March 11, 2003
Leg Show

There's an odd trend that's been increasingly visible now for some time, on the covers of all sorts of fiction aimed at women.

The legs-n-feet-no-face conceit is flexible, it would seem, in tone. It's not always particularly racy: sometimes it's just a way to show a gal kicking up her heels or standing firm. Occasionally, there's a memorable twist on an otherwise unremarkable trend. Just the teasing anonymity of the figures persists.

Of course, sometimes the tease is rather more pronounced. I don't know whether you'd say Jennifer Weiner's last hit or her new book has the more attention-getting cover image (neither, of course, competes with this for visual sauciness, nor with Jennifer Belle's two books for a synergy of title with image).

Given that this must be pretty tired for me to be taking note, I think literature should act fast and adopt a new body part trend.

Posted by BT at March 11, 2003 05:31 PM
Comments

"Puller" being an Australian variant of the word "wanker", I can't see this being a big hit back home. But then there was the success of "Free Willy"...

Posted by: Rory on March 12, 2003 07:03 AM

Yes, but we must look past the title to see the timeless allure of elbows and forearms.

Posted by: BT on March 12, 2003 07:34 AM

Did this one -- http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?isbn=0375412824 -- kick it off, or does it go further back than that?

Posted by: KF on March 12, 2003 12:16 PM

I thought about this one too. But I consider Packer's book a sort of Janey-come-lately to the whole phenom, I think. Jennifer Belle's stuff dates from the mid-90s, for example.

Plus, the design is more focused on the on the valise than on the gams-n-tootsies which seem to be the concern of all of these others. Of course, that's leg-hair-splitting...

Posted by: BT on March 12, 2003 12:38 PM

Yeah, okay. It's funny, though, that it was the legs I remember, despite their hiddenness, and not so much the suitcase, which is of course more thematically (or plottishly) relevance. Perhaps the legs are in the eye of the beholder.

Posted by: KF on March 12, 2003 12:42 PM

Crap. Relevant.

Posted by: KF on March 12, 2003 12:42 PM

I can't but think that ZZ Top is very pleased.

Posted by: Scott on March 12, 2003 01:04 PM

See, this trend started after I read Scott McCloud's =Understanding Comics=, where he talks about how a cartoon character with fewer facial details let the reader identify more fully with said character, since there aren't points of discordance.

So I've always thought that this wasn't a legs-are-hot movement, but usually an effort to make potential female readers think, "This book is about a woman--hey, I'm a woman too! This book is about a woman =just like me=!"

Posted by: Gavin on March 13, 2003 10:36 AM

Not just a woman, but a woman with ankles. JUST LIKE ME!

Well, not me ME.

Does my feminine side have ankles? I do know she's totally hot, and loves beer, soccer, and Rock en Espanol. JUST LIKE ME!

Posted by: Scott on March 13, 2003 12:11 PM

Oh, and just the idea of a cocktail with monkey spit in it totally cracks her up.

Posted by: Scott on March 13, 2003 02:00 PM

Speaking of Scott McCloud and Monkey Spit, check out Monkey Town: http://www.scottmccloud.com/comics/mi/mi-17/mi-17.html

Posted by: teenidol on March 14, 2003 10:39 AM