Through A Different Lens...

Throughout my entire life  I have always been aware of men looking at me, however, it was not  until recently that I realized how much the male gaze affected  so many aspects of myself and my life.  Furthermore, the male gaze is how women are taught to see themselves through the lens of the dominant male sex.  In other words, it is how we as women see ourselves as being surveyed or watched by men who are the surveyors (Berger, 46).  We are seen as objects and mere “sights,” when we are sexually and perversely displayed in the media, paintings and in everyday life.  The constant and ancient practice of the dehumanization of women not only stems from the way we internalize ourselves from the point of view of men, but moreover, it has been perfected by the covert practice of patriarchy.  Patriarchy, according to Bell Hooks, is the political system that shapes and informs male identity and the sense of self from birth until death (Bell Hooks, 17).  This socially constructed system assigns gender and sex roles, oppresses both men and women and is continuously reinforced in everyday life.

Men are coached and shaped into believing that being emotional, equal and anything far from dominant is weak and the role of the woman.  Therefore, from the moment woman are born they are taught to be submissive, passive and to be a damsel in distress.  These roles are reinforced first by the family, then by religion and subsequently by the school systems (Bell Hooks, 24).  Patriarchy is such an ancient system that we are taught to internalize it, and when it is spoken of as an oppressive system it is seen as taboo.  Interestingly enough, Bell Hooks emphasizes that patriarchy also severely affects men just as it affects women.   Both men and women suppress part of themselves when they adhere to the rules and expectations of patriarchy,  they do so by suppressing parts of themselves in order to fit into this unrealistic socially constructed idea.  Men become violent, dominant and aggressive and suppress  their emotions and any signs of weakness.  Women who display any characteristics of aggression or dominance are eventually socially marginalized.  According to Bell Hooks, patriarchy replaces true intimacy with complex, covert layers of dominance and submission, collision and manipulation (Bell Hooks, 33). In other words, whether you are a man or a woman you are never your true self, you are who society shapes you to be with learned beliefs and roles. 

Ad from Spring Breakers the Movie, 2013

Fast Food Ad from Hardee's, 2012

Fast Food Ad from Burger King, 2014  

The male gaze and patriarchy shape how we as human beings see ourselves and make us hyper aware of what we should look like and how we should behave,  For instance, in may of the ads in magazines, on television and billboards, women are sex symbols when representing a brand or product.  In most of these pictures, the women are the main attraction; not the product they are advertising.  Above there are two pictures, the first is one from the movie Spring Breakers that debuted during the summer of 2013.  In this picture the women are seductively looking to the audience, which we have learned is predominantly a male audience.  The movie and picture both subliminally suggest that during spring break, women wear bikinis and are in pursuit of men.  Thus, the role of the submissive is openly expressed in this picture.  In the second photo the woman is supposed to be advertising a burger for the fast food restaurant, Hardee's.  She is wearing provocative clothing with the burger in her hand.  For the most part, women do not eat burgers in the back seat of their cars while looking provocative.  In the third and last picture a woman is advertising a new sandwich Burger King is launching, she has a surprised look and the Ad reads "It'll Blow Your Mind Away." This of course is a sexual connotation which devalues and sexually promotes the woman in the picture.  Not only do such images adhere and strengthen the roles of patriarchy and the male gaze, however, they also set social expectations for other young women who encounter such ad's on a daily basis.  Young women and men begin to believe that in order to be attractive to men or the other sex, they need to be thin, with long hair and look like everyone else does.  In order to challenge these socially created misconceptions, during the last couple of years, Dove has launched a new campaign that promotes self love and beauty.  More importantly, the various videos depict the truth about these ad's and how obsessive people may become when trying to reach these unrealistic depictions of beauty and perfection.  The male gaze and patriarchy has affected and bonded men and women and I agree with Bell Hooks when she states that the only way to eradicate this oppressive system is to change, "we must all change" (Bell Hooks, 33).  

 In this second video launched by the Dove Campaign, women are asked to describe the way they see themselves in vivid detail.  The women are then asked to leave and when they return they are shown the sketch of themselves and then the sketch of how they view themselves.  To their surprise both sketches were completely different.  Because the male gaze and society has set standards to what is and what is not beautiful, we as women and human beings have low self esteem and constantly seek ways to please the male eye.  

Bibliography

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.