The left shoulder

[mothwing]

This is not the most important question ever on gender politics in today's TV shows, but why is it that most of the heterosexual couples on telly engaging in happy post-coital cuddlery are usually shown in a position where the woman is lying on her side, cuddling up to the man's left shoulder?



Was there a memo? It's nitpicky, but I keep wondering why they are so uncreative about their cuddling positions. I realise that there is some sort of meaningful component to positions of couples cuddling or not cuddling in bed on TV which give the viewer an impression of their relationship status (like "distant couple", which always has the couple sitting propped up on the headboard at least 50cm apart, or "close-to-break-up", which features the man sitting on the edge of the bed, head in hands, and the woman sitting, her back against the headboard and her knees drawn towards her), so it's understandable that there's some repetition, but this degree seems just strange, and I do wonder whether they're doing it on purpose. It seems as though they want to portray all their cuddling males are extremely self-confident and relaxed and their cuddled women protected and adoring, but why impose this extremely limited cuddling-norm?

Is anything apart from these three varieties so out of the ordinary that the audiences wouldn't be able to cope?
Has there been a poll suggesting that this is the most liked cuddling position for heterosexual couples and the audience would not be able to deal with anything else (unless it's the funny-sidekick-couple and not the main characters)?
Maybe I should just I step away from the gender classes.

Comments

[lisaquestions.livejournal.com]

I wonder if it has anything to do with handedness...the man's handedness.

[mothwing.livejournal.com]

Huh, I hadn't considered it, but it makes sense to explain why it's always the left shoulder.

[dstroyrofworlds.livejournal.com]

Maybe I should just I step away from the gender classes.
Maybe... it's not all worth thinking about it.

[mothwing.livejournal.com]

Well, it's not one of my big life questions, but I do think it's interesting. Man, I'm odd.

[mariebernadette.livejournal.com]

For real. Where's the part where the guy starts to cry and begs the woman to stop acting like she doesn't need him for anything else?

[mothwing.livejournal.com]

Maybe they're too scared of being rendered obsolete:

[moonystone.livejournal.com]

I'd guess that it's the left shoulder because it's closest to the heart. And the woman obviusly needs protection, so she's doing the cuddling into his strong manly arms *snort*

TV and especially advertising are so damn behind on gender questions, I try to stay away from it. It gives me headaches.

[mothwing.livejournal.com]

The heart-closeness makes sense if they really use it as consciously as I've suspected. :D

Advertising - ugh. Don't get me started. Especially Toffifee and KinderPingui drive me round the twist.

[moonystone.livejournal.com]

A Swedish politician tried to start a EU board for stopping and researching gender discrimination and stereotypes in advertisement. Dunno what happened to the proposal, but I was annoyed as hell that all men in the one discussion forum I read about it ridiculed it to no end. And that from goths who see themselves as a subculture independent from mainstream and oh so progressive...

One other thing I just realised: in general, women are smaller than men. Hence the shoulder? Just an idea.

[mothwing.livejournal.com]

Hey, I think I've heard about that. I seem to remember from my Das Bild der Frau in der Werbung class that it did not make it because of FREEDOM OF SPEECH!!! and FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION!!! Suggesting that it may not be the best idea to have nakedness unrelated to the product in ads, like scantily clad young women in ads for, I don't know, motorbikes, is apparently incredibly destructive and close to Nazi Germany and where would the world be today without seeing a boob every five minutes, we might as well be introducing the sharia, as clearly some people are against the female body. So, you see, lots of balanced and carefully considered points. :D

About the size thing - I don't know, lying down, does being taller really matter that much? Unless the taller party has to lie with their head pressed up against the headboard because their feet would be sticking out otherwise, that is, but I can't see many male actors typically having that problem on telly.

[moonystone.livejournal.com]

Absolutely *nods* Some very intelligent people articulated their important thoughts there. /end of irony

True, the size difference shouldn't be of any importance when both are lying down. Hmm. But it does make the woman look smaller... Kindchenschema?

[lordhellebore]

No idea about the majority of heterosexual couples, but I know that the other person's left shoulder is indeed my favourite place to cuddle up to. Make of that what you will ;)

[mothwing.livejournal.com]

Seriously, you have cuddling-shoulder preferences? That's interesting. I know that I am picky about on which side a person I'm walking around with walks around, but somehow, that disappears when lying down. Huh.

[krakelwok.livejournal.com]

From a strictly compositional point of view I'd say it is because of the Golden Section alignment of the motif, and the fact that most viewers have that subconscious preference of looking to the left in pictures. I may be wrong, though.

[mothwing.livejournal.com]

Oh, good one. That explains the left shoulder, too, I guess. The position itself is still a mystery to me, though. There are other positions, like left-faced spooning, which are also golden-section aligned. Huh.