Feminism

In John Bergers' 'Ways Of Seeing', he comments on patriarchy, religion and european paintings- he refers to power relations in which women's interests are subordinate to the interests of men.  

'You painted a naked woman because you enjoyed looking at her, you put a mirror in her hand and you called the painting Vanity, thus morally condemning the woman whose nakedness you had depicted for your own pleasure.
The real function of the mirror was otherwise. It was to make the woman connive in treating herself as, first and foremost, a sight.'


Andrea Dworkin is a right wing feminists who wrote a very powerful book 'Pornography, men possessing women.'  The book has interviews with various women who have experienced some form of abuse wether whilst in relationships or simply caught unawares by those around them.  Dworkin regards pornography as a form of rape and after reading some of the examples from her book you cant help but feel that way too.  Just as John Bergers said, woman are regarded as less important than men, looked at as objects of desire wether this be in art, film, photography or real life.