In class we talked about how during the Victorian Age, a proper woman could fill one of two roles pertaining to her sexuality. If she was unmarried, she could be pure and virginal in hopes of one day gaining a husband. Once she was married she could be seen as a "sexual" being. To be a bit hackneyed, society basically realized that it takes two to tango. The woman had to be involved in sex in order to have children, so only then was it okay. If women couldn't be wrapped into either of these pretty little boxes and tied up with ribbon, then she was a whore. End of story.
There was a similar notion in the 50's when the nuclear family came about and image became just as important as it had been in the 1800's. We can look at the characters in Blue Velvet (1989) as a quick example. Sandy is the ideal that society want's Jeffery to fall in love with. She is pure and wholesome and could easily settle down and pop our 2.5 children. Dorothy is a woman who is married and has a child, so her sexual nature is established. But because she is perceived by society as a sexualized single woman, she is looked at in the role of the whore.
The image of Audrey Hepburn shown above is a depiction of this sexuality in its controlled state. Do we know if this woman is married? No. She fulfills the fantasy that men were trained to have at the time. What makes this picture so erotic, despite being completely pg? A woman, cooking for you in a flattering dress, with a cigarette dangling casually- but sexily- from her lips. If she's someone's wife, you better believe that dinner will be on the table when her husband walks through the door. If she is a girlfriend, she'll be that kind of wife someday.
What makes this photo so sexy? Subservience of course! If that's not a reiteration of Victorian ideals, I don't know what is. Seems like a reoccurring theme don't it?
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