Gerome's Slave Market

https://moodle.umn.edu/file.php/11799/Images_from_for_The_female_nude/Gerome_Slave_Market.jpg

Bordo talks about how society can construct or change they way that people look or the way that people should look. This is very true and I think that a lot of people try to look like celebrities and famous people in general. She also says that bodies are a medium of culture. Which, I also think is very important. This basically means that our bodies and what we do with them help shape what our culture is. One more things she mentions is the power that women have over their bodies and eating disorders. She mainly argues that being anorexic or bulimic gives them control over their body, which also gives them power over members of the opposite sex.
This picture by Jean-Leon Gerome is of a slave market in the middle east. Leppert talks about how most nude pictures display the nude in a pose that displays their "powers of sexual attraction." In this photo, however, it is the opposite and the female is in a position of no power. She is being examined, while her owner stands behind her. The owner also has he white drappery which is supposed to signify her virginity which will make her more valuable to the new owner. Also, it shows the examination involving the teeth which is a humiliation to her. Basically, the "slave" in this picture has absolutely no control in the situation, but the reason this examination is happening is because of the power she has over her body. By no means does she look anorexic, or bulimic but she is very attractive, which will give her power over the opposite sex.