According to the book entitled Ways of Seeing written by John Berger, the power of an image is extraordinary given that it can speak a thousand words. This has also been enhanced by the rapidly evolving technology that elicits more subconscious views about an image by anyone who sees them online or in real life. Some professional writers like Susan Bordo have emphasized that pictures of men often receive a wide range of negative tones or opinions due to the physiological effects that are fashionable to society or any other individual who approves or disapproves the beauty in a portrait of two men or women (Berger 38). This essay offers my opinion concerning the pictures of the Doloce and Gabbana, the gay Italian designers, as well as that of …show more content…
This has created a very optimistic revolutionary transformation in the mindsets of nearly everyone in the society, although I do not support same sex marriages or relationships. Although it’s normal for influential faces or celebs to bring a lot of change in the attitudes and opinions of common folks in the society, these pictures do not break the clichéd norms engrossed in my culture. Unfortunately, these celebrities have gained more respect since they’ve opened up the doors for more homosexuals, particularly gay couples to come out of their closets and be downright vocal about their sexualities (Johnson par. …show more content…
“Gabbana said the worst moment of his life was splitting up with Dolce after more than twenty years together; however the two continue to live in the same Milan apartment block but on separate floors,” ("Gay Designer Gabbana Is against Same Sex Parents" par. 12). Perhaps this explains why they still hold each other’s hands in public shown in the first picture taken in 2013. In general, I do not support gay relationships or gay marriages. However, I am attracted by the fashionable nature of their dress
To elaborate, Scott argues that as a picture interpreter, we must make a distinction between the “ideal and the real,” to understand the true meaning of an image. She argues how the Gibson Girl and the American Girl were two idealised visions of modern beauty and femininity which made women to try to be like them. These two girls became markers of their decade, ...
“fluidity of identity,” as Robertson and McDaniel (2009, p.84) call it, stands out as the image’s foremost interest, particularly insofar as a close observation of the subject does not dispel doubt that he is a she, or she a he—nor how those terms have come to be defined. The formal choices responsible for creating that ambiguity are, first, the subject’s pose, which is historically associated with “Western male artists’ conventions of depicting the female” (Robertson & McDaniel 2009, p.84). Second, and intensely,
What is beauty? Seemingly a continually evolving and infinitely elusive ideal - mankind has been obsessed with the concept of beauty throughout the ages. Portraiture, as an essential channel of visual communication, has traditionally been the medium through which definitions of beauty are graphically expressed. Particularly in the Renaissance where portraiture often served celebratory or commemorative purposes, it was crucial that portraits were accepted as aesthetically pleasing reflections of the social ideals of the time. Hence by comparing and contrasting a range of different portraits of depicting men and women of the Renaissance such as Titian’s La Bella, Bronzino’s Eleonora de Medici, Sofonisba Anguissola’s Self Portrait, Vasari’s Alessandro de Medici, Bronzino’s Cosimo de Medici as Orpheus and Pedro Berruguete’s Portrait of Federico da Mentelfeltro, viewers can gain an understanding of the conceptual differences in definitions of masculine and feminine beauty during this period.
In modern day society images play a fundamental role in how people communicate with one another. Images are mass-produced and distributed for all of society to enjoy. Do these images impact society in a positive way? In Christine Rosen’s article “The Image Culture” she argues that images impact society in a negative way. Rosen argues that the mass production of images unconsciously impacts society; people view these images without knowing the negative impacts they have. Kay Hymowitz the author of “Scenes from the Exhibitionists” shares a supporting argument; she discusses how women are exposed far too often because of these mass-produced
As viewers, we often don’t consider the three-dimensionality of objects when evaluating their authenticity. In terms of paintings, for instance, a public portrait is seen as more authentic from the painter’s point of view, while self-portraits are seen as authentic images of the subject and the painter. Considering one more authentic than the other seems ludicrous as they each illustrate divergent types of authenticity. However, as John Berger argues in Ways of Seeing, self-portraits are less stiff and rigid, and more personal, “They are there in all their particularity and we can study them, but it is impossible to imagine them considering us in a similar way” (98). One painting in particular, Autorretrato con Pelo Corto by Frida Kahlo, manages to capture what a public portrait of Kahlo would not; it, among many things, clues in her divorce, sexual identity and orientation, and health issues.
