How do you See me?

Men survey women before treating them. Consequently, how a woman appears to a man can determine how she will be treated. (Berger, 46)

When I saw this book, my first impression was it looks quite different than Postman’s Amusing Ourselves to Death. Since Ways of Seeing has pictures throughout the context, I felt I was given a better sense of understanding since I am a visual learner. My greatest interest in this book was when I came across the chapter with the collection of all the female ads displaying women’s body parts and the woman portrayal in art. Women were used as figures to look at rather than appreciated. Women were definitely not taken seriously, and instead were viewed to be seen and not heard.

Women did not get a significant role in the pre-renaissance era, and nudity was used as the audience would perceive it. “The surveyor of woman in herself is male: the surveyed female. Thus she turns herself into an object – and most particularly an object of vision: a sight.” (47)

The message I basically got from these quotes was that women feel they should always be concerned with their physical appearance. Today, the majority of women are still insecure with their body type because of the kind of women they view in the media. Back when art was appreciated, a woman would pay attention to their audience, and how they are looked at is determined but how the audience sees her.

I admit that when I see Evangeline Lily in a magazine, I wish I looked like her in a bathing suit. I think I have more control on what I see in terms of female appearance, as I acknowledge how the media tries to make me feel. I believe my personal eating habits and self-esteem has not been impacted from the images of women I see in the media. I also believe that men treat me a certain way because of a sense of confidence I have in my persona. I know I won’t be able to look like women I see in the media, and I definitely don’t look like a piece of meat for men.

I think if a woman has enough confidence, she does not need to feel insecure about her body in anyway. If a man sees a woman in a particular way, she allows them to judge her. Women should not be used as an object for a man’s eye candy, but should take pride in her other intelligent strengths that truly make her a beautiful person. The point I am getting at is physical appearance is nothing compared to who a person really is.

Berger, John. Ways of Seeing. London: Penguin, 1972.