When I first opened Seeing and Writing, I stumbled upon a picture, a picture of bare-shouldered woman. At first glance, I was sure that it was a picture of a woman, but after I read the subtitle, I realized that it is the self-portrait of Robert Mapplethorpe. Robert Mapplethorpe was a famous American photographer whose work had been critically acclaimed despite accusations of pornographic content in some of his photographs. I found that there were …showed first 75 words of 1309 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1309 total…and characteristic, one can shift gender between masculine and feminine. One’s masculinity and femininity are measured by the exterior appearance, such as his or her clothing and facial expression. Thus by comparing and contrasting the two self-portraits of Robert Mapplethorpe, we can infer that difference in clothing and exterior appearance is such a clear communicator of gender identity. Given the many visual qualities listed above, Mapplethorpe has proven his intention to persuade his viewers.