The Male Gaze

Women's position in society is determined by the "male gaze" for centuries to come. The male gaze was presented by Laura Mulvey in 1975. Mulvey was a theorist and a feminist who stated that women are used for visual pleasure. The male gaze is present from the moment a female is born. The male gaze shows that women are objectified as a person and the inequality of gender relations. Women throughout history had no say anything. They were only given permission to do anything from their father or their husbands. They were suppressed at home where they were kept illiterate and seen as property. Like Mulvey, Berger simplifies this statement by saying, "men act and women appear. Men look at women. Women watch themselves being looked at" (Berger, 47). From the beginning, women were confined into the thinking of men.

Women exhibited in artwork, were often painted as submissive. These pieces of artwork were usually painted by a male which made the women in the artwork to be seen as attractive. Women were painted nude because they were usually faced by the viewer, who was male. Not only were women an object to be seen, but their paintings were also bought and sold.

While the male gaze was blatantly featured throughout history, the concept of the male gaze still holds true today. In today’s society, the male gaze is present because women are still affected. They are self-conscious of what they wear and how they present themselves on social media. Today’s generation is known as the selfie generation where women are constantly posting pictures of themselves on social media such as Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat and more social media that will come in the future.

Women, young and old, use devices to present themselves as young and attractive on the Internet. Special filters and edits allow women to make themselves more favorable to the male gaze. Women who portray themselves featuring their height, weight and other appealing facets of their body do this to make the “perfect combination” to appeal to the zombie-like stares from males.

Katy Perry Album Cover

Dolce & Gabbana Advertisement

Male Gaze Theory: Megan Fox

In the video above, the males gaze is towards the female’s waist. There the male gaze is clearly evident.

Bell Hooks, has a strong opinion against patriarchy. She is a feminist and social activist which writes that, “patriarchy is a political-social system that insists that males are inherently dominating, superior to everything and everyone deemed weak, especially females, and endowed with the right to dominate and rule over the weak and to maintain that dominance through various forms of psychological terrorism and violence” (Hooks 18). Patriarchy is where a household is male dominated because the male holds all the power. Women are often exploited and put at a disadvantage because they have no choice but to follow the male figure. If women go against the male of the household, they are usually shunned from their family. This is why women are always presented as weak and oppressed.

Male violence is accepted in the patriarchy as a way to keep women and children in check. Fathers and husbands use mental and physical violence to make sure women do not step out of line. In history, it was believed to be acceptable by men and didn’t think that gender roles are being used.

Young women were taught that expressing their feelings in rage was unacceptable because they were showing negativity towards the male body. Girls and women were not the only ones being affected by patriarchy. Boys and men also had a negative impact in which they were affected. Men were taught to be tough and express their anger from the moment they are born. Patriarchy was a damaging system to the lives of both men and women. Hooks believes that, “as long as men are brainwashed to equate violent domination and abuse of women with privilege, they will have no understanding of the damage done to themselves or others, and no motivation to change” (Hooks 27). While women were belittled, men were forced to deny their grief-stricken emotions and hide their pain. Males are constantly told to “be a man”, but what does that do other than brainwash men to be strong. They are told to keep their emotions bottled up which effects their minds mentally.

While it’s true that a patriarchy used to exist, the case of patriarchy is slowly becoming extinct in the developed world. Looking at statistics, we can see that men hold the most leadership positions and make more money than the average women. However, women are emerging out of their shells, to stand up for themselves. Females are working hard for their positions and stepping out of their comfort zone. At the same time women are coming out of their comfort zone, men are learning that it’s actually acceptable to treat women with respect and they don’t always have to “man up.” Patriarchs are slowly becoming a matter of the past, not of the present.

References: 
"The Patriarchal Gaze." "" by Nancy. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Feb. 2015.

"FAQ: What Is the." Finally A Feminism 101 Blog. N.p., 25 Aug. 2007. Web. 19 Feb. 2015.