John Berger’s ideas in “ways of seeing”

John Berger’s ideas in “ways of seeing”

John Berger’s work, called “From Ways of Seeing,” explains how the actions of a man are seen in which they tend to focus on power. Contrary, he states that the actions and presence of women are tailored in a manner that tends to determine how men see them. This statement implies that women’s’ actions and choices act as a framework for deciding who they are. Regarding gender, Berger’s article, “From Ways of Seeing,” therefore, denoted how the male gender acted focused on how they will be viewed in the eyes of others. This desire forced men to incorporate powerful approaches in their actions when dealing with women. However, women do not desire nor wish for power. Personally, Berger’s view is unconventional since images are not painted to depict that the male gender is powerful compared to females, as shown in the painting. In this case, I obtained a picture from The Guardian Magazine, which is used to compare and oppose the views of Berger about the presentation of gender image. The result of this comparison is that images cannot be depended upon to show the relationship between men and women.

Fig 1. A woman carrying a man to imply that they are powerful.

This image was obtained from “The Guardian Magazine,” which was published on Sunday, 11^th June 2017. The image was used to reinforce the statement that “The Weaker Sex: Science That Shows Women Are Stronger Than Men.” In the Guardian, the picture intended to show that women are more powerful than men since they have the potential of living longer than their counterparts. This claim implies that the female gender has a life span of approximately 5 to 6 years longer than the opposite sex. Similarly, from this work, to support my claim, it is found that images cannot be used as a framework to establish the relationship between a man and a woman.

First, Berger explained that in society, gender is differently presented in which women images do not focus on external tasks, but rather on self-presentation, while that of men showed a form of agency.  This claim shows that all images have a common depiction that women focus on appearance, while men on actions, “One might simplify this by saying: men act and women appear. And 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” (Berger 47). The author of the article “Ways of Seeing “supports his ideas by identifying that this kind of connection is brought out through the nude female images in the European oil painting. Women are believed to be represented in nude forms due to the compelling nature of men who act as spectators to fulfill their sexual desires. The idea is that multiple representations are attached to men as a symbol of power since this action is seen as a way of limiting the urgency of females. In this case, I oppose Berger’s point about the nudity image, which showed that women focus on appearance, while men on actions. Drawing an example from the Guardian image, women are not represented in a nudity form, thus liming the effectiveness of Berger’s view on gender relations. Besides, according to the picture, both individuals have clothes, limiting the possibility of female nudity showing male powers.

Furthermore, Berger formulated that in images, there was a different presentation of women compared to men. The article, “From Ways of Seeing,” established that this situation is contributed by the view that a major ideal spectator is a flattered man. In visual culture, gaze does not imply the ordinary act of viewing instead, it is a form of seeing the connection in terms of the relationship characteristics. To gaze, therefore, is a term used by Berger to imply a psychological link of power, where a spectator is a powerful person, compared to the presented image.

Rancière’s work “The Emancipated Spectator” (4) formulated that in advertisements, women models act in a way, which shows that they replace the lens with an imaginary male spectator. Consequently, the major assumption of this claim is that whenever women onlookers are viewing female images, they see it the same way as male spectators. Generally, according to this analysis, Berger holds that female images are majorly designed for men spectators, which is a way of showing that the male gender is powerful. In contrast, according to the above picture, there are no spectators. In addition, the picture does not have any intention of flattering the male gender since its major aim is to show that women are powerful compared to men. Generally, the above image is against Berger’s assumption since it does not have any male spectator, hence lacking any power exertion and showing that all gender is equally presented.

Personally, Berger’s views on gender cannot be relied on to show the relationship between a man and a woman. Berger generalized the writing “Ways of Seeing,” which is a source of misleading the audience. The statements he made on gender minimizes the truth about the relationship between male and female gender, which supports false principles. In this century, there are lower chances of women viewing themselves as being gazed at, and men are always looking at them. Many researchers have also published their works, which opposes that of Berger. Some of their views have highlighted that naturally, men have been created to desire women. This nature is the one incorporated in Western painting to produce nude women images, characterized by buxom, hairless, and a frequent unblemished and white skin (Graves 6). These features were included in such images to show how women were naturally created to attract men. Besides, the above picture opposes the view of Berger since the lady is seen to be more powerful than the man. The image has presented the man as the weaker creature, which is a common practice in contemporary society where the female gender has overpowered the male. Women are also showing their powers since they engage in similar activities as men, such as politics, heads of families, and judges.

Finally, Berger’s work is still relevant in modern society, and many people are using his ideas to explain gender relationships. Using Berger’s view, people can draw that women strive to be accepted, while men primarily focus on being seen. Berger showed that male gender engages in actions that have one objective of wielding and possessing power. The idea is eclipsed by the assumption that in any society, a man is marked as a weak creature when he does not have power, which should be shown through presence and actions.

In conclusion, John Berger’s ideas in the article, “Ways of Seeing” is a framework used to explain an existing relationship between a man and a woman. According to Berger, men usually strive to be attached to power, which is seen through their actions. In contrast, women do not desire powers, but to be seen as who they are. From the statement, “Ways of Seeing,” formulated that this kind of relationship is also presented in images, which equate men to supremacy and women to self-actualization. The major characteristics that bring out this kind of gender relationship are the ideal spectator and female nudity. The gaze is a psychological idea, which shows that men who are specifically the onlooker’s powerful creatures compared to women who are usually viewed. However, according to the above image, it is presented in a way that opposes the ideas of Berger. In the picture, there is no female nudity depiction since the lady is wearing clothes, similar to the male counterpart. Consequently, there is no specified spectator in the picture, as both individuals are facing in the same direction. The characteristics of this image, therefore, do not support the assumptions in Berger’s work, “Ways of Seeing.” Generally, I oppose the ideas of this author that images are used to establish gender relationships.

Works cited

Berger, J. “Ways of Seeing” (Harmondsworth and London: Penguin & BBC, 1972) (1972).

Graves, J. The Artist Gaze: A Research-from-Creation Based Thesis on the Selfie and the Female   Image.            Diss. Concordia University, 2017.

Rancière, J. The emancipated spectator. Verso Books, 2014.

Saini, A. The weaker sex? Science shows that women are stronger than men. The Guardian.           (2017) https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jun/11/the-weaker-sex-science-that-        shows-women-are-stronger-than-men