John Berger critically unearths the depiction of women in European art in his work "Ways of Seeing." He begins his exploration with the biblical character Eve from the Garden of Eden narrative. Berger contends that the realization of nakedness in the tale of Adam and Eve emanated from their altered perception of each other post consumption of the forbidden fruit. This led to the marginalization of women in relation to men.
Renaissance art accentuates the moment of initial shame when Adam and Eve shield themselves with fig leaves. Berger, however, highlights the overlooked fact that their shame is witnessed by an unseen observer, not each other. In the subsequent secular art, the element of Eve's embarrassment is sustained, with the woman being conscious of the observer's gaze. Berger succinctly puts forth, she is not naked for herself but is naked as perceived by the observer.
Berger further underscores the duplicity of using the mirror as a symbol of women's vanity. We first paint a woman in her nudity for our visual delight, and then we reproach her for indulging in her own beauty by assigning a mirror to her hand.
Moreover, in the depiction of Greek mythology, Paris, a young man, is tasked to judge the beauty of goddesses, reducing their appearance to a competition (the precursor to beauty pageants). Emerging victorious in the contest equates to succumbing to the viewer's gaze. Berger points out that such an attitude towards female nudity is not prevalent in other cultures.
In essence, Berger's "ways of seeing" are essentially "ways of subjecting." The distinct ways of seeing/subjecting, demarcating a man's perspective from a woman's, have deep roots in Western culture. They contribute, at least partly, to the persistent gender disparities that exist even in the era advocating feminism. This problem transcends the sphere of mere formal equal rights.
