The image I have chosen to discuss is an advertisement released in 2008 by the menswear brand ‘Duncan Quinn’. The image shows a smartly dressed male (wearing a Duncan Quinn suit) dragging a woman in lingerie across a car bonnet by a Duncan Quinn tie fastened around her neck.

There are many ethical issues surrounding this advertisement. Firstly and most obviously is the issue of sexual objectification of the woman in the photograph. She is strategically placed in the foreground of the image so that her near naked body is the first thing that the viewer sees. This has most likely been composed like this so that it catches the eye of the male viewer and potential client but although effective, it is an unusual technique considering the product being advertised (the Duncan Quinn suit) is the second thing that the viewer sees.

It is concerning that the viewer cannot see the woman’s face which instantly strips her of any identity or individuality, whilst in contrast to this, the dominating male in the image stares directly into the camera with what could be read as a slight smirk on his face, almost as if he is proud of his ‘possession’. There is certainly a sense with this image that woman’s body’s are there to be a subject of admiration and desire for men and that a woman’s purpose in life is to satisfy the requirements of men. The novelist and art critic John Berger incapsulates this when he spoke in the second episode in the BBC TV series ‘Ways of Seeing’ –

“She has to survey everything she is and everything she does, because how she appears to others – and particularly how she appears to men – is of crucial importance for what is normally thought of as the success of her life.”

http://www.dazeddigital.com/artsandculture/article/34166/1/why-we-still-need-ways-of-seeing-john-berger

Another issue to address is the fact that this image has been released by a high fashion brand which is well respected in society, meaning that the treatment of women depicted in the advertisement is more likely to be viewed as acceptable behaviour. This position in society along with the artistic photography almost makes the abuse and violence shown appear glamorous or stylish. The overall impression given is that if the male customer chooses to wear the Duncan Quinn brand then they will look so good in their suits that they will attract the attention of beautiful woman (like the one in the photograph) who will be submissive towards them and allow them to abuse them.