McGowan/Dawson Rolling Stone Ads

When we were talking about the Rose McGowan and Rosario Dawson ad, today, a thought occurred to me that suddenly shed new meaning on the idea of bullets as (scanty) clothing. We discussed the enticing/welcoming gaze in the ad, too, and this concept helped support my reading of the ad, which is that the women are not necessarily passive, as some of us said in class. One the one hand, the women are naked and inviting, which seems passive (like they are inviting us for sex but, more specifically, to be the "active" participants); on the other hand, while these women are putting on an enticing and passive air with their respective expressions and postures, and their nudity, they are dressed, albeit scantily, in bullets. Thus, with this "clothing" as a protective barrier, they seem to say that they are not "push overs" and, thus, that they can take care of themselves. They have some agency, and if/when they choose to exert it, they will. "Come here," they seem to say, "I DARE you." To me, that is not passive but rather a shining example of feminism and female power.