This image brings under examination some interesting advertising themes concerning power. Again, this image has very little to do with the swimsuit; the focus is placed elsewhere. The model is dressed in a bathing suit, yet pictured with horses. Horses have long been associated with the carefree pastimes of feminine youth. Here, an animal associated with innocence and childhood is transformed into something erotic via the addition of a scantily clad woman.
There are multiple discourses of power in this photo. It could be construed that as the model is pictured with horses, she is being likened to an animal that can be dominated and ridden. One can also interpret the model’s relationship to the horse inversely, that being a situation where the man is dominated. The model is holding the reins of the horse and pulling its head down, resulting in her standing taller than the horse. However, the brown horse has a tether leading off-screen, showing the actual means of controlling the animal are elsewhere. Though this interpretation of the tether is likely unintentional, it reveals a meta-discourse. The model is incapable of controlling the horse on her own because the horse is much more powerful than her, yet she retains this hold. The horse can be interpreted as the male viewer, desirous of this dominatrix having this hold. However, it gives the model only a semblance of power. The only way for it to even seem like she has any is for the other source of the power to set it up for her to act in: she needs authorization and help. She cannot even borrow the power; she is still subjected to it.
This further speaks to an essential tenet of the popularity of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition in terms of making female sexuality safe and consumable. These women flaunt their sexuality powerfully and appear to be masters of themselves and their environs. However, the horses are being held out-of-frame and the model is subjected to the male gaze, effectively taking all perceived power and dangerousness and rendering it impotent, giving men all the power; they are no longer threatened by the powerful, independent female.