John Berger believes that nakedness is to be oneself, but a nude is to be seen as naked to others and not be recognized as oneself. I’d add that in today’s society this form of objectification has moved over to a more modern medium such as videography/photography. John shares paintings of naked women, and points out how they are portrayed as submissive, often drawn with a charming gaze. Clearly the paintings were made to allure the men who observe it. A similar clear modern example would be pornography. A lot of today’s porn is made with the male viewer in mind, normalizing the treatment of women as objects for sexual gratification.

Having said all that, I do believe that women today have taken it upon themselves to reclaim the production of their own image. Unfortunately a lot of men without perspective, label women’s attempt of sexual liberation as self objectification. John discusses the competitive nature of beauty within European paintings. The apple being synonymous as the prize, the trophy. The judge always being depicted as a man. John’s logic if applied in today’s more modern media, could fit the same narrative. I believe women have more control over their image than they ever have. They control what they allow others to see. It’s not determined by anyone other than themselves. And that’s because women have also became content creators, and they can determine what us the viewers see. But the fast paced social media is the perfect breeding ground for competitiveness. Their success is often dependent on the viewer. Especially if you are a female model. Then your content success is often driven by what the male viewer wants to see. So even if women have reclaimed the production of their own image, the male role is so engrained in today society. The male gaze is still a deciding factor on the content produced.

Women’s hold on the production of their own personal content is fairly new and is step in the right direction. Sadly its reach is fairly limited. Its influence has yet to reform pornography. Which is the breeding ground for how a lot of men and women develop their impressions of sexuality in today’s society. John talks about how women are often drawn relaxed, posed submissively, sometimes even drawn with another man but never directing their gaze on them but us the viewer. John argues that since the painters draw these women as idealized as they are, their image is determined by the male gaze. One of the women later on in John’s segment summarizes it best, “Nearly all the paintings you have shown are what is called, idealized; and therefore they are to me, very unreal.”. Her quote perfectly encapsulates todays porn industry. Most pornography today is so unrealistic, only depicting men dominating women and the women enjoying it. I believe John would be inclined to agree with my observations on the matter.