only problem I have now is disposing of the lot of High Society magazines I had to buy in order to get the Streisand issue. I discovered much to my horror that High Society is an explicit pornographic publication for Heterosexual men. I had always been told it was a "risqué" publication. Correct me if I'm wrong but "risqué" implies maybe bare breasts and sexy lingerie/clothes and posses, NOT full on open cooch shots and women giving men head along with ads for sex toys!! 
I was thoroughly disgusted to the point of nausea upon opening the magazine (I guess that is how my brother felt seeing Barbra LOL), thus confirming any doubts I didn't have about my Homosexuality. I am most definitely GAY! I honestly don't know how straight men and lesbians do it...
