Powerful men are not portrayed as sexy beefcake. Why should a powerful woman (or any woman who wants to be powerful) allow herself to be photographically portrayed as “sexy”… or maybe that question should be, “Why not?”
At CNN.com, Peggy Drexler and Pepper Schwartz have written ambivalent but diverging opinion pieces on Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer’s oddly controversial photo spread in Vogue magazine.
But what’s so inexcusable about a woman wanting to look her best? How is it self-validating to let a respectable magazine profile you in the way they know how? Or is the issue more about the audacity of a powerful woman sitting for a portrait that might be — gasp — flattering?
We women would like to feel that for at least some of us, sheer competence would make looks a non-issue in our lives. We would like to think that a brainiac like Marissa Mayer wouldn’t need, perhaps would not want, to have a very public glamour shot as a career capstone.
I’m firmly in Schwartz’s camp, and I’ll even go a step farther: it’s not just about “looks” and “glamour.” It’s about sex. So long as women – even powerful, smart, successful ones – present themselves in blatantly “sexy” terms, they will never be the equals of men.
Don’t get me wrong. There is no need to be frumpy or prudish. There’s nothing wrong with Mayer’s put-together sheath dress and feminine heels. No, the problem here is the pose. Head downward on a chaise lounge, hair spread out as if on her pillow, looking into the camera with her eyes turned upward, a Mona Lisa smile on her face. This is no CEO with her feet up on the desk and hands behind her head in the “power recliner” pose; this is a CEO who is depicted in a come-hither variation of that, a pose worthier of the bedroom than the boardroom.
Photo Credit: Vogue
Posture, pose, body language and facial expressions make all the difference between strong and submissive, in control or subordinate, professional or casual… or sexy. There’s no reason for a powerful woman to conceal her sexual side, but “sexy” absolutely should never be the number one adjective that springs to a viewer’s mind.
Do you think powerful men are held to a different standard, “allowed” to look sexy ? Think again.
Check out this photo of male model River Viiperi. This is not a power pose. It is a come-hither pose, beefcake, sexy. We see this and think, “mmm, hot.” The adjectives “competent,” “powerful,” or even “smart” don’t really spring to mind. We’re just looking at the skin-deep surface here. Well, he’s a model, so that’s perfect for him.
Male model River Viiperi. You won’t find many male CEOs in this come-hither pose.
Now go forth and find me a male CEO photographed in a similar pose. Uh-huh. Didn’t think so. Even boyish Mark Zuckerberg is generally photographed on a stage, giving a speech, explaining, gesturing, in control. The same goes for the ever-casual Steve Jobs. Self-made CEOs like these may not wear a business suit, but they are not about to abdicate their take-charge leadership images in favor of the merely sexy.
Even more telling: most male models photographed in business attire assume power poses (or at least, not bedroom poses), because men buy business suits for, well, business, not to lounge around batting their sexy bedroom eyes at hot prospects. It is so rare for men to mix “professional” with outright “sexy” that I actually had a pretty hard time finding Viiperi’s come-hither photo among the many male models in business suits.
Powerful men are sexy by virtue of their power, and that power comes from being smart, hardworking, competent, successful risk-takers. It certainly does not hurt their success if they are also good-looking, tall, and fit (studies have shown this). But you will have a pretty hard time finding a powerful male CEO allowing himself to be photographed as a piece of come-hither beefcake. Powerful women should do the same, because the same means… equal.
Staff
August 26, 2013
Reblogged this on SoshiTech.
Lauriate Roly.
August 26, 2013
It’s a terrible picture. The concept is absolutely ridiculous. Yahoo’s CEO Marissa Mayer’s must have had something in her orange juice the day she consented to pose for this upside-down shot. She is so badly positioned, looking starched and so uncomfortably shaped, spread out feet first and head down, on that poor excuse for a chaise longue that looks more like a pool slide for kids. I can’t imagine a responsible chief executive of any serious organization taking such an unconventional pose to portray themselves as high calibre executive material heading up one of the most important and famous organizations in the communications field.
Wyrd Smythe
August 27, 2013
The one opinion that’s missing here is Marissa Mayer’s, and I think that’s the one I’d most like to hear. The reactions of others says more about themselves than about Mayer.
Is it possible she is fully behind the photos? Is it possible they reflect some genuine aspect of her personality? Is it possible she is so secure in herself that she doesn’t feel any need to worry about what other people will think?
Why is she responsible for properly representing womanhood anyway? Doesn’t real equality mean you can act on your own without censure, without being tagged as “letting down the side”? The concept would never enter the heads of most men, and perhaps this means there’s still a long way to go in the area of sexual equality.
We have revered feminine beauty since day one; it probably has an evolutionary basis (physical beauty generally equates to good health which equates to good genes). There is also the whole motherhood and continuation of the species thing going on. And we have revered masculine power since day one, since that implies the ability to support offspring. Hence, representations of women frequently involve beauty and sex, and representations of men often involve power. It’s unlikely to ever not be the case… evolution is hard to fight!
Intelligent people, I think, use every tool available to them. I was gifted with intelligence, and everyone expects that I would use it. People with strength and size aren’t dinged for using them. Why is the gift of beauty and sexuality wrong to use?
The Color of Lila
August 27, 2013
Wyrd, I don’t think Mayer is responsible for representing womanhood; I certainly don’t count on any woman to represent me, and I think every person needs to make his/her own choices in life.
HOWEVER, I do get a case of the ass when a female Army officer behaves in demeaning, incompetent, whiny, weak, illegal, or otherwise unprofessional ways, because women are still a minority in the military, and as such, what one does tends to create or feed into a stereotype that makes things harder for the others.
The Mayer thing is sort of related to that feeling; there are very few high-powered female CEOs out there, especially in the tech world. Mayer is competent and seems to have gotten where she is by virtue of smarts and work. Male CEOs don’t engage in these come-hither portraits; it just seems that all things being equal, well… her portrait should be of equal caliber, too.
But this goes to your observation about evolution. OK, to be blunt and probably controversial: men are the doers of the sex act, the pursuers, the performers. They are the ones who need to want it, to be aroused. Women, on the other hand, have to rely on luring, seducing, enticing the man; yet, the woman need not want it, need not be aroused to receive sex or procreate. Thanks to this setup, I view men as basically predatory in matters of sex. The power is theirs; in the absence of law, society, or the protection of other men, a man can choose the female and has the power to force the act if so desired, whether out of mere lust, or out of a desire for dominance – and those things are NOT mutually exclusive! Women, on the other hand, are weak. If they don’t want the attentions of a man, they must rely on avoidance or on the protection of some other man. If they DO want the attentions of a man, they must rely on seduction and enticement. Thus, in matters of sexual activity, women operate from a position of WEAKNESS. Any “equality” or “strength” they THINK they have in this area is an illusion, only supported by the society they currently live in.
So Ms. Mayer’s ohh-la-la portrait, as I see things, plays into the WEAK position that women are biologically fated to. If we are fortunate enough to live in a time and place where we have social rights and protections, where we are free to achieve the same pinnacles men can achieve, then I would prefer that we carry ourselves as full equals, not as simpering seductresses hoping to attract our mate of choice while somehow avoiding being “taken” by a mate not of our choice.
You can call this Lila’s Cockamamie Theory and I am sure feminists everywhere are screaming reading this, but that’s how I see it.
Wyrd Smythe
August 28, 2013
I can appreciate the impulse to not “let down the side.” There are ways I do try to not be like “those other assholes” (meaning the negative stereotypes of [1] men, [2] white people, and/or [3] USAnians). I do try to be an example of good character with those attributes, because I am aware of those negative stereotypes.
That said, it’s a shame more people don’t see “demeaning, incompetent, whiny, weak, illegal” behavior in a person as just reflecting that person. Period. As you say, every person makes their own choices, and their behavior reflects only upon themselves.
It’s true that, when the sample size is small, negative behavior disproportionately represents the larger group. Of course, so does positive behavior. It’s the spotlight effect. We see what the light shines on and extrapolate (a nice scientific way to say “assume” :)) that to the whole.
I get that. I just think it kind of sucks to be in the spotlight. That’s a heavy burden to shoulder on top of trying to succeed at all in those environments.
I find myself questioning the basic premise. I’m a pretty red-blooded guy, and I just can’t agree with your analysis of the Vogue photo. To me, it’s not a bedroom pose, but a fashion pose that seems intended to show off the shoes and dress lines (note the odd, uncomfortable twist at the waist). Fashion photography often uses props and set pieces in unusual ways to make the photo catch your eye. The hair is carefully arranged, and her lips and knees are closed. I don’t find the photo sexy in the least.
Even if she posed nude in Playboy, I think I’d still be on her side (I agree with Drexler). The implication is that such a pose is somehow wrong or improper, and I question that premise, too. If anything, I think such photos can reveal the power of women. There are women who have built empires based on their sexuality. Men are gifted with physical strength; women are gifted with sexual strength. Why shouldn’t they use it to their full advantage?
Rather than restricting women to men’s behavior patterns, why not go the other way? I’d bet there are some beefcake photos of (male) CEOs out there, but the fact is there really isn’t a market for it. There are scads of men’s magazines, but is Playgirl even still around? If there was a market, I’m pretty sure they guys would be in on the game, too.
Sexual politics is such a huge topic (and I apologize for the length of this comment). I do agree with much of what you said, but I think women have more power than one might realize. (What is your opinion of Camille Paglia?)
I would agree that, in general, men seek sex and women provide it. The saying is, “Men give love for sex. Women give sex for love.” Male animals generally seek sex from female ones; there are some basic evolutionary reasons for that. But female animals use a variety of signals to indicate receptiveness, and frequently chose their mate. Women do go to bars seeking sex, and do go to school or church seeking a mate. I think the power equation, in civilized society, is closer to equal.
The Color of Lila
August 28, 2013
Paglia – I had not heard of her, but after a quick read of her career highlights and views, I can say I agree with quite a lot, but not all, of her views.
I’m not advocating “restricting” women to men’s behavior patterns, I’m advocating behaving as equals. Because of my views on men’s and women’s most basic biologically-driven sexual strategies, I don’t see women serving themselves up as delectable hors d’oeuvres as anything other than demeaning and subordinating.
(Incidentally – hermaphroditic sea slugs will spar with their penises when mating; the loser gets to be the pregnant one and the winner gets to do the impregnating. If that ain’t some eloquent evidence of the biological disadvantage conferred upon females, well…! But yes, yes, I know we are not sea slugs.)
Wyrd Smythe
August 29, 2013
“I don’t see women serving themselves up as delectable hors d’oeuvres…”
Understood. I’m just not sure that’s what’s really happening in this case.
And I’m not entirely certain I agree the behavior would be wrong in the first place. Our president has appeared on day time talk TV. Social boundaries and our ideas of proper comportment are changing. I’d like to live in a world where people can do what they want, without censure, so long as they aren’t actively hurting others.
globalfreeopinionator
August 28, 2013
I agree we should look at the individual and not extrapolate one person’s behavior to an entire class but it happens and those in the weaker position need to be aware of it and respond as positively as they can. It’s not much different for African Americans, Muslims, Hispanics or any other group lacking real power. It sucks but that’s they way things still are and, until there is a wholesale change in perception, attitude and behavior, we have to live with it as best we can and avoid feeding the beast.