In today’s age, there aren’t any limitations on what a woman should be or can be. Many women have achieved great things, giving a new definition and representation to who women are. According to Berger, He exclaimed that from the visual of a nude women in European oil paintings, one could see the standard in which women were being held to and how they were being viewed by men and people, showing us that society was constantly scrutinizing the appearance of women. Although he made a good point for the past, in today’s world I do not agree entirely. As we move into an era that is more loving and open to the idea of all forms of beauty, women have more control on what standards they are being held to, whether it being their own or adopted. Berger further exclaims that in these paintings, women were being humiliated by their nakedness and the women in these paintings were aware of it. From my standpoint during the time I was brought up, sexuality is something incorporated in every platform possible but to say that it is solely based on what a man expects to see is completely inaccurate. Sexuality is still viewed the same in how society judges an image, as Berger suggested but women have more influence on what image is being portrayed of them and the message it sends to its viewer.
Bella, this is a really interesting and positive take on what Berger describes.