Thursday, October 22, 2009

in my opinion John Berger is one of the few lucky people to have witnessed first hand some of the most startling changes during the last century. i believe he would have been exposed to a much more male dominated society when growing up and in school. another interesting thing. i assume since mr Berger is English that he lived in England all his life. if thats true than his teen years would have been during ww2 and he would have witnessed women working in factories or doing other jobs normally done by men. so i believe that because of his childhood he would have been more accepting of the working "modern woman" than those older than him. during the 60's and 70's when equal rights movements were going strong he probably supported them and since his passion was art he would naturally look for a connection. so the male gaze paper was that connection, showing the way men have viewed women for centuries and that it needed to change. today's women enjoy much more social freedom and less prejudice than previous generations but the "male gaze" still lurks in secret, though i believe it is not near as controlling or harmful as it once was. todays modern society still focuses strongly on female beauty but you dont have to be beautiful today to live your dreams. anyone can do almost anything they want or be almost anything they want. technology has enabled the "male gaze" evolve by way of magazines. but in todays world women that pose for mens magazine get payed and get publicity. and im sure most dont mind. have your picture taken, get payed cash, not the hardest way to make money. i guess what im trying to say is that todays society is still under the male gaze but women dont have to be a part of it if they dont want to be. much better than the old ways, like the Susana story or the painter girl that got raped. so sad. perhaps in another 100 years this will all be over and people will think of themselves as people and not a traditional man or woman.

1 comment:

Stephanie Lewis said...

Your idealism is refreshing.