Week 2 assignment

 

Edouard Manet, Olympia

"Just busy" (inspired by Edouard Manet, Olympia)

John Berger:

“By contrast, a woman's presence expresses her

own attitude to herself, and defines what can and cannot be

done to her. Her presence is manifest in her gestures, voice,

opinions, expressions, clothes, chosen surroundings, taste -

indeed there is nothing she can do which does not contribute

to her presence.”

•  In a sense, this quote explains that a woman’s existence depends on what others say or what others perceive of her. A Woman is essentially molded by others and not what she individually thinks or opinionates. The woman becomes in a sense invisible.

“And so she comes to consider the surveyor and the

surveyed within her as the two constituent yet always distinct

elements of her identity as a woman.

She has to survey everything she is and everything

she does because how she appears to others, and ultimately

how she appears to men, is of crucial importance for what is

normally thought of as the success of her life.”

•  “ This is disappointing, to say the least, it’s disappointing to manipulate a woman into being a marionette of what others say or force her to do. It must be incredibly stressful to balance that lifestyle.

 bell hooks, Understanding Patriarchy, and The Oppositional Gaze

“Yet Dad, looking at our play from a patriarchal perspective, was disturbed by what he saw. His daughter, aggressive and competitive, was a better player than his son. His son was passive; the boy did not seem to care who won and was willing to give over marbles on demand. Dad decided that this play had to end, and that both my brother and I needed that this play had to end”

• This reminded me of my trip to Colombia, most of my cousins are male and at times when I wanted to join them in any activity (mostly soccer, fishing, or riding a motorcycle), my uncles would be the ones to “remind” me that I'm a female among my cousins and that I should take more “feminine activities” (whatever that means). I would mostly ignore them and do it anyways followed by multiple grunts of disapproval from my uncles. Honestly looking back at that experience, I found it hilarious how much my family tried to limit me based on gender.

“Until we can collectively acknowledge the damage patriarchy causes and the suffering it creates, we cannot address male pain.”

• I would have never thought that patriarchy would equally affect men as well. After reading the article, It makes sense that whatever happens to one person happens to another.