The Magic of Sex Appeal

                     
             Nochlin and Bordo both wrote essays pertaining to a similar subject, but they are both extremely different as well, and have many different meanings. Bordo’s “Beauty (Re)discovers the Male Body” discusses the fact that males appear much more in ads and commercials to provide sex appeal than they ever did before, and that people are just starting to realize these sexually charged ads now that men are being shown. Nochlin’s “Renoir’s Great Bathers” studies art of the bathers and tries to neutralize the sexuality of the women shown in the paintings. Both writers believe that sexuality is extremely common in everything today such as commercials, ads and art. But even though these two speak to each other in that sense, they have many interesting differences. Bordo is annoyed at the fact that women have been exploited for so long throughout history and no one minded, but when men started becoming the sex symbols, people started complaining. Bordo basically says that sexually charging men and women are equally as unnecessary, and if it is not okay that men are sexually appealing in ads and commercials, then it is not for women to be either. Nochlin, on the other hand, believes that the sexuality of women is natural, but it is not so natural for men. She really cannot come up with a solution or argument in her essay. I believe she is trying to make the paintings of naked women a normal thing. When a normal person would see one of Renoir’s paintings of the bathers, they would likely not look at it for too long. For most people, seeing a naked person in anything is awkward. Nochlin thinks that it should not be this way. Why can’t nudeness be accepted and normal, it is in fact a natural thing.

            Both women wrote on a similar subject, but they have very different opinions on the matter. I think that out of the two, Nochlin and Bordo, Bordo speaks more powerfully to my generation. Bordo believes now that men are sexually charged in magazines and movies, people are finally starting to have a “problem” with sex being a dominant factor in the marketing and advertising business. It was normal that women were before, but when men start being exploited, then there is a real issue. I think that my generation would agree with this argument more than they would with Nochlin’s idea of neutralizing sex. People have a common reaction to these sorts of paintings and ads. It would take a lot of essays and ideas presented from Nochlin and people with her same viewpoint to make the public believe that nude bathers, for example, were a common sight. Bordo effectively addressed sex appeal and how it is found everywhere, and most people can notice and relate to that. Although I enjoyed both pieces by both authors, I really do believe that Bordo speaks more effectively to me and the generation that I am living in today.