An astonishingly frank work from the later 50s, “With This Wiener” is a startling example of the changing nature of female sexuality in the post-war world. Or is it? Scholars diverge when it comes to the true meaning of the small, pitiful wiener the woman is waving in the man’s face. Given the war raging at the time in Korea, it might be her way of telling him what she thinks of men who don't serve?
On further contemplation, it is also uncertain whether the man has noticed the wiener, or the implications of its dimensions. To him, his potency and sense of self are symbolized by his delivery of sugared brown liquid in large, satisfying bottles. Indeed he seems to be looking in the woman’s eyes for confirmation that she has recognized his bottles, and found them impressive. Perhaps a moment after this tableau, his eyes broke from her lightly taunting face and he saw the wiener, speared like the thorax of some insignificant insect.
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