Letters to the Editor
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I don’t get the outrage either…
My first week at school a big, butch lesbian (really nice lady with a very impressive beard) showed our Animals Rights group a slide show on this subject. Of course the photo I remember best is the Hustler cover with the girl half way down the meat grinder (only her well heeled legs are visible). The big argument is that women are viewed as meat much as animals are.
But I don’t see that Hustler photo having much at all do with (just for argument sake) the ‘Good in Bed’ cover art. I think the reason chick lit uses body parts is that so we, as readers, can all see ourselves playing the part of that heroine. Keeping her vague allows us to see ourselves in that period dress or on that beach. Putting a face on the cover of a book can limit the appeal.
I have also noticed that trashy men’s books (anything made into a film starring Harrison Ford) use the same techniques to lure readers in. You never see the hero’s face either.