In the first image of Mapplethorpe, a defined-square jawline, lit cigarette, leather jacket, furrowed brow, and coiffed hair all point in the direction of male. The brow and cigarette can symbolize toughness, which is essential to the stereotypical masculinity in society. In the second image, a longer hairstyle, softer facial expression, presence of makeup including longer eyelashes, and an overall brighter image from the lack of a shirt causes the viewer to relate the picture to the female gender. Along with the makeup, a sense of vulnerability from the lack of a shirt furthers the idea that femininity equals
Going almost viral within gay community, Laaksonen’s bold imagery has changed the way young homosexual men would see themselves. They now wanted to be strong and muscular, to be able to embrace their masculinity and be proud of it. Durk Dehner, manager of the Tom of Finland Foundation in Los Angeles, who was Laaksonen’s partner and number one fan, says about the influence of Laaksosnen’s art on gay men, “He was inspired by an iconography usually exclusive to heterosexual men to provide young homosexuals with a positive image, showing them they were perfect the way they were. He drew men in nature, under the shining sun. It was a way of telling boys that even if society didn't like them, Mother Nature was on their side, as she had created them”[*]. The image of a bold, self-confident man dressed in leather and radiating content, could not have been more attractive. Soon both gay and heterosexual men were storming gyms in order to pursue their new empowering
Many advertisement have found the key part into selling a product is through "sex" because they know sex will sell. Susan Bordo, a philosopher, write an essay piece on how the male bodies are presented as objects of pleasure and exchange of commerce. Usually, it would be women who are presented as objects of pleasure, but in this particular essay the script is flipped. Susan Bordo focus on how women react to men in the media, how men was seen in sexy advertisements and how homosexuality had an influence on it. These advertisement images are brought to life by brand names like Calvin Klein, Gucci, and Versace. In Susan Bordo's "Beauty (re)discovers the male body" she uses rhetorical strategies persuasively to argue that the male bodies are being exposed and objectified in a similar way to the female body. Susan Bordo, a philosopher, the Otis A. Singletary Chair of Humanities at the University of Kentucky. Bordo has background training in the study of culture, including popular culture and its representation of the body. Bordo intended audience was a broad group of people. Her audience would consist of people of any gender who are aware of advertisement selling products through sex. No, Bordo does not show proper audience awareness. The readers are prone to use context clues and the information to paint a clear picture of who is Bordo audience. As recently mention, Bordo's purpose for writing is present her argument about the exposure and objectification of the male body as opposed to the female body in the media. In Bordo essay, she introduces her ethos through personal stories, her own opinion, and data polls. Bordo credibility is well equipped throughout her essay, and writing on subject she shows passion towards. Bordo acknowled...
Eroticizing men occurs throughthe visual display of aadults when the female remains fully clothed and the man accompanies her fully naked, it sees a contradiction of gender sterotypes, in which the gaze is switched from male to female. However, the question must be asked, how much are we empowring ourselves by oppressing the other? Women are fighting the cause by inflicting the situation on men, therefore objectification occurs not only in women but also in men. As a result of this it is liekly that future generations of boy and girls alike will continue to place emphasis on sexuality as opposed to personal attributes. Soceity will also continue to percieve both sexes based on their attractiveness and sexual assets, in which does not promote the end to objectification in women but rather seems to have spread the mentality of sexual degrading to btoh men and women.
“Any portrait will have conformed to ideals that were current at the time it was produced and that contributed to, or controlled how the image would be read by its audience. In part because of these shared ideals, contemporaneous portraits give an impression of sameness when seen alongside each other, and workshops might well have maintained a stock of sculpture or paintings that artists could adjust for salient physical features and costume details as required.” (Riggs, Christina).
population, especially youth and teenage audiences, have come to accept these types of relationships. There are numerous gay people in TV shows, such as Cameron and Mitchell Pritchett from the comedy show Modern Family and Will Truman from the most successful sitcom promoting a lead gay character, Will & Grace. TV shows past and present have had a huge influence in how society, and in many cases the youth of society, perceive homosexuality. Children/teenage minds are related to sponges; they see something and soak in all they see. The rise of gay roles in movies and TV has helped make them more welcome in society. We welcome them into our homes weeknights and go spend money on their movies, yet they still don 't deserve to be married. True, many Christian families will see this and change the channel, but when children and teenagers watch celebrities on these television shows, they begin to idolize them and see them as regulars, despite their sexual preference. If our government allows same sex marriages, it makes the youth see that these people are just like them and are in no way harm to their lives. Much of the gay community feels they aren’t bothering others by getting married to each other. Why get offended? Is it your life? Not a single gay marriage does harm to
As the years have passed, homosexuality has become a very controversial topic. The fact that day by day they fight for equality just to be happy, I think it is an injustice that many people refuse to give them the rights they deserve.
The 1990s saw a surge of gay characters in both television and movies. From Ellen Degeneres and her character Ellen Morgan coming out under much scrutiny on the TV show ‘Ellen,’ to Julia Roberts and Rupert Everett comedically playing off each other in the motion picture ‘My Best Friend’s Wedding.’ Sure, gays and lesbians have been around forever, especially in Hollywood. But never has there been a time to be more out. With the popularity of shows like Will and Grace, which feature leading gay characters, as well as Dawson’s Creek
In John Berger’s Ways of Seeing, Berger describes the presence of woman as an expression of their attitude towards themselves and how she will let others view/treat her. Berger simplifies this idea by saying “men act, women appear.” To elaborate on “men act, women appear.” Berger goes onto say, “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.” Berger provides a very interesting example of this idea by looking back upon 18th century art; specifically oil paintings. In Berger’s words, “women in painting are there to feed an appetite, not to have any of their own.” He also discusses that the nude woman in the paintings are made to appeal to heterosexual men. And on top of this the painter is never painted; however, we say its safe to say, it was a man behind the brush. In that sense it is safe
16.)Utt, Jamie. "Navigating The Difference Between The Appreciation of Beauty and Sexual Objectification." Everyday Feminism 18 Apr. 2013: n. pag. Web. 19 Apr. 2014. .