Recently I had a great discussion with a guy who studied film at the Latvian Academy of Culture for some time. At one point we arrived at the male gaze. It all began with me insisting on the fact that Western culture is a visual culture.

Working in film, he explained to me, someone who works in photography, the role of sound and other elements in art and daily life. The conversation was absolutely delicious and once we had reached the point where we both agreed that vision is dishearteningly overpowering, I changed the topic to females, and didn’t even criticize the superiority of vision... For example, there isn’t a Tinder for voices/ for the blind. They say that men love through their eyes. I mean, I understand that the cause for me having such a perspective is my involvement in all things visual. Visual perception.  Pretty / Ugly. Of course, I see beyond the outer shell, but I always remember that the visual comes first. The overpowering and the disheartening. The first impression. The first “yes” or “no”.

***

And it doesn’t matter how often your friends say that everything’s OK... I will put on an extra layer of concealer and hope that my eyeliner isn’t smudged.