Status of women

Status of Women

The text Ways of Seeing (J. Berger 1972) by John Berger explains in great depth about how women have been portrayed in art and who the true spectator is. Where a women’s lover is included in the image more often than not the women is facing outwards, towards the true spectator. In fact, almost all of post renaissance European artwork is frontal, showing a clear divide of the western world and its ideas of how women are looked upon and the rest of the world.

African, Indian and pre-Columbian art predominantly sexual imagery has a completely different take. Women fully embrace their lovers, almost seen as equal by the opposite sex in these cultural texts. Each member of the image both being active participants entwined within each other, showing the focus of different cultures shifts from being ‘man’ the external spectator. This may possibly explain why there are less well known African, Indian and pre-Columbian artists in Europe as it almost feels uncomfortable to look at, looking in on a personal moment rather than being invited to by the simple gesture of looking out of the image in European culture.

In a society where women are subjected to earning less and having less power in industry than most men, women are portrayed as a weaker sex. The image that is given to young women is that they lack influence and in order to gain this they must jockey on the back of other men rather than their own.  This is where John Berger starts to influence my work as he noted, “Men ‘act’ and women ‘appear’.” Western art is littered with this idea that women are the subject with men acting as the viewer. This is also reinforced time and time again in advertising. Women are used anywhere from hair products to chainsaws.  With such a strong cultural tradition that sees women portrayed with the idea that the ideal spectator is man.  It is has become a custom that female adverts to be emphasised on to certain body parts such as breasts or legs.

From this text I had identified some key words that sum up the authors view and make strong connections with my research. These words are Vanity, Sexual, Spectator, Man and Superficial. Men and Women are not equal, John Berger elegantly puts it as “Men act and women appear.”  This reinforces the argument that the imagery of women has one purpose and that is the be admired by men. This ideology still permeates throughout modern culture and media practises. The introduction of a mirror into the image shows a women’s vanity but as time has changed, one could argue that this idea has just changed objects. From a mirror to a camera.

I am asking the question that: in Western culture does society subject women to extreme conditions, both physically and morally, in order to develop an industry around using the imagery of women with the idea of the presumed spectator is ‘man’?

With my focus being on an industry being built upon the subjection of women, who better than the most expensive women in the world to be the subject of my cultural text. The Mona Lisa by Leonardo Da Vinci.