While reviewing for the test today, I struggled to understand how the penis is "the most shocking image." I think the argument presented in class was that explicitly presenting the phallus unmasks the usually hidden prevalence of this "master signifier" in all aspects of society; the patriarchal dominance that exists everywhere is revealed in the image of the penis. In popular culture, I think it is much more common (and less shocking) to see an exposed penis than an exposed vagina. Full frontal nudity for females dos not actually show a woman's genitalia. The notion that the depicting the phallus reveals patriarchal control implies that all of society really is under the control of this phallic patriarchy. In class, Kalmar proposed that it was the phallus' ambiguity that gave it its power. I think popular media portrays female anatomy far less frequently than the male penis, and because of this the vagina remains more mysterious and ambiguous.
The project by Jamie McCartney to create molds of the vaginas/vulvas of different women drew my attention to how infrequently the female anatomy is presented in popular media. I've included the link below. This exhibition perhaps reveals the vagina as more shocking than the penis, as an affront on patriarchal structure. I think a lot can be said relating this project to the Freud's notion of the "uncanny" but I am going to get back to studying!
Good luck tomorrow!
http://www.brightonbodycasting.com/design-a-vagina.php
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