Should the human body in art and advertisement be used for pleasure and to sell products?  Susan Bordo and Linda Nochlin address these questions in their essays. Bordo talks about how the male body is used in advertisements in her writing, The Male Body: A New Look at Men in Public and Private. She talked about how the advertisements over her lifetime have gotten more sexually charged and bold. Nochlin talks about how women’s bodies were used in paintings in her work, Renoir’s Great Bathers: Bathing as Practice, Bathing as Representation. Nochlin discussed how woman bodies were portrayed in such a sexual manner for the male eyes to see.

            I think that it is interesting that Bordo writes about the male body. I would think that a woman would write about how a woman’s body is exploited in society. She points out the techniques that the advertisements use like the position of the bodies and the clothing. Nochlin writes about how the artist Auguste Renoir’s painting are of naked women. The women that he painted were plump and full figured. She also discussed that in the paintings there are no males. The two writers have interesting point of views.

             

            I believe that Bordo speaks most powerfully to me even her writing is older than Nochlin. I can relate more to Bordo because she puts her intense graphic thoughts. Bordo made me laugh throughout the reading of her essay. Since Bordo has images of advertisements and picture makes her essay more interesting to me. Bordo makes the most sense where writing is right to the point and blunt. Nochlin writing was hard to read and understand because there were a lot of contradictions in her writing. The way Nochlin wrote did not make me interested her topic. Bordo writing is more relevant to my life and her work is more useful.

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Auguste Renoir’s Painting