calvin klein and the male gaze

Calvin and Klein use Laura Mulvey to advertise their underwear because it is effective in using the male gaze. They apply the male gaze to this advert because they will get lots of men to pay attention to her underwear region and that is the product is based. Calvin and Klein may be thought of as sexist as this advert portrays females as a sexual object. however they have her adopt a powerful pose(having hands on hips, head held high etc) because although it entices men more it also makes think she is a strong and independent woman that doesn’t need a man to take care of her. For the photo shoot they had her body and hair wet as it might make the man believe she is wet because she just got out of the shower and is getting ready for the night. This is objectifying the female body to something that should be looked at as an object rather than for what is on the inside. However because they also show her strong independent pose that implies a sexual power over men rather than it being a weakness. The words Calvin and Klein are placed just above her legs. This may be due to the fact that when a man eyes up a woman they mostly tend to start at the base of the look with their gaze and work their way up to the face. Thus Calvin and Klein will be seen by the man and associated with the feeling he gets from looking at an attractive woman.