Shop Indie Bookstores

Sunday, October 29, 2006

The Female Thing

Laura Kipnis is a controversial academic figure, but I don't know enough about her work (her foci are "political correctness, sexual harassment in the workplace, (and) women’s complicity with consumer culture" according to the Times review) to connect this cover to what she does.

I do know, however, that this image creeps me out. The model is either barely pubescent, or is what lots of American men want the lower half of women to look like. But how that might relate to the book itself, I don't know. Anyone know?

(NOTE: My wife points out that those are "man hands." I think she's right -- the position of the hands suggests those aren't the model's hands. Thoughts?)



A tighter crop on the leaf makes the image a bit more ambiguous:



And what about something that's not so monochrome?

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

yeah looks like a mans hand. Could be the model just trim her nails in that fashion. Hard to tell

Kitty said...

eeeuuuuuuwwwwwwww

Anonymous said...

It seems to me the hand on the right is the model's, but the hand holding the leaf belongs to someone else.

Anonymous said...

It is indeed a creepy image, due to it's shape and positioning the leaf becomes overtly sexual - and somewhat offensive.

However, your suggestion of a tighter crop works well and makes the cover both more ambiguous, mysterious and approachable.

Anonymous said...

Has this woman NO hips? Dear God- someone get her some halloween candy.

Anonymous said...

I like it better with the leaf in green. Still icky, though. Yeah, her hips are too narrow and ... umm... has she waxed or something? This doesn't look like a real adult woman. Any why this shape leaf, and not a fig leaf?

I just don't think this cover makes me at all inclined to pick up the book.