Hot en tot by Renee Cox

The artwork is a photo portrait of the artist with wearing nothing but plastic breasts as a bra and a plastic butt. The main features of the photo are that there is an almost naked woman wearing fake parts which is what many viewers would be drawn to straight away. This provoking and graphic imagery of a black women openly creates a parody of the standards that our society generates. These standards include the role of woman, the views of each race and the ever-changing perceptions of what an ideal human body looks like. This photograph’s context specifically leans towards the medias portrayal of black woman. This is emphasised by her literal fake breast made from plastic which replicates the medias general image of black woman which becomes more persistent than ever in mainstream music today. However, this photo also emits a strong confidence and integrity of the artist through her openness and the fact that she is looking straight at the camera with conviction only adds to her pride. This pride as a result can be the overall message of the photo for accepting one’s body, race and gender. Therefore, it attacks the ideas of the social norms in modern society as well as historical viewpoints on an absolute standard for being an ideal human being.