Last week I linked to the first episode of the 1972 BBC documentary, Ways of Seeing (thanks again to Christina W.). The second episode, partially embedded below offers an art historian’s perspective on the objectification of women in European art and advertising, starting with paintings of nude women. “To be naked,” he argues, “is to be oneself. To be nude is to be seen naked by others and yet not recognized for oneself. A nude has to be seen as an object in order to be a nude… they are there to feed an appetite, not to have any of their own.”
And there’s a very provocative statement about hair and hairlessness (down there) in the midst.
Parts One and Two of Four:
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Lisa Wade is a professor of sociology at Occidental College. You can follow her on Twitter and Facebook.
