Nikki Ford
Male gaze/ patriarchy
The Male Gaze can be
characterized as the propensity for the media and various forms of art to
automatically assume the perspective of a heterosexual male, only portraying
women in a sexualized manner. In "Ways of Seeing" John Berger goes in
depth to describe the effects the Male Gaze has had on society. The portrayal
of women in this manner promotes an aggressive and dominant attitude in men
towards women and teaches them that women are for sex and nothing more. They
begin to look at every woman with eyes that survey them and define their worth
through their appearance. After that, they become nothing more. Berger states
that "Men act and women appear. Men look at women. Women watch themselves
being looked at" (47) to describe this exact notion. In one form of older
European art, the painter, who was a male, would paint women who was posed
naked. Berger is able to expose the flawed nature of content like this and is
able to explore how the content is a key contributor into the formation of the
male gaze. He states that "In the
average European oil painting of the nude the principal protagonist is never
painted. He is the spectator in front of the picture and he is presumed to be a
man. Everything is addressed to him. Everything must appear to be the result of
his being there" (54). Clearly, signifying that females are objects of sex
to men and that they must assume an attractive and sexually appealing position
for them, essentially seeking their approval. This idea imitated in the art interprets
itself into society by applying itself into the mind of men and women who are
observing it and effecting their psychology. Men start to think of themselves
as the surveyors and women begin to see themselves as the object. It is
important to note that men are also the creators of this form of content and
therefore are enforcing an agenda in which they can oppress women and maintain
dominance by making women believe that they must constantly seek approval from
men. One can definitely see how male gaze is pervasive, due to how males
portray women, and look at women in a sexual way. There is a lot of male gaze
on social media.
Many
men can agree that popular conversation topics amongst men include objectifying
and sexualizing women and have experienced, whether doing it themselves or
seeing men do it, male gazing. It is okay to recognize the faults in their past
and admit to their mistakes, but after being enlightened about patriarchy and
male gaze we must work consistently to eliminate it from our everyday lives. It
is difficult for many men to "care" about this, due to the fact that
it does not affect them and they believe that it is "made up" in an
effort to defend their insecurities and own personal guilt of patriarchy.
Work cited
Berger, John. Ways of Seeing. Chapter 2 & 3. Penguin. 2008. Print.
Feb. 2, 2019.
Hooks, Bell. "Understanding
Patriarchy." The Will to Change. Atria Books: 2004.
https://www.google.com/search?safe=active&biw=1440&bih=772&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=z4FYXN3lK-bn_Qb1zJFI&q=patriarchy+male&oq=patriarchy+male&gs_l=img.3..0i8i30l2j0i24l2.22143.23877..24488...0.0..0.183.701.1j4......1....1..gws-wiz-img.......0j0i67.aEZ-fIo6wSw#imgrc=LB8ELcWuyT4loM:
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