I Want my Look to Change Reality ( Post # 2)

There is a special power in gazing. Growing up as a teenager I was afraid to look straight into people’s eyes and I did not like it when someone was staring at me, trying to invade my privacy. Before going out I would carefully consider what clothes to wear and how to style my hair. As Berger suggests woman’s presence is manifest in her gestures, voice, opinions, expressions, clothes, chosen surroundings and taste. I did not want people to notice my presence; I was trying to avoid the gaze.
Now, as a grownup I see the word differently. I am not disturbed when people look at me anymore, however I always look back at them. Sometimes a certain look might express more than words .I believe that once you are comfortable with yourself you are not intimidated when people look at you.
The male gaze has become a pervasive form of vision in popular culture. Women are shown in a way that appears pleasant for men. Berger writes: “Men look at women. Women watch themselves being looked at.” Some might argue that this is not always the case. I believe that there are many women who are not afraid to look back at men, women who do not find pleasure in the male’s gaze. These women make a statement; they do not let men to create their image. They are bold and independent and this is expressed through their attitude.
Berger writes that to be a woman has been to be born, within an allotted and confined space, into the keeping of men. This is the main reason that the male gaze has become a pervasive form of vision in popular culture. But for how long this will continue? Women are getting more independent, they do not want men to create their image anymore. We are embracing the power of the gaze. When men look at us, we look back at them.
Bell Hooks writes: “…all attempts to repress our/black people’s right to gaze had produced in us an overwhelming longing to look, a rebellious desire, an oppositional gaze. In my opinion this refers to all women regardless their color. Over the years we-women gave birth to this “oppositional gaze”. We became tired of men looking at us, trying to construct our image. We become tired of looking at commercials that illustrate us as sexual image, as women who do not have anything to say. Time for change has come. And as Hooks states: “Not only will I stare. I want my look to change reality.”