Ways of Viewing

 From the earliest collection of history women have always been represented as sexual beings. One of the earliest artifacts collected from Lower Austria is a sculpture of a woman figure called The Woman of Willendorf  also known as The Venus of Willendorf. The artifacts was said to be made around 24,000-22,000 BCE. Many critics have written that it is a symbols of fertility and sexuality. By emphasizing on her sexual organs such as her breast and her vagina the artist takes away attention from other features gaining the male gaze.

The male gaze is the believe that all advertising/marketing viewers are men, the believe that women are objects. John Berger writes in Ways of Seeing, "One might simplify this by saying: men act and women appear. Men look at women. Women watch themselves being looked at. This determines not only most relations between men and women but also the relations of women to themselves." (Berger, 47) The way women are depicted in medias such as magazines, runways, movies and more has caused social, physical and emotional damges to women all around the world.

  

All around them women are seeing images of women looking a certain way and are lead to believe that one might only achieve certain things by looking that certain way. That one might only get a man's attention if you are slim, clean faced, young and provocative.

In her book Black Looks: Race and Representation, Bell Hooks speaks of the "oppositional gaze." This oppositional gaze can be said is the rebellion to the male gaze, although in her article she is speaking of how black females and blacks are representing in the media. She writes, "Not only will I stare. I want my look to change reality."

If more women give this oppositional gaze maybe we will stop being seen as sexual objects and this ideal look of how every woman should look will be vanished.