“You’ve Come a Long Way Baby”
83
open, straddling an object, lying back in rapture or in anticipation. The female
model sometimes appears fearful, trying to run away from a male pursuer or rip
herself out of his grasp; some of these photos show women who are being raped
or in post-rape condition, re-enforcing the so-called eroticism of rape fantasy. In
literal decapitation ads, the picture is cropped so the woman’s head is not in the
shot or her face is obscured in some manner, so that the emphasis is the body.
The picture may also be a shadow or silhouette of a woman’s naked body. If the
woman’s face is displayed in figurative decapitation marketing, she appears to
be seductively waiting for encounter; she is enraptured.
A TYPICAL DAY IN LAS VEGAS
Last week I decided to take a drive down Las Vegas Boulevard and
some of the surrounding locale to see how much decapitation advertising is out
there. The prolific number of decapitation ads was astounding. I believe most
people who live in Las Vegas would agree there is denigrating advertising
towards women, but perhaps residents do not realize how much of it really
exists. One of the purposes of this essay is to reveal the actual amount and extent
of these images.
The only billboard that was not a decapitation ad, figurative or literal,
of a woman entertainer in Las Vegas was one marketing Gladys Knight’s show.
I applaud her and her marketing department for not succumbing to the sexual
objectification of her as a female artist. Naturally, there are many billboards for
male artists in Las Vegas; cruising down Tropicana Avenue recently, I spied
advertising for the song stylings of Tony Bennett, Tom Jones, George Strait, and
Wayne Newton. The billboards were all full-face photos of these male
entertainers from the waist up. Literal decapitation ads with male figures are rare
although sometimes they appear in fashion magazines. There is only one
decapitation ad of a male performer in Las Vegas at present; it appears on
Tropicana Avenue to publicize David Copperfield’s show at the MGM Grand.
The billboard is a cropped photo of Copperfield’s eye. Since an illusionist like
Copperfield uses the hypnotic effect of visual manipulation to create onstage
spectacles, the billboard revealing just the illusionist’s eye empowers rather than
denigrates his abilities. The visual power of literal decapitation advertisement in
this case complements the illusionist’s powers and enhances Copperfield’s
appeal and mystery rather than disenfranchising him.
In Las Vegas, male entertainers like the ones just mentioned, or local
favorites like Clint Holmes or Lance Burton, are usually marketed in full-face
photos, because the entertainer is recognizable and this is what sells tickets. This
is true of female artists as well although even famous female stars appear in
decapitation ads. One of comedian Rita Rudner’s billboards has her posed on the
floor with her legs open, positioned in a split. She is on her elbows, lounging
forward. Of course, there is humor in her crazy pose, in her imitation or ridicule
of other female sex workers advertisements in Las Vegas, but female celebrities