F06 :: Feminist Film Studies

This picture that I have chosen shows a little girl swimming nude in shallow water. The lighting of the picture makes it evident that the girl is outdoors and it appears to be late afternoon because of the way it shadows and illuminates the surroundings. The tones and colors used throughout this picture create a very sandy and warm feeling. The girl is positioned on an angle and is twisting to look towards the left corner of the scene. Because she is on her stomach facing away from the camera, her face is not seen but her blonde pigtails display her youth and innocence. Although we cannot see anyone else in the picture, it is assumed that someone is nearby watching over her because her body language shows ease and leisure rather than any sort of panic or stress.
I chose this picture because after seeing photo after photo of swimsuit models posed in similar situations, nearly or completely nude and laying in shallow water, it almost bothered me to see this. This image, which on a child should be seen as natural and innocent resembles the pictures of pinup models because of the way that the central focus of the picture is her bare bottom with the aid of lighting. Rather than appearing to be playful, the similarity in her pose to other pictures I’ve seen of older models seems sensual and too mature for her youth. The absence but assumed presence of a guardian creates a sense of independence as well on a girl who can’t be more than five years old. This is an extreme example because obviously this girl is very young, but it seems that so often that girl’s become sexualized in media and advertising at extremely young ages even if it’s subtle.