Image according to Lana Rakow's theories

I chose to analyze an image in Seventeen magazine. It's an advertisement of Katy Perry's new fragrance, "Purr." The image is of Katy, a famous singer, crouched like a cheetah in a skintight pink and purple cheetah suit, and making a "come-hither" face. She is holding a string of pink yarn and seductively is biting one of her fingers. The bottom of the ad reads "earn my affection."

Using the the images and representations theory, I see that this image represents a male's point of view, ironically enough because this magazine's demographic is teenage girls. Katy is over-sexualized, and the "earn my affection" line is an invite to a male, not a female. However, this image gives teenage girl readers a message on how they should carry themselves and act. This image is stereotypically hyper-feminized. The image has only two main color schemes: pink and purple. The yarn, floor, and Katy's lipstick are all pink, the wall is purple, and Katy's outfit is both pink and purple. Katy's sexuality is very strongly represented in this picture, telling girls that they need to make a sexy appearance in order to attract attention and entertain the males, because that is the main idea of the image: we are living in a male-dominanted society, and the females' job is to entertain them, like a "pet;" Because it really is not about the males "earning Katy's affection" at all, it is always the female trying to attract the male's attention.

At first glance, I don't think much of the picture. This is essential Katy Perry, who is known for her strong sexuality. However, after using the images and representations approach, I realize just how harmful this ad really is. It uses so many female stereotypes and gives an implicit message of how females should treat their sexuality.