Male gaze and Patriarchy

It has been a long tradition of male gaze in Western Art which represented men as viewers and women as being viewed. There could be several interpretations of male gaze but we must understand that it still is represented how men look at woman in society today. It makes most men feel like they have entitlement and dominant towards women. In the present culture the male gaze still plays a significant role in media, movies and art. When we look at several movies or even sitcoms you will see women viewed as an image and you can only expect that the viewer is a man. John Berger states about male gaze " The problem is however that most men act and women appear. Men look at women watch themselves being looked at" ( Ways of Seeing) pg. 47. Berger also talks about " Women are acculturated to look at themselves through the eyes of an imagined man because the ideal spectator is always assume to be a male.

 When reading Bell Hooks book on Patriarchy she expresses that its in bedded in people throughout the norms of society. The main teacher of patriarchy is the parents. The father is considered the ruler of the home, wife and children. It has been known that were born into the world with sex but were taught the roles of gender and we must carry them out throughout our life. Hooks refers that Patriarchy isn't just a part of our everyday lives and voice. She speaks of how it was an important factor in the household growing up and living your life. When your younger its express that the father was very stern on gender roles, he enforced that men are superior and women are passive in nature.  All sexes have certain roles that we must play out such as woman must play in a passive non aggressive way, which its a norm that boys are to play in an aggressive nature. In the family unit the mother also plays a significant role in the completion of gender by enforcing the rules that has been set forth by the father. It is also understood that when we place these norms on individuals it creates a  negative impact on their psychological function in life. I believe that in order to changed the norms of society we must change our way of thinking. It must be set that it okay for women to be aggressive and a man passive in nature.


Ashley Judd speaks about Patriarchy and women's bodies. She stood against how society views women that are in Hollywood. Judd states " that female celebrities have to deal with bullshit from the media about their appearance, whether it's criticism about plastic surgery, weight gain/ loss or getting older".
www.womenactionmedia.org/2012/ashley-judd-talks-patriarchy-and-womens-bodies