She also mentions Richardson's proclivity for pairing clothed men with fully naked women — women who are sometimes cast in the role of a helpmeet who does ironing and domestic chores. Obviously, clothing (and lack of clothing) is a crucial signifier of social positions and power structures. While images along these lines, especially from a photographer whose work owes so much to notions of camp and kitsch, can be ambiguous (is that a depiction of sexism, a critique, or an endorsement of it?), his apparent obsession with sexist themes is pretty telling.
via jezebel.com
This article from Jezebel covers fashion blogger Tavi Gevinson (aka Style Rookie) criticizing photographer Terry Richardson for his apparent sexual harassment of models used in his shoots. The bit about clothing as a 'crucial signifier of social positions and power structures' is interesting to me, particularly as I've been thinking about more specific 'Bechdel'-esque rules for videogames. Mainly, if a woman in a game is a strong character but wears outfits that are sexy, skimpy, and designed to show off their typically out of proportion lady parts, does the game still recognize the character as a character of substance or an object of desire? Anyway, just some food for my thoughts.
Comments