The blond plastic porcelain mannequin wears white, this showcases the idealization of purity and virginity. There are pure white, lacy garments encircling the two women. Sticking out in comparison is the dark haired woman in black. There is a fetishization of this plastic body, an impure and raunchy thing to use. The real woman's coat, shoes, and hat are all depicted as black in the photograph, whereas the item tightly touching her body is white. This color combination creates a powerful look, as she is in a domineering and commanding color, with a pure white bottom layer. She is in control, yet not sexualized for it. On the other hand, the woman on display creates this fetishization of domineering women, as she stands over the passerby, with her chest to hips section being in the center of the viewer's eye-line. As if the mannequin is placed there to challenge the viewer, if the (male) viewer can “tame” her it proves their power and playes into their lust. The photograph being in black and white makes this color contrast so much more impactful, a thing in black in a sea of white. The real woman in black matches her surroundings. The bold lines that border the window align with the resolute woman who stands outside of the window. She is neither dainty or frilly, but sturdy and agent. She is a woman with her own agency, not an object to be overpowered and controlled. She questions this objectification of women.

The woman does not center her gauze on the mannequin's body, as she is not viewing her, she is viewing the lace beneath. This pile of white lace and boning is specifically for cinching and snatching your waist. It is meant to make you more “feminine” and smaller, more acceptable to society's standard for women, and more appealing to the objectifying gauze. However, she does not stand there to purchase anything. Instead, she is paused, looking in contemplation. Her right foot continues to point toward her original destination, indecating she still has this movement off the page and out of the conversation of the mannequins. She is not an object to be displayed on a pedestal trapped in her position by a glass frame, but a woman with autonomy. 

Looking at the image instils a voyeuristic feeling. The mannequins are behind the curtain, and the viewer is watching them in their private, and very intimate moment. They are not aware of the viewers presence, yet they are openly on display. The mannequins in the shop window also create an open space for the passerby to join in this display and conformity of the ideal woman. Their hands and their bodies gesture towards the passerby. However, we are not the passerby, there is another who walks through this conversation. We are merely observers to their act. This woman who is passing by is pausing to glance at what is being displayed. Her body is still positioned to move forward. She is not centered in the window to take it all in, but off centered since she is not another ideal woman that is stripped and put on display. She is aware of the message, peering down at the white corsets that seek a body to constrain. The woman is a larger size, filling out her large black coat. Her muscular legs layers in white tights are just visible due to the color contrast. She is muscular and powerful as she steps forward in her heels. She will be constrained. She will not conform. 

She wears feminine clothing, adorned in heels, and tights, and carries a purse. She has long hair braided in a beautiful, neat updo. She is put together and has a feminine beauty. She is not displayed as masculine with her power. She is a powerful woman, she takes up space, and yet she does not capture the attention, she does not showcase herself, the only skin you can see is the dark shadow of her hand. She faces away from us, unaware. Not in the way the mannequins are, they are placed to interact with the viewer and yet still be held above, out of reach, only used for temptation. She is on the ground, she does not hide behind a glass case, she does not hide at all because she does not care about your existence. She is active in writing her narrative, she has stuff to do, places to be, and is pausing for a moment to contemplate something we will never know.

This photograph showcases the objectification of women through the shop window, and yet also questions it by the interaction with a real woman, not the man made, idealized one. She makes you stop and think, just like she is, on how women are portrayed. How they are showcased and objectified, when really they should be seen as agent, strong, powerful, and beautiful, feminine, people.