ABSTRACT
As a rule, semiotic theory places the woman as the object of the masculine gaze (Mulvey 1975). She serves to reflect and represent desirability for the masculine subject. Her desire is represented as the desire to represent and articulate his desire. From the perspective of a traditional semiotics, the female consumer initially might be conceptualized as representing the projection of the masculine desire to be nurtured (a maternal, domestic image) or to be narcissistically gratified (an overtly heterosexual image).2 Both these positions have in common that the female consumer is defined in terms of her relationship to other people.3
