The Male Gaze

I found John Berger’s opinion on “The Male Gaze” very interesting. There are many aspects of this article that I agree with and most definitely disagree with. I have noticed that I have become a very independent and extremely strong person. I hate the thought that women were the surveyed; that females were objects and examined or studied (surveyed) by men. Females were more commonly displayed nude in art throughout this time, mostly in western art. It was more uncommon for a viewer to see a nude male depicted.
Berger’s view on nudity versus nakedness is very fascinating to me. I guess I have just never looked at it this way-that there is a difference between the two. It is very true that when someone is embarrassed or nervous about being nude it become naked. At that point the emotion is being shared between the viewer and the model. When one is comfortable and confident being unclothed there is no identity, they are only a form of art.
Another view that is very interesting about our conversation in class is how women view men, women view women, men view women, and men view men. It is so true how women have such high standards for themselves- for men and almost even more for other women. I have plainly seen a woman try to look better or feel better, when another female is around. As it was mentioned in class, men primarily do not have as high of standards for women as we sometimes think they do. And the funniest aspect to this portion is how men view other men. It is astounding to me how men act in the gym for example.
If Berger rewrote this article today I think things would slightly change. Below it all his view would be the same because it’s the same concepts; just in a different way today. Many different things have changed since the 1970s-technology is a big one. The use of Facebook, Myspace, internet dating allows a person to change themselves to whoever they wish to be. It also allows people to talk through computers; we are not forced to talk face to face. This changes the whole playing field.