Blog 9- Berger Response

     "You painted a naked woman because you enjoyed looking at her, you put a mirror in her hand and called it the painting Vanity, thus morally condemning the woman whose nakedness you had depicted for your own pleasure." (Burger, p 51, 1972)

            I had read this particular Berger piece once before for a prior class, and I distinctly remembered this quote as soon as I reopened the chapter. It struck me because it seemed to be a blatant indictment against a cultural idea that has permeated popular culture. Day in and day out women are made to be put on display; they are portrayed in television, in print, in tabloids, and even in well reputed news publications as objects to be on display. Female newscasters are only ever presented with hair perfectly done, makeup in place, and a perfectly coordinated outfit. The media industry portrays women not as entire human beings but rather as breasts, thighs, necks, legs; all of these pieces are bought and sold like any other commodity. Many times, in music videos and commercials, women are portrayed as a series of body shots that never show their face. Women become diminished to the parts that make up their whole for the pleasure of the consumer that is not interested in knowing anything else.
         Many times, even the most intelligent and supposedly well respected women are siphoned down into only the cut of a dress rather than a three dimensional, living, breathing individual. In 2007, Senator Hillary Clinton's black v-neck shirt precipitated a Washington Post article of over 700 words. When Michelle Obama toured Yellowstone National Park wearing a pair of shorts, the Washington Post style section again published an extensive article about the length of the shorts and the manner in which they inappropriately showcased the first lady's well toned legs.I found this to be absurd. Had a stylist or a male photographer dressed these women in such outfits, Clinton may have been applauded for adding some variety to her wardrobe. Obama would have been lauded for her well toned figure. Yet when these women chose to dress themselves this way, they became the objects of intense scrutiny.
      While Berger addresses the way in which the mirror is placed to call a painting vanity, I also think it is important to note that within the art he discusses, there is also the assumption that no woman should take pleasure in their own appearance, the way Obama or Clinton may have. It is only when the nakedness suits the male viewer that it is acceptable. That when a woman derives any pleasure or pride in her appearance she is vain, silly, selfish. Calling a woman vain for appreciating her own beauty, for even daring to look at that beauty usurps a woman of her power to claim her own body and to be proud of it. This can have long-lasting and damaging effects.

Berger, John. "Chapter 3." Ways of seeing: based on the BBC television series with John Berger. London: British Broadcasting Corp. ;1977. 45-64. Print.