(no subject)
We've just been watching a show on BBC4 called Seven Photographs That Changed Fashion and there was a moment when every discussion I've had online about male v. female gaze and slash versus gay fiction and whether it's relevant that this is a mainly female community etc. came flooding into my head.
The first six photographs were all of women and taken by men (the show was presented by a man, Rankin, who was recreating the photographs). As they started the montage for the 7th picture they showed THAT Levis ad and talked about how in the 80s it started to be more acceptable/usual to have male bodies on show not female bodies. Then they showed the picture (Fred With Tyres by Herb Ritts) and there was this one little line about how these photographs introduced the "homoerotic" into mainstream fashion photography.
Now I may have that line slightly off but I thought the "homoerotic" was very telling. It was another male photographer of course (and not knowing anything about Herb Ritts the suggestion of the show definitely seemed to be that he was gay) but... well as a female viewer I had the strangest feeling of invisibility for a moment. The first 6 photographs were about women being looked at by men and then the 7th was men being looked at by men.
I'm not even sure I have a point. It just really, really interested me. And made me try to think of female fashion photographers I know/like. Or just female photographers who do portraits. Sam Taylor-Wood was the only name I came up with (though I do like her work a lot)
The first six photographs were all of women and taken by men (the show was presented by a man, Rankin, who was recreating the photographs). As they started the montage for the 7th picture they showed THAT Levis ad and talked about how in the 80s it started to be more acceptable/usual to have male bodies on show not female bodies. Then they showed the picture (Fred With Tyres by Herb Ritts) and there was this one little line about how these photographs introduced the "homoerotic" into mainstream fashion photography.
Now I may have that line slightly off but I thought the "homoerotic" was very telling. It was another male photographer of course (and not knowing anything about Herb Ritts the suggestion of the show definitely seemed to be that he was gay) but... well as a female viewer I had the strangest feeling of invisibility for a moment. The first 6 photographs were about women being looked at by men and then the 7th was men being looked at by men.
I'm not even sure I have a point. It just really, really interested me. And made me try to think of female fashion photographers I know/like. Or just female photographers who do portraits. Sam Taylor-Wood was the only name I came up with (though I do like her work a lot)