Male Gaze & Patriarchy

Madeline Pitti
Professor Cacoilo
Art & Women

                                           Male Gaze and the Patriarchal Society 

In "Ways of Seeing" by John Berger, he articulates on Male Gaze and what it means to be the 'surveyor and 'surveyed' (pg.46), which in other words means be a man and a woman. Since the title itself mentions men, it is only correct that the surveyor would be men themselves. Since they're the surveyor, "men look at women" and "women watch themselves being looked at" (pg. 47). He doesn't mention Female Gaze because it is nowhere near comparable to that of the Male Gaze. Women turn themselves into objects, as Berger goes on to say; and so, men are never judged by their every move and action like women are. An article I came across on the Male Gaze answers the question of if there is a Female gaze and states that, "I'd argue that there is no direct female equivalent of the male gaze. The male gaze creates a power imbalance." An example of the idea of women watching themselves being looked at is that, "She is almost continually accompanied by her own image of herself. 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. From earliest childhood she has been taught and persuaded to survey herself continually" (pg. 46). Additionally, in the online episodes of "Ways of Seeing," Berger starts of by saying that, "Women constantly meet glances which act like mirrors reminding them of how they look or how they should look. Behind every glance is a judgement. Sometimes the glance they meet is their own, reflected back from a real man." It’s like the idea of citizens being watched by the government, but instead it’s women being looked at by men whether it’s for their presence or expressions, or something else. It is almost like women exist only for one purpose and it's to be an object to look at, like if one was a sight. Another quote that explains Male Gaze's influence on women is. "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. Her own sense of being in herself is supplanted by a sense of being appreciated as herself by another (pg. 46). In summation, the way women portray or carry themselves is so significant to men, and is not lightly taken. Women see themselves being seen in the eyes of these men, like if under a magnifying glass for all to take note of. We, women, have to put on a show for our spectators (men, in this case) and make sure to do a good job or else. 

The reason for the Male Gaze being so persuasive is because it has always been there. Nude paintings of women were portrayed with the women in the painting looking at the viewer so that the spectator can look at her being seen. As Berger states, "She is not naked as she is. She is naked as the spectator sees her" (pg.50). These were drawn and depicted as naked for the audience, which of course, was male. What matters is the pleasure of the viewer, and so "women are there to feed an appetite, not to have any of their own" (pg.55). The spectators were men, and the objects were women, and still are. Women still are watched by many eyes belonging to men wherever they go, and have this idea of pleasing a man by how they appear to them. The male gaze has been there since the beginning, and it still now seen in our advertisements and media, where women have to appear and are depicted a certain way for their viewers, who once again, are 99.8% male. 

In Bell Hook's "Understanding Patriarchy," she mentions how men often do not even know the meaning of patriarchy, yet we live in one. "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" (pg. 18) Everything revolves men and them holding power over women, who instead has to make impressions for them, as mentioned when addressing Male Gaze. There is this belief ingrained in boys and girls that boys have to be masculine (God forbid if they show any feminine qualities, since that would mean they are weak) and tough and even violent if need be and that girls need to play with their dolls and be controlled by men. It determines who's in charge and sets gender roles. Hooks brings up stories of her brother and her and the patriarchal system's effect on them, but one story that is worth noting is when she was playing with her brother's marbles and her father beat her for not listening to him when he told her to stop. Her mother then goes on to say, "I tried to warn you. You need to accept that you are just a little girl and girls can't do what boys do" (pg. 21). This system is seen in religion, in homes, at schools, and sadly, because of this, women have to adhere to it and follow 'blind obedience', which Hooks mentions. To not be accepted in this patriarchal system is like wanting a death wish. Instead, they have to put their feelings away and act their part, even if they don't feel committed to it as much as others. But how can we do something about it if we can't even acknowledge its very presence? 

I've come to understand these structures as being influenced and relating to each other. I've learned that men are seen as the alpha and that this patriarchal system unjustly treats women as the lesser beings. Women have act as objects for these men, and men have authority over women. But the reason behind all this is because of the patriarchal system we live in. Reading about the Male Gaze and Patriarchy has helped me grasp an idea of why most art I've seen so far and in class is depicted the way it is and why it is so difficult to hear and read about women artists when most are not noted or taken importance to. I've also noted my role in these structures, as I too have not bothered questioning my father, who is the head of the family, and when my parents themselves have the idea ingrained from their parents and so on that females and males have to act a certain way or it's not correct. I remember being told in 3rd grade by my teacher that the reason why a kid in my class was bothering me and being mean to me was because he liked me, but I just have come to realize that this ties in with patriarchy. The various stares women like me get where there are a group of males doesn't fall too far from the idea of Male Gaze, and how I'm an object for their satisfaction and scrutinization. 

Edouard Manet, Olympia, 1863.

Representation of Male Gaze

Patriarchy

http://artissues-bodyrepresentation.weebly.com/the-male-gaze.html

https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-does-the-male-gaze-mean-and-what-about-a-female-gaze-52486

Works cited:

Berger, John. Ways of Seeing. British Broadcasting Corporation and Penguin Books, 2008.Hooks, Bell. The Will to Change: Men, Masculinity, and Love. Washington Square Press, 2005.