Express Yourself, Don´t Repress Yourself : En modevetenskaplig receptionsanalys av studenters tolkningar av fotografier ur Madonnas fotobok Sex
(2026) MODK63 20261Division of Fashion Studies
- Abstract
- This bachelor thesis aims to examine how real observers relate to the constructions of implicit
beholders in three photographs from Madonna´s 1992 photobook, Sex. Through the use of a
mixed method study composed of picture analysis and a focus group study, implementing a
theoretical framework consisting of Wolfgang Kemps theory of the implicit beholder, Susan
Sontag´s theories about photography and Joanne Entwistles theories on dress as a situated
bodily practice, this thesis aims to study how implicit beholders are constructed in three
photographs in Sex. The thesis further aims to compare these constructions with the viewing
positions of five fashion studies students in a focus group interview. The photographs that
were analyzed... (More) - This bachelor thesis aims to examine how real observers relate to the constructions of implicit
beholders in three photographs from Madonna´s 1992 photobook, Sex. Through the use of a
mixed method study composed of picture analysis and a focus group study, implementing a
theoretical framework consisting of Wolfgang Kemps theory of the implicit beholder, Susan
Sontag´s theories about photography and Joanne Entwistles theories on dress as a situated
bodily practice, this thesis aims to study how implicit beholders are constructed in three
photographs in Sex. The thesis further aims to compare these constructions with the viewing
positions of five fashion studies students in a focus group interview. The photographs that
were analyzed constructed implicit beholders that were positioned as voyeurs. These
constructions were made through the compositional structure of the photographs and the inner
relations, focalizers, and blanks that are situated within the photographs. The constructions of
the implicit beholders as voyeurs were in large part due to the bodies, fashion, and poses of
the figures depicted. The discussions of the focus group both confirmed and renegotiated the
voyeuristic implicit beholders through discussions on the feminine body, power relations
between men and women, and the morality of observing a naked body in a picture. This
bachelor thesis found that through the lived experiences of the focus group, the implicit
beholders constructed in the photographs are not static or unambiguous, but rather offers of
reception that are renegotiated by real human observers. With this contribution to the field of
fashion reception studies, I point out that fashion photography is not merely a cultural
expression, but also a social one, where fashion, sexuality, and meaning are created in the
meeting between a viewer and visual material. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9244997
- author
- Johansson, Tobias LU
- supervisor
- organization
- alternative title
- Express Yourself, Don´t Repress Yourself: Students' Interpretations of Photographs from Madonna´s Photo Book Sex - A Reception Study in Fashion Studies
- course
- MODK63 20261
- year
- 2026
- type
- M2 - Bachelor Degree
- subject
- keywords
- Fashion Reception Studies, Reception Aesthetics, Wolfgang Kemp, Implicit Beholder, Madonna, Sex, Situated Bodily Practice
- language
- Swedish
- id
- 9244997
- date added to LUP
- 2026-07-06 09:15:50
- date last changed
- 2026-07-06 09:15:50
@misc{9244997,
abstract = {{This bachelor thesis aims to examine how real observers relate to the constructions of implicit
beholders in three photographs from Madonna´s 1992 photobook, Sex. Through the use of a
mixed method study composed of picture analysis and a focus group study, implementing a
theoretical framework consisting of Wolfgang Kemps theory of the implicit beholder, Susan
Sontag´s theories about photography and Joanne Entwistles theories on dress as a situated
bodily practice, this thesis aims to study how implicit beholders are constructed in three
photographs in Sex. The thesis further aims to compare these constructions with the viewing
positions of five fashion studies students in a focus group interview. The photographs that
were analyzed constructed implicit beholders that were positioned as voyeurs. These
constructions were made through the compositional structure of the photographs and the inner
relations, focalizers, and blanks that are situated within the photographs. The constructions of
the implicit beholders as voyeurs were in large part due to the bodies, fashion, and poses of
the figures depicted. The discussions of the focus group both confirmed and renegotiated the
voyeuristic implicit beholders through discussions on the feminine body, power relations
between men and women, and the morality of observing a naked body in a picture. This
bachelor thesis found that through the lived experiences of the focus group, the implicit
beholders constructed in the photographs are not static or unambiguous, but rather offers of
reception that are renegotiated by real human observers. With this contribution to the field of
fashion reception studies, I point out that fashion photography is not merely a cultural
expression, but also a social one, where fashion, sexuality, and meaning are created in the
meeting between a viewer and visual material.}},
author = {{Johansson, Tobias}},
language = {{swe}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Express Yourself, Don´t Repress Yourself : En modevetenskaplig receptionsanalys av studenters tolkningar av fotografier ur Madonnas fotobok Sex}},
year = {{2026}},
}