Camel cigarette advertisement featuring Jane Greer.

This Camel advertisement featuring Jane Greer sells cigarettes by selling a very specific idea of femininity. A feminist history approach asks not only “what does this look like?” but also “who is this for, and what kind of gender story is it telling?” Greer’s glamorous pose, bare shoulders, and red dress place her firmly in the mid century star system, where women’s bodies were treated as both aspiration and evidence. Her cigarette becomes a prop that signals sophistication, self control, and adulte...