The male gaze can be used to describe how men portray women as objects through the work of art. It can also be said that the way the women are portrayed in a man's artwork is how he views a woman to be. Women being showed as objects mean that men are allowed to treat women however they want. In the article Ways of Seeing", it states that "the woman is blamed and is punished by being made subservient to the man"(Berger 48). This quote basically states that a woman is trained to obey the orders given to her a man. The women were fine with this because they were raised to please men and portray themselves to be "perfect". The way women were seen in a man's eyes was the way she was treated. John Berger states in his article that, "part of a women's self which is the surveyor treats the part which is the surveyed so as to demonstrate to others how her whole self would like to be treated" (Berger 46). This part explains that a man can judge a woman at any time and based off of that he will treat her the way she should be treated. Each woman is treated differently based on their personality. Women were okay this because their main goal was to satisfy men. This is very persuasive in art and in popular culture. The male gaze has remained a trend many centries. However, today, it is shown in different forms. Every today, women show themselves to be perfect through every single media platform. On Instagram, before a woman posts a picture they might add filters o or photoshop themselves so that they can get loads of likes. They turn their pictures to be eye candy, The more people see the picture, it better it is for the woman. Not only do women do so but so do many brands. Many brands today refuse to sign models that are considered to be plus size. Brands such as Victoria Secret do not sign plus-size models.
This is a piece by Tintoretto named Susannah and The Elders. It is an art piece where Susannah is looking at herself in the mirror. A lot can be said about this piece. However, the main thought that pops in your mind is that she is looking at herself judging herself just how the men do when they see her.Patriarchy:
Webster's dictionary defines patriarchy as, "social organization marked by the supremacy of the father of the clan or family, the legal dependence of wives and children, and the reckoning of descent and inheritance in the male line". In a simpler statement, patriarchy is when men have a majority of the power. They are the ones that mostly control everything. From a young age, parents teach their children that the boys are stronger than girls. Girls are meant to weak and that is how the parents will raise their daughter. In Bell Hooks Understanding Patriarchy, she states, "as their daughter, I was taught that it was my role to serve, to be weak, to be free from the burden of thinking, to caretake and nurture others. My brother was taught that it was his role to be served; to provide; to be strong; to think, strategize, and plan; and to refuse to caretake or nurture others" (Hooks 18). Parents believed that this was the "natural" way to raise their kids. There was a perfect picture painted for the parents on how their sons and daughters are supposed to behave and act. Since kids are raised like this, boys are meant to take control of their family when they grow up and girls are supposed to be the ones to take care of them and follow the orders given by their husband. Bell Hooks gives examples of this in her Understanding Patriarchy. One example that was stated was, "when I responded with rage at being denied a toy, I was taught as a girl in a patriarchal household that rage was an appropriate feminine feeling, that it should be not only not be expressed bu be eradicated" (Hooks 19). This is a prime example of how girls were stopped if they behaved a way that wasn't appropriate. They didn't have the authority to be themselves. In a relationship between a man and a woman, the man is meant to be stronger than the women.
Not only is there a male gaze, but there is also a female gaze. An article named, "How Do We Define the Female Gaze in 2018?", states female gaze to be, "emotional and intimate. It sees people as people. It seeks to empathize rather than to objectify". This is significantly different from the male gaze. The male gaze is how men see women as objects. Female gaze, on the other hand, lets people be themselves. It empowers women to be the way they are. They don't have to look a certain way to impress someone else. However, even though time has evolved, there are still things that remain the same. In some family, girls are still embedded with the regulations that are statements that are listed above. Examples include, girls not being able to stay out late, not talking back to a man, etc. Even though these things still remain the same, there are families that don't believe in such things. They treat their son and daughter in the same way and they don't believe in differentiating between the genders. Over time, females are making a difference and bringing a change.
This is a piece by Nimisha Bhanot named Not Your Mom's Bahu, meaning not your mom's daugther-in-law. It goes against what a bride should be like in the Indian culture. That is what makes it interesting because it makes the point that brides should be the way they are and they don't have to be the "perfect bride".
Works Cited:
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/patriarchy
https://www.vulture.com/2018/08/how-do-we-define-the-female-gaze-in-2018.html
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