Representation Of Headless Women: A Feminist Stylistic Analysis Of Visuals In Hollywood Movie Posters

Abstract

This research paper looks at the representation of headless women in visuals of Hollywood movie posters. The sample images were collected through online sources; which display sexist representation of women by exposing and fragmenting their body parts. It aims to deal with the visual objectification of women through feminist stylistics by Sara Mills and visual semiotics theory involving Charles Sanders Pierce triadic model (1903) and Ferdinand de Saussure (1990’s) concept of sign to identify what impact it creates on our society through predictive programming. It aims to draw attention towards media which is blatantly exposing women and presenting them as sexual objects. It focuses on Feminist stylistics analysis and visual semiotic analysis of headless women posters which dehumanize the gender of female in society. This paper analyzes the selected images in detail to put light on the trope of headlessness which are a reason for itemization of female bodily autonomy. This research also helped to shed light on the politics of media industry which take entertainment activities such as; movies a reason to earn and exploit public by provoking them sexually and providing them pleasure by exceeding ethical constraints. The representation of women only as a piece of meat or flesh snatches away their existence as a living human being with intellectual abilities.