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In reply to the discussion: INDIAN AD TURNS THE MALE GAZE BACK ON ITSELF AND IT'S AWESOME [View all]davidthegnome
(2,983 posts)I never deliberately stare at anyone. I certainly wouldn't want to make someone feel like they are on display - as I hate feeling that way myself.
Yes. We are all people - but people can be beautiful, and their beauty can indeed inspire all kinds of art, from painting to poetry. This is not to imply that anyone is an object on display, merely to suggest that open admiration can be given with both respect and consideration.
I have always been a somewhat socially awkward person. I can talk to people, but it is difficult for me to talk about my feelings out loud, perhaps this is the fear that anything I say will be mis-interpreted. I find that, personally, I am much better at expressing my feelings or thoughts through writing. It takes me a long time to be able to open up to someone, to trust them enough to speak out loud about how I feel. This is a form of art, but it isn't to suggest that women are paintings on a wall, porn, or prey.
It is never my intent to offend or objectify. If I have done so, or do so unwittingly, and someone makes it clear to me, then I will always offer a sincere apology and behave differently. Yet I am human, some times I will stare without thinking about it - as in the case I mentioned above. If no one ever looked at each other, even, on occasion, stared, then it is quite possible that we would all be running into walls and grunting all day. Which, come to think of it, does remind me somewhat of high school.