Amber McNeila/Annotated Bibliography #6

Observation:

The photograph takes place in what seems to be a bedroom. The photographer is taking the photographer from either outside the bedroom, but it could be a closet or a bathroom. There is a hat on the bed, which could belong to a man. The framing of the image leaves the viewer with limited knowledge of the amount of space in the room. The comforter or quilt on the bed is patterned. Behind or next to the bed depending on the angle or room the picture is being take from stands a wooden dresser. The left side of the dresser has two small drawers visible and the right side does as well. In the middle is a much smaller drawer that is left partially open. On top of the dresser is a large oval-esque shaped mirror. It appears that on both sides of the large mirror are two smaller mirrors. The one on the left seems to have a reflection of the door. The one on the right is a bit unclear, but reflects the wall. The main mirror reflects a picture on the wall and perhaps some sort of heater or random object leaning against the wall.

Inference:

I picked this particular image because throughout the semester I have focused heavily on identity and the concept of beauty, which Carrie Mae Weems tries to represent in her photographs. Weems wanted to "remind us that the black woman's body is central to the discussion of modernity and beauty" (Willis 33). As a female photographer, I find her images and perspective intriguing on the idea of beauty. I chose this particular image because unlike her other photographs at the kitchen table, it does not actually feature a person, but only the bedroom and the mirror.

The mirror for Weems, is a stereotype. Women should be beautiful on the outside with their makeup and nice clothing. Their hair should be brushed and well kept. At one point Willis mentions Weems comparison to Snow White's mirror-mirror on the wall scene, except it finishes with "Snow White, you black bitch" (37). This type of reference implies Weems ideas about Black women as less beautiful compared to white women. She even goes so far as to say 'ugly'.

I think this particular image though, not only focuses on Weems' view of the black woman in comparison to the white woman, but also the black woman's role as a desirable entity. Her page 33 Willis explains ""--although frequently pictured, the black woman has not been seen as a complex and a beautiful subject of desire. The lack of a person in the mirror demonstrates a lack of identity in time where black woman and even men did not feel their identity was represented or acceptable. A mirror is supposed to reflect who we are on the outside, but also our values and our ideals that makes us 'beautiful' creatures on this earth. When a woman is undesirable it denotes her feelings towards herself as a person of worth and value. It completely diminishes her self-esteem. 

The hat on the bed seems to imply that a man is present in that home, but his hat on the bed signifies that he makes the decisions, he creates the stereotypes, thus determining the level of beauty of the woman. It is not only an issue of race and socioeconomic status that defines beauty and creates an identity, but also gender roles. Weems asserts, "We don't laugh to keep from crying, we laugh to keep from slapping the inventor of these crazy-ass images upside down his head, cause you can bet they're made by men" (Willis 36). 

I wonder how male viewers perceive these images compared to female viewers? Does this stereotype still hold true today in photography? Perhaps if photographers in today's society published images like this one on the covers of magazines instead of photoshopped and airbrushed girls and even men, we could change the stereotype.