Friday, January 14, 2011

Offensive or Empowering? You decide.

I'm not sure how much it's been used in magazines or billboards in the U.S., but I encountered this ad a lot while traveling in Europe. This image is from a billboard in Copenhagen.


I posted it because I'm still confused about how the man and woman are positioned in this image. For a long time, I showed the image to a few of my friends, and we couldn't figure out how the picture was taken or photoshopped. To me, there was something off about the area around the woman's arm, shoulder, and armpit. I showed it to a male friend, and he easily pointed out what I was missing and described the whole image to me. Well, I'm still confused. I think I'm still missing something. 

I am still wondering: Is this the only image that can sell a perfume? What about showing a confident, independent woman instead of this image of a woman, dependent on a man for pleasure? Why do they need to be naked? Also, I noticed that the ad says "Gucci Guilty." What about this image is guilty? Why should a woman feel guilty for seeking pleasure? Why do we live in a culture that always makes women guilty for having desires while men's desires are promoted and expected? But maybe, on the other hand the expression on her face says that she's a women in control, getting the man she wants. Offensive or Empowering? You decide.

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