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Ways of Seeing by John Berger. Pelican, 60p.
We live, not merely in a class society, but a class society with a male-dominated culture. This means that in all aspects of our lives which are culturally determined all norms tend to be male. It means that standards are set by males, and these standards include those that would seem to be the province of the female (i.e. those that men have said are their province). Thus, the most influential books on child-rearing have been written by men – Freud, Spock, Bowlby, Erickson, Truby King, to name the most important only – all of which emphasises the importance of the mother-child tie, and the great, unbridgeable differences between male and female characteristics and roles.
The women's liberation movement, in its emphasis on consciousness-raising, has attempted to break with this male-orientation. In particular, it lays stress on the importance of women ceasing to regard themselves as mere appendages of men, chanelling their interests and aspirations through them, and seeing themselves only in relation to men.
This aspect of consciousness – women seeing themselves in relation only to men – even (or perhaps especially) relates to their own sexuality. Whereas a man uses his sexuality in order to achieve sexual success, a woman uses her's to gain 'possession' of a male, because in our society it is only in this way that she is considered socially successful, and is also the
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only way in which the majority of women can be assured of economic security.
The distortion of sexuality that results is both inwardly and outwardly determined. Women in our society (it is not universal) are supposed to be sexually submissive, this is how men like them, and yet it has been shown that 'dominant' women are able to enjoy sex more – they are not afraid of their own sexuality and are able to let their partner know what they need and want. So distorted are the values of our society, however, that such women, unless very sure of themselves, may think that they are not normal and may even feel guilty of their feelings.
The outward distortion of women's sexuality is perhaps more obvious, but it is also more insiduous, so that it becomes harder to pinpoint. We are so used to its manifestations in every aspect of our culture, most recently and notoriously in advertising and pornography (the latter has been around for longer), the two often indistinguishable. (I am distinguishing between eroticism and pornography – the latter is exploitive, both economically and in terms of human personality and sexuality).
A book which clearly and delightfully explores this theme (amongst others) is WAYS OF SEEING, by the Marxist art critic and historian John Berger. The difficulty of reviewing this book is in trying to select quotes that succintly give the flavour of the essays on Women in Art and the Nude, and on Advertising. (In fact, the chapters, three of which are essays in pictures, have no titles: I have indicated the subject matter of two of the written essays and one of the picture essays).
Taking as the overall theme of the book, the European oil painting tradition, Berger gives us new insights into how women were (and are) seen by men and by themselves and how this is reflected in the way they are presented. The distinction between nudity ('Nudity is a form of dress') and nakedness ('to be without disguise') is discussed. Most paintings of nude women are to display ownership of the woman by the painting's owner (or painter). Many paintings moralised, e.g. about women's vanity. Nude women were depicted with mirrors, admiring themselves, but it was the watching men who were actually doing the admiring. Women were (and are) only too aware of the watching men:
'Men look at women. Women watch themselves being looked at. This determines not only most relations between men and women, but also the relation of women to themselves. 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.'
In the essay on advertising, Berger explores further this aspect of woman: as object. He examines the concept of 'glamour', which he says is a modern concept. The aim of consumer advertising is surely to reach women, who are the biggest buyers of consumer articles. It is true that a certain amount of advertising purports to appeal to common-sense and intelligence: 'This article will last longer because of the materials used to make it and the method of construction', but the vast majority of advertising plays upon people's fears in an alienated society. In particular upon their fears of not being 'woman enough': the condition of their home, their washing, their children's health, even their husband's clothes, all reflect upon women's supposed role in life and their success in that role.
'The spectator buyer is meant to envy herself as she will become if she buys the product. She is meant to imagine herself transformed by the product into an object of envy for others, an envy which will then justify her loving herself. One could put this another way: the publicity image steals her love of herself as she is, and offers it back to her for the price of the product.'
It should be emphasised that the particular sections of the book reviewed above are set in the context of a work that examines cultural concepts in a property-owning society, although it goes deeper than merely saying that women are property too. Lavishly illustrated and written in a style that can be understood not merely by those already knowledgeable about art, this is a book that cannot be too highly recommended.
Leonora Lloyd