I interrupt this hiatus for a post. I’m not saying the hiatus is over, I’m just bursting at the writing seams and have to write. What about? A tale of two photos and an experiment on MySpace. The two photographs below, Exhibit A and Exhibit B, are the photographs in question.
Let me tell you about them. Exhibit A has been my standard online photo since it was taken on March 17, 2003. (Oh my god, that’s getting old! Was it 2004? Does anyone remember when I was in London? 3 years ago.) It was taken on March 17, 2004. I was opening presents at my leaving do at the Phineas Arms in Chelsea, London. I left a few days later, but that night was a blast.
I love this photograph. That is the Leah that people know and (mostly) love. It’s not a great photograph for dating sites, cause it is cute and honest, but not sexy or mysterious. That’s pretty much Leah Jones. Smiling, laughing, fairly modest. It is also a high quality photograph. It is crisp, looks nice. Sure there is a glare on my glasses, but look at that smile. Wouldn’t you want to have coffee with me?
Exhibit B was taken on December 31, 2006. But it could have been taken on December 31, 2005. Or March 9, 2006. I have worn that shirt exactly three times. Why? LOOK AT IT! You know me. It takes me months to get the balls to wear that shirt. Damn. I’m not used to being so exposed or so blatantly sexy. I get a lot of compliments, mainly because I’ve shocked my friends into submission. They don’t know how to react to my boobs. That is why I keep them under wraps.
Exhibit B is also a bad photograph. You only know it’s me because I told you so. There is still that nice smile, but it is out of focus. You can see the toothpaste on my bathroom mirror and before I cropped it, you could see my towels. It is empirically a bad photograph.
But…. It shows a side of myself (other than my front) that I’ve tried hard the last two years to cultivate. Namely the feminine side. The side that flirts. The side that is coy. The side that a man wants to talk to (or stare at, whatever.) I took that photo to send it to some girlfriends pre-party as a clothing check. “Can I really leave the house looking like this?” YES! They said.
Now, historically, I have never kissed a man as a result of wearing this shirt. But the modest dress and pashmina combo in Exhibit A? Yes. I don’t know why that is, but when I “frum it up” or dress modestly, I meet men. When I go Exhibit B, I don’t.
I took a leap of insanity and put Exhibit B on MySpace and made it my profile photograph. Eeeek! The first couple emails were actually from girlfriends who know who much I’ve struggled with being feminine. They send me cyber-hugs and thumbs-up. Keep the photo! We Love It! And then the emails from men.
Oy, the emails from men. So far, sorry guys, nobody I could be interested in. But apparently, according to the guys, they are someone that a girl in that shirt would be interested in. And I think they are reacting to my profile. THEY AREN’T. They are responding to the shirt or what is in the shirt. But was is in the shirt is really better represented by Exhibit A.
I’m keeping Exhibit B as my profile picture for now. I take it down about once a day, but I think it is somehow good for me. Somehow….
What do you think: Exhibit A or Exhibit B?
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