Ways of Seeing, John Berger: Chapter 2 and 3
"To be naked is simply to be without clothes, whereas the nude is a form of art," (Berger, 53).
This, to me, is a resounding statement that genuinely is self-explanatory in the eye of an artist. I believe individuals who view a naked person as just an act of being bare have not entirely developed their mindset. By this, I mean they have not entirely considered art for its true purpose; instead, they adapted a traditional mindset and cannot see past the surface in certain aspects. There is more to a naked picture than just the surface; to view a nude picture, one acknowledges that it is merely a vessel, an object that portrays itself in many forms. To openly view a nude piece, one must be comfortable in their own body; they must understand its importance as an 'object' that depicts beautiful poses that represent human, that represents being. A nude acknowledges one's exterior and represents humans in its most pure and vulnerable yet artistic way.
"The woman's sexual passion needs to be minimized so that the spectator may feel like he has monopoly of such passio. Women are there to feed an appetite not have any of their own, " (Berger,55).
This introduces the generational curse of patriarchy. The need for Men to always feel like they acquire a great degree of power over a woman. They objectify the one thing closest to a woman that makes a woman; her body. Women have been thought to be silent and entertaining; they have been thought that their feelings should be repressed if they are independent of a man's perception of them. The only thoughts that are accepted are those that validate a man's ego
Bell Hooks, Understanding pathricacy
"Both our parents believed in patriarchy; they had been thought patriarchal thinking through religion, (Hooks, 18)
This is true; even though I am not entirely against religion, I oppose their imparted traditional teachings. I believe it encourages simple-mindedness, especially in a growing society where newer generations are now bought up adapting different perfectives leading them to question societal traditional views and norms. With that, I believe that certain mindsets, especially patriarchal thinking, should be abandoned because it no longer serves an evident purpose for the new and upcoming generations, as we are now adapting a mindset that is more fixed on social and gender equality.
"He was thought that a boy should not express feelings, I was thought a girl could and should express feeling" (Hooks, 28).
This is something that still occurs today and, as a result, made male mental health an impractical topic. Men in the past and today are always required to be assertive and not burden society with their fears. Doing this allows them to be perceived as tough. As a result, we now have a generation of young men unable to fully understand or break the patriarchal cycle. This is the case because of men's inability to understand, communicate, and openly accept their emotions; as mentioned later down, "To indoctrinate boys into patriarchy we force them to feel pain and deny their feelings" (Hooks, 31).
Bell Hooks, Oppositional gaze
"To stare at the television or mainstream movies, to engage in images was to engage its negation of black representation, (Hooks, 117).
This represents an oppositional gaze in the manner of neglecting or straying away from the acceptance of the oppression of the black culture. This statement to me showed that black people understood their inferiority and subliminally accepted the identity by allowing films that denied their existence or their importance to entertain them.
"They could look at the white womanhood without a structure of domination overseeing the gaze, interpreting and punishing, (hooks, 118).
This represents a positive and empowering viewpoint of the oppositional gaze for black people. Instead of submitting to the white man's demand to fear them, black people, with their creative mindsets, found a way to rebel without encountering immediate consequences. This, to me, is a form of silent protest, a first step for black men to assert their power to build confidence.
What inspired my picture: In the readings it was mentioned multiple times how female body whose sole purpose was to be a product of male entertainment and male fascination,In this picture I reiterated that the human body is an object whose uniqueness deserves to be explored but not for a man's benefit, but instead for its beauty its versatility and its ability to create art. In this I employed oppositional gaze by not succumbing to the male's intentional use of my body but instead to emulate that beauty is like a flower beauty can be elegant, rigid,conserve, large, small, colorful, plain but it is versatile and all of this makes a female.
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