“The most powerless image of a president ever created by a camera.”
That’s how one commentator described this photo of Donald Trump and Elon Musk.

But why does Musk — not the president — look like the one in charge? In this video, I break down how camera angles, posture, body language, and clothing can signal power — and how subtle cues can flip the visual hierarchy.

In the second half, I analyze a historic photo from post–WWII Japan, where a casual American general was posed to dominate a god-emperor — and how gender roles were possibly invoked as a subtle tool of humiliation.

This analysis is the second part of a longer video, which you can see here:
Trump ❤️ Musk – Why Are We Obsessed With Sexualizing Their Bromance?

When Donald Trump and Elon Musk teamed up during the 2024 election, the internet flooded with memes portraying them as a gay lovers—often casting one as the other’s “wife” or “bottom.”

What is this trend really about? And could the strategy of mocking self-proclaimed “alpha males” as feminine or submissive figures backfire politically?

In the second part of the video, I analyze what has been called “the most powerless image of a president ever”—and compare it to an iconic photo from the end of World War II that was meant to signal dominance, but also unintentionally invites homoerotic interpretations.

“Fight for women. Fight with us.” So says Israel’s army. Or rather, one of their female TikTok soldiers armed with selfie sticks gets to say it.

Comparing the nation to a woman, or giving it a feminine facade, is a propaganda tactic that’s been used – from 19th-century empire-building to far-right movements today – as a way to camouflage state violence and expansion as idealism and “progress”.

In my third YouTube video, I dive deep into this phenomenon. Warning: it’s not pretty.

The Gender Photographer is now on YouTube! Here’s my first video, exploring what eight photos of Kamala Harris and Donald Trump can teach us about gender, power, and ideas of what a leader should look like.