Figure from:Jiggle:(re) shaping American women
Figure 7 what is actually being conveyed is the quintessential virtues of feminine posture—ingratiation, submissiveness, and appeasement. The picture actually seems to signify that these women are posed to appear in the manner that would suggest their acquiescence to a photographer, who is trying to depict them as “informally gathered”. The significance of this is that the caption reads, “Note the three girls sitting easily in boneless comfort” (Life 64); how- ever, they probably were never seated until the photographer asked them to do so for the photo. Thus, the creation of the image of easy comfort and free- dom of movement is one that is conjured by the photographer and the mod- els, and is represented to the reader as a freeing quality of the garment. Hav- ing said this, it seems important to note that the caption also refers to a range of model body types “from the slender type at left to the stylish stout”. This seems to signify an acceptance of a range of body types that is not evidenced in later foundationwear advertising.
Related Figures (41)
