The male gaze is an essential part of our current society. It shapes advertisements, film, and the perception of women in the eyes of other women, as well as men. However, this gaze negatively contributes to society by lessening the self worth of a woman to suit the objectification done unto her by men. By allowing herself to be objectified, her worth is determined by those surrounding her. In art history, nude women have been used to pleasure the beholder by having them elongate their torsos as well as giving them unrealistic proportions to arouse the viewer. The male gaze also forces a woman to continuously be conscious of how she is perceived. As written by John Berger in the Male Gaze, “Whilst she is walking across a room or whilst she is weeping at the death of her father, she can scarcely avoid envisaging herself walking or weeping,” (Berger, 46) women are followed by their images regardless of whether they are expressing a deep human emotion such as grief or simply walking outside. These singular actions supposedly indicate how she wishes to be treated as well as the persona she wishes to put forth. This forces women to hide behind masks they put on for the world. They must also shape themselves to fit societies ideals for the "perfect woman". Through doing so, they must be as feminine as possible.
Hairlessness is usually linked to femininity, however, it is also associated with the stripping of sexual power. Touching upon hair, Berger writes, “Hair is associated with sexual power, with passion. The women’s sexual passion needs to be minimized so that the spectator may feel that he has the monopoly of such passion,” (Berger, 55) hair growth is typically a sign of sexual maturity, to remove this hair is to strip a woman of her sexual power leaving her with the vulnerability of an adolescent. However, if hair removal is linked to femininity, would the vulnerability inflicted also be considered “feminine”. Bell Hooks also touches upon these feminine emotions in her writing, Understanding Patriarchy, by stating, "I was taught that it was not proper for a female to be violent, that it was "unnatural." My brother was taught that his value would be determined by his will to do violence." (Hooks, 18-19) however, rage is a universally felt emotion that people, regardless of gender, should be able to express healthily. This rage thrusted unto men from a young age forces them to exercise toxic masculinity as a normal life occurrence. It also forces men into a patriarchal stereotype in which they are unable to healthily express sensitivity and are exclusively able flaunt their rage.
Who truly defines what is feminine? Would it be the femme in question or society attempting to place her into a box in order to stereotype her? Women are expected to fit into certain constructs which limit them in their emotional expressions as well as in their personal goals. The concept of patriarchy shapes much of how the world perceives the differences between men and women. Patriarchy allows men the power to rule over women however, it also causes emotional trauma to both men and women. It denies men the ability to compassionately express themselves and it also denies women the right to express their anger healthily. Patriarchy also shames boys which causes a deep set trauma which may later on manifest itself into a form of toxic masculinity to compensate for their "femininity". Hooks writes, " To indoctrinate boys into the rules of patriarchy, we force them to feel pain and deny their feelings." (Hooks, 22) raising boys within a gender neutral household does not completely protect them from "psychological patriarchy" which may find its way to them at school or in the media.
Sofia Vergara, a prominent Latina figure
being sexually harassed on television after repeatedly
telling Gordon Ramsay not to touch her.
In Latin American cultures, machismo is an ideal that is incredibly prominent. Machismo praises hypermasculinity as well as the over sexualization of females. This culture combines male gaze and patriarchal theories. As someone coming from this culture and background, I was exposed to this by experiencing the overt masculinity many Latin males feel they must exude. My father, for example, constantly expects to have dinner already prepared by the time he comes home from work as well as the house cleaned and the laundry done. If these tasks are not completed by that time, he gets upset. My mother states that it was the same way in her household as a child, as well as my fathers. The sexualization of Latina females has become a norm in Hollywood. As stated by Rebecca Garcilazo in the Medium, "Latinas are used by popular media to"spice things up" and create an atmosphere that is muy caliente on film." the sexualization of Latina's in the media plays into the male gaze as well as the white institutionalized patriarchy by having these roles be the only ones available for women of color.
Hooks, Bell. Understanding Patriarchy. Louisville Anarchist Federation Federation, 2010.
Berger, John. Ways of Seeing. London: British Broadcasting Corporation and Penguin Books. 1972.
https://medium.com/applied-intersectionality/the-issue-of-over-sexualization-of-latinas-in-hollywood-and-what-can-be-done-to-fix-it-b68729a495c1
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