blog seven yo
The first image is amazing! There are many, many things playing out in this, in terms of gender ideals, images of black women, and sexual desire. The first thing that jumped out at me was this woman’s pose. Her body is contorted to look like a mounted animal’s head, complete with dramatic lighting from the top down, and pins holding her to the wall. Talk about equating (black) women with animals! She is wearing leopard print, which puts her literally in animal skin, along with having shiny oiled skin, which speaks about large African jungle cats among other things. Her eyes are closed, which doesn’t allow the viewer to identify with her on an individual level. Her position is extremely sexualized, chest pointing forward, butt jutting back, insinuating sexual desire, underlined by the closed eyes. The gold lettering “moschino� I instantly read as “machismo,� which could just be my eyes being dyslexic, or it could be me reading what it wants me to read. And “cheap and chic�? Class issues abound here, cheap meaning that “anyone� can look like this because it is cheap to buy(?), but still “chic� a fancy French word that usually talks about high fashion, unattainable to most class groups. Whew.
The second image casts the woman as an object instantly because of the language of the caption “that’s what wives are for!� as well as her leaning on her husband’s back as the perfect doting wife, subject to all her husband’s whims as to what he wants to eat for dinner. She can make anything for him, now that she has her latest gift, an addition to her kitchen, her favorite place to be, completing her appliances. Am I projecting here? It is casting the man as a giving thoughtful husband, knowing that he can give her presents (a class issue—how many people can spend 250 bucks on a mixer as a little present to please the wife?) and a patriarchy issue (he is in control of everything down to the menu, but cooking? He doesn’t need to get his hands dirty; he’s got a wife for that). The presence of ingredients around the table imply class as well, nice wine glasses, fresh oranges, natural brown eggshells. The wife is also looking directly at the viewer, and look how happy she is! She’s staring straight into my eyes, telling me if I had one of these mixers I’d be happy too, right? Heterosexism, fo’real.