Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
Figure 2.1
Wallpaper image from Jacks website.
Figure 2.2
Wallpaper image from Jacks website.
In the background, shadow figures depict scenes of dance and general revelry but our
eyes are drawn to the female bodies in the foreground. The model in
Figure 2.2
has her
head tossed back, hair flung about, with her mouth open wide and eyes partially closed
butaimedtowardthelensandtheviewer.Herlegsareparted,hipstiltedtoonesidewith
her hands placed on them, raising her dress. This picture speaks to desire and it does so
by deploying implicit cultural devices. Why and how these devices have come to be ac-
ceptedasdesirousarenotgermanetothisstudy;however,whatthey“do”hasimportant
ramifications for the female clubber. The woman in the image is not only ideal in terms
of physicality, but is also portrayed as ideal in that she welcomes the observing lens and
eye.Theobjectifyinggazeindividualizesthisidealsubjectagainstabackgroundofbod-
ies; she stands out from the rest. Her covered collarbones, eyes, and upper thighs, in
conjunction with the strong sense ofmovement in the picture, add a tantalizing prospect
that parts of her body that are presently covered may soon not be.
These images cultivate expectations about a night of clubbing primarily by depicting
an ideal female form. However, the images do not only speak to ideals of form, but
also to positions which women (and men) might take up on a routine night out. They
