Context of Practise 2: Seminar Notes and Study Task 4- The Media and The Gaze

Following from the Lecture we had on the topic of 'The Media and The Gaze', we went onto looking at the Representation of Women in the Visual Culture of Art and the Media:

Voyeurism (Freud)- Links to the Sexual Desire of the Audience

There is more going on within the images- LOOKING IS NOT NEUTRAL

"Men look at Women. Women watch themselves being Looked at"

- 'Ways of Seeing (1972) by John Berger

Men Act on Purpose and Power whereas Women appear Subjectively, Objects in the Relationship
Visual Representations are skewed within culture showing the vision of the man

"Vanity" Painting by Hans Memling:
- It's ok to look at her because she is looking at Herself
- Showing the Social Values of Society
     - Artists were mainly men who were painting for other men who bought art (Patriarchal)
     - Economical and Material power is translated into the way people think
     - Can you read the way women have been used using Visual Culture
- Painting has been made by a man and commissioned by a man
- Serves as a pornographic, titilating image, making the customer feel secure in his Sexuality
     - Possession/ Owning of a woman- fantasy that never challenges you as she looks away
          - Sideways glance into the mirror encourages them to keep looking
- "Vanity"- Name of painting laughs at women for being vain and concerned about there appearance yet this is how all women are judged in Culture

"Birth of Venus" and "Olympia" (1863) Paintings:
- Both exhibited in the same exhibition and both show women yet "Birth of Venus" was the most favoured painting of the whole show whereas "Olympia" caused controversy and uproar
- "Birth of Venus" is passive with everything on display whereas "Olympia" is confrontational and covers herself up
- Both named after Goddesses of Love- one appears innocent and is a fantasy yet the other is reality of mens fantasy
- "Olympia" is shocking as it shows the Reality of Men power play
     - She has power and won't be objectified
     - Cat shows independence

TRADITION OF MENS POWER OVER ART- HOW WOMEN ARE OBJECTS OF FANTASY FOR A MAN AND THE SLEAZINESS OF HOW WOMEN ARE CONTROLLED IN THE WAY THEY ACT, DRESS, LOOK, ECT.

- MALE DOMINANCE AND FEMALE SUPPRESSION

"Ways of Seeing- Episode 2" (1972) by John Berger

Berger, J. (1972) "Ways of Seeing- Episode 2" [Youtube] Available from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1GI8mNU5Sg (Accessed Monday 4th November 2013)

Visual Culture and Consumerism 

- Where Women are surrounded by images of how they are to look

- Consumerism is a manual of how women are suppose to look for men

- "To be Naked" is to be oneself whereas "To be Nude" is seen as an object without knowing your being viewed

- 21st Century Perfume Adverts- Women are portrayed as being sexually available for men

- In real life, there is a reciprocation between the look of a subject and the object. In visual culture, the Gaze only goes one way so the Woman's Gaze becomes closer to the Men's and nearer to there own sense of self.

From this, we went onto looking and analysis the essay "The Look" by Rosalind Coward.

Analysed pages from "The Look" Essay
Coward, R. "The Look" in Thomas, J. (ed.) (2000) "Reading Images", Basingstoke: Palgrave, p33-39

Study Task:

Using 5 Quotes from Rosalind Coward's Essay, analyse a piece of imagery showing subjectivity. Approx. 500 words.

"Hello Boys Wonderbra Campaign" (1995) by TBWA

TBWA (1995) "Hello Boys Wonderbra Campaign" [Internet] Available from http://cutoday.wordpress.com/2010/05/10/wonderbra-man-comes-to-cov/ (Accessed 6th November 2013)

This advertisement for the "Hello Boys" Wonderbra Campaign depicts a partially dressed female model, wearing only her underwear looking down towards the floor. The accompanying text says the words 'Hello Boys' in a large serif font, which takes up 2/3 of the overall advert.

The Female model in the image has quite an open body language allowing for her body to be seen in full view of the audience yet her facial look is different as she is looking down at the floor. The way she presents herself is suggestive to the audience that they are welcome to look and this is mirrored by the fact that her gaze is away from the audience so that the audience doesn't feel embarrassed or judged by her as they stare at her lustfully as an object of fantasy. This disconnection between her and us puts her in a submissive relationship with a dominant audience, which allows for a “preference for a ‘distanced’ view of the female body” (Coward, R. (1984) p34) as this makes the audience comfortable with their continuous gaze. “Clearly, this comfort is connected with feeling secure or powerful” (Coward, R. (1984) p34) as it allows for men to fantasize about the model without having to deal with any rejection or disappointment of reality. There is no reciprocation between the subject and the object’s gaze which gives the advert a voyeuristic undertone which “is a way of taking sexual pleasure by looking at rather than being close to a particular object of desire” (Coward, R. (1984) p34). This is reinforced by the fact that the model is positioned as if she is in a doorway so it is like we are looking through the door and into her private boudoir.

Women are surrounded by images of societies ideal and advertising and consumerism acts as a manual of how they are suppose to look for men. Another element of the model’s presentation is that she is of a desirable figure and attractive in regards to how women are seen in society, with “Women’s experience of sexuality rarely strays far from ideologies and feelings about self image” (Coward, R. (1984) p33). The fact that the model appears young and aesthetically beautiful makes female viewers of the advert compare themselves to the model, questioning there own sense of self as they begin to see women with a gaze closer to that of a man’s. This is due to women’s place in society being dominate by their appearance as “Women are, more often than not, preoccupied with images, their own and other people’s. However unconsciously, most members of this society get the message that there is a lot at stake in visual impact” (Coward, R. (1984), p35).  

Women’s success in life is dominated by whether they have a job, have a successful career and get a husband and all of these aspects are based on being judged firstly on appearance. We are all guilty of judging someone on first impressions and appearance yet, in the 21^st Century, “women are now also effected through the scrutiny of women by visual ideals”, we are now controlled by a media culture where this has become the norm.

Word Count: 530

Reference/ Source Book: 

Coward, R. "The Look" in Thomas, J. (ed.) (2000) "Reading Images", Basingstoke: Palgrave, p33-39