Technological beauty
2009 January 28
As much as I sometimes have an issue with an oversexualization of women in the field of technology, sometimes I find an image in which there is a balance between beauty/sexiness and power. This is one of those images. The technology aspect is fairly subtle, with the designs on her back, the glass(?), and the headphones being the only visible signs.This image was drawn/constructed by one of my favorite artists on deviantart, NorthernBanshee, for one of her independent projects.
I find this image to be an excellent blend between a classy take on feminine beauty, and the incorporation of technology into that beauty.
Also, it is an interesting suggestion present in that the woman is both using technology, and IS technology.
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This is a really neat image – I appreciate that the woman is using/is technology, and also, it’s just well composed. I find it somewhat problematic, though, and I can’t quite put my finger on why it makes me uncomfortable. I think it’s that she reproduces all of the images of the female body that lead women to feel inferior about their own bodies. She’s powerful, but she’s so perfect (she’s pale, slender, with a round butt) that it seems like fetishization to me. Do you think it gets away from issues of societal standards of beauty because of the technology/power?
I will admit that this image does appear as simple fetishization because of the “perfectness” of the subject and, in particular, the suggestive nature of her clothing. But although the image is sexual in composition, the pose in particular is a powerful one, which suggests a purposeful contradiction for the illustrator.
I have found in the past that many images with such provocatively posed women draw negative attention where as well-dressed women in power are preferred. Which leads me to ask, why is it necessary for women to be portrayed in total control in both dress and demeanor?