Photographer:

Model: Me!

Ok, so in this set, we were playing with candy and the ideas of the body as the setting of an expedition.

Yes, this set was very playful and joking, but it really contains some deeper themes. If you don’t like things that are feminist, philosophical, or political, this is your queue to stop reading and just stare at my boobies.

That being said, the deeper themes I see in this set, and what this set is dealing with through humor to me is the concept of the body as an object that keeps being appropriated by ideological devices. This is a problem because the body is not an object, it is not separate from the person. Mind and body are intrinsically linked and there is no true split. The brain is the body and so forth. So the gummy bears, leering at the boobs with the hyper focus. That’s all that gets seen sometimes. People (and its not just women anymore) are often portrayed as just bodies. Sexy bodies, but bodies nonetheless. Culture appropriates them and enacts its values on them. So the body becomes a sex object. Even more, the body becomes fragmented, disjointed. Parts of a body, not even the whole body, not a person.

Furthermore, the body of the Other (that is, in Western culture, the body that is non-white, non-heterosexual, non-male, non-wealthy) becomes a threat that must be neutralized and appropriated – divided and conquered. Have you ever noticed how the representations of the bodies of women have gotten smaller and smaller as the rights of women have been increasing? It is a reaction of the dominant power to the increasing threat of women. The new ideal is small, taking up less symbolic space. Gone are the days of even such highly appropriated and controlled women as Marilyn Monroe. Even in slavery, it was the body that was controlled. As homosexuals gain more rights, their bodies become more appropriated and feminized, which is how such shows like Queer Eye for the Straight Guy got on mainstream television. Sure, it was a victory for homosexuals to finally get represented in mainstream culture, but they are only represented in a way that minimizes their threat – they are there in service to the Straight Guy, the dominant.

I’m getting off topic, but still, these are some of the things that came to mind with this set. Particularly, in this picture, you see the hyper focus on the nipple with the gummy bear leering at it. This all being said, I love staring at boobies and booties and bodies too. I don’t think there’s anything wrong this. I hope everyone who views this set enjoys the pictures as much as I did, both philosophically and as something that is playful and silly.

Other shots in this series:
Gummy Glee
Gummy Bares
Camp Biryl
Battle for the Booty I
Battle for the Booty II
Battle for the Booty III