|
| “Here will I dwell, for heaven is in these lips” wrote the English dramatist and poet Christopher Marlowe about Helen of Troy in The Face That Launch’d A Thousand Ships. The idea of beautiful lips can be lightly tossed about, as in Hastings’ book, or they can convey powerful emotions, as Marlowe’s words so memorably demonstrate. |
Professor Blondell argues that Helen of Troy can be regarded as a third wave feminist heroine in that she operates with agency and uses her sexuality to exert power. The intertwining of beauty, sexuality and power is evident in the mythic Helen. It also plays a prominent role in Sex Rules by Lise Melhorn-Boe and Sluts & Studs by Nava Atlas.
Sex Rules
Lise Melhorn-Boe |
|
|
| Women’s magazines have offered relationship advice since the Athenian Mercury, a twice-weekly periodical started up in London in 1691. More than 300 years later, women are still looking for answers on how to find the perfect man, have the perfect hair or be the perfect date. In Sex Rules Melhorn-Boe has combined cut-out fashion images and magazine text to create a subversive little rule book for sex in modern society. |
Or is it? Some of these rules seem to come right out of the mid-20th century. Perhaps some rules have changed, but the balance of beauty, sexuality and power is still a tricky business.
Sex Rules
Lise Melhorn-Boe |
|
