The Male Gaze

Ana Nocelotl
     The Male Gaze is essentially how men survey women; in art and the media (tv shows, magazines, pictures) women are portrayed as objects for heterosexual male desire. It's a sexualized way of observation that empowers men leaving women as mere framed sights. The Male Gaze can be traced back to European oil paintings in which women were simply a subject. The first traditional nude is

Mabuse, Early 16th Century

the depiction of Adam and Eve; in Genesis which states that Eve was delighted to see the tree offered food, apple, which she ate and offered to her husband who consumed it too. It was then that they came to the realization they were naked that caused them to see each other differently, felt shame. It was then God set the woman to bear children and man was to rule over her. This creates the ideology that women should be submissive to men. Not only that but Eve was blamed and punished for the sin. Berger states, “One might simplify by saying: men act and women appear. Men look at women. Women watch themselves being looked at.” (Pg. 47) Women are not only judged by their body but how they are perceived in the way they act. If a woman throws a glass to the floor, it is interpreted as how she treats her anger and it ‘tells’ how they would like to be treated. However, if a man does the same thing it is considered as an expression of his anger. This way of thinking is greatly problematic because it makes us believe that women should restrain from expressing feelings that are not lady like simply because that's not how society views them.

Adriana Lima, Victoria's Secret
Fashion Show 2016

     The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, for example, is one of the most expected broadcasted shows of each year. It has massive amount of media coverage resulting in a large audience which encompasses millions. The goal of the Fashion Show is to serve as a way to ‘empower’ women. They portray powerful women as being active with unrealistic body expectations. They are seen as desired sexual objects which not only contributes to the objectification of women, adds to the Male Gaze and creates an enjoyment of women for their own objectification. This fake sense of  “empowerment” through sexual means gives a false idea of power. It aims more towards the power of sex appeal rather than feminist idea of empowerment.
     Patriarchy