The male gaze and patriarchy

The male gaze is a term first used by Laura Mulvey in her essay “ Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema.” According to Mulvey “The determining male gaze projects its phantasy on to the female figure which is styled accordingly. In their traditional exhibitionist role women are simultaneously looked at and displayed, with their appearance coded for strong visual and erotic impact so that they can be said to connote to-be-looked-at-ness.” The male gaze is the man’s perception of the object, and that object is a woman. According to the male gaze theory, the male gaze is when the viewers are in perception of a man, and therefore the film is made to please the male spectators. Mulvey further explains that in film some scenes focuses on a woman’s legs, hips, and curves of her body, these scenes are not necessarily for the male pleasure. However if these scenes are highlighted with explicit conventions then it is considered for the male gaze. The male gaze denies women the right to their own identity; instead the woman is looked upon as an object, an object that is used to satisfy the viewer’s pleasure. (See male gaze picture)

According to John Berger a man exudes power, and how he portray himself publicly that is what society acknowledge him as, Berger also state that a man may also fabricate his appearance to trick the observer in believing that he is someone that he is not, and this is acceptable.  In contrast a woman appearance is only for the pleasure of the male onlooker, a woman must upkeep her appearance in order to satisfy the male spectator. Berger states “ She has to survey everything she is and everything she does because how she appears to others, and ultimately how she appears to men, is of crucial importance for what is normally thought of as the success of her life.” (Ways of seeing 46) Women are pressured in to constantly appraising themselves through the “eyes” of a man, because the moment she steps outside she would be scrutinized by ever pair of eyes, both male and female, however, all gaze would be in the perspective of the male gaze. Berger also asserts the idea of nude and naked being two completely different things. Berger says “ To be naked is to be oneself, to be nude is to be seen naked by others and yet not recognized for oneself.” (Ways of seeing 54) When someone is naked, they are aware of their nakedness, there is intimacy and privacy with being naked, in contrast when someone is nude, they are posing, they are an object, it is not themselves that they are portraying but an image of sexuality and promiscuity to please and satisfy the viewer. The male gaze is pervasive in art and pop culture because even in the modernized world that we live in today women are still seen as objects to some. While women are recognized as equals and are allowed to do jobs that men do and attend parties that men do, they are still pressured into maintaining an image that are pleasurable to look at. Women are still used in advertisements and movies as sex objects, the difference today is that women know that they are seen as sex objects and they are ok with it, they have the choice of being who they want to be.

Patriarchy is a system in which men possess the power and women are weak and powerless. There are specific behaviors assigned to different genders, society expects that you act accordingly with the behavior assigned to your gender group. Bell hooks states “Patriarchal gender roles are assigned to us as children and we are given continual guidance about the way we can best fulfill these roles.”(Understanding patriarchy, 18) Behaviors are taught to us from childhood and we are constantly being taught of how we should act. If you were to act out of societal norms your parents would discipline you and train you on the “proper” way to act depending on your gender. According to society if you are a boy child you are expected to like sports and play with trucks, cars and guns, girls are expected to play with dolls, make up, and play house and dress up.  Bell hooks states “Patriarchy is a political-social system that insists that males are inherently dominating, superior to everything and everyone deemed week, especially females,” (Understanding patriarchy, 18) Males are trained to be strong and macho, they are taught to lead and be in charge, it is ingrained in the mind of a boy child that he is more “mighty” than females, likewise girls are taught that they are delicate and precious. Parents are not consciously aware that they promote patriarchy by limiting their children’s conduct depending on their gender. Children growing up with their siblings of different gender are often baffled because of the different ways that they were allowed to act, they are to young to understand the pressure that society places on individuals forcing them to behave the way that they should. Bell hooks shared a personal experience of how she and her brother felt confused, however she knew the way in which she was supposed to behave “ Although we were often confused, we knew one fact for certain: we could not be and act the way we wanted to, doing what we felt like.” (Understanding Patriarchy, 19) Before I read this article, I too never thought about patriarchy, it is interesting that the rules are embedded within our minds of the right and wrong way to act depending on your gender. A simple example of gender based behavior is, two persons standing in public, one male and one female they both have a hand on their crotch to be “cool” the public eye may rarely notice the cool guy standing there, however the girl would be ridiculed for her odious behavior. Art depicts these practices clearly; the difference between male and female is evident in all forms of art, paintings, photos and movies. Majority of art show men as macho and powerful and portray women as delicate and wanton.

Patriarchy: Women are taught, how and when
they should talk.

Patriarchy: As bell hooks state, patriarchal gender
roles are assigned to us as children.

The Male Gaze

Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema:

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CCUQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.asu.edu%2Fcourses%2Ffms504%2Ftotal-readings%2Fmulvey-visualpleasure.pdf&ei=Vr7aVMDiO5K0sASJ84CABQ&usg=AFQjCNGdRnsLkVgyBxjOJL__gDcgfa_qBw&sig2=fkOPHaDv6OO53pETeu1_Ug&bvm=bv.85761416,d.cWc

Works Cited

Berger, J. (1973). Ways of Seeing (pp. 45-64). London: British Broadcasting Corporation.

Hooks, B. (2004). Understanding Patriarchy. In The Will to Change: Men, Masculinity, and Love (pp.17-33). New York: Atria Books.