COURSE BLOG for GWSS 3307: Feminist Film/Media Studies (Fall 2007)

Context:
I just got this ad off of the internet, but I remember seeing it in the past in several magazines marketed towards men and women, such as Cosmo, Maxim, Elle, and others. It is an advertisement for Candies perfume for men and women. Candies also makes shoes, but this ad is for the scents.
Content:
The ad shows a man (Mark McGrath) sitting at a desk with a computer. An attractive scantily dressed woman is sitting on top of the computer with her legs spread. The man has his hands to the keyboard like he is about to press a key. On the computer screen, there is an image of a rocket ship blasting off into the air. This rocket ship is "coincidentally" lined up with the woman's vagina, so it looks like a penis about to enter her. All of the elements create a very sexualized image and message, but it seems to be more from a man's perspective because the man is in control as he looks at the viewer while pressing the keys on the keyboard.
Form:
The woman is dressed to emphasize her body, which is very thin. Her shirt is low cut to show her cleavage, and also shows her belly. She wears short shorts and leather boots that emphasize her spread legs. She also has a lot of "sexy" make-up on. The man wears a tank which shows his strong arms and also leather pants..which I guess are supposed to be sexy.
The woman has her hand in front of her crotch, which seems to be forcing the phallic rocket ship down, and her other hand holds the perfume bottle close to her face so it appears to be that she is having trouble resisting. The man however looks very confident in his decision and has a smirk on his face like he is doing something deviant, but fun. There is a spotlight that highlights the whole picture. Blues and black make up most of the picture except for the woman's shirt which is bright pink and calls attention to her and her body...perhaps this color also emphasizes her softness as a woman. The pitcure is framed so that her crotch and the phallic rocket ship are in the center of the frame.
My reading:
I think this is definitely aimed more towards men...it shows the man in control as he is the one seated at the desk with his hand ready to push the keys, while the woman is shown in a very provocative and vulnerable position with her leags spread. The fact that she has her hand pushed down on the rocket suggests that a part of her is resisting, which lends to why the man has a smirk on his face...he is being "naughty"...This is all supposed to be sexy, but also could send the message that it is sexy and no big deal for a man to ignore when a woman resists sexual advances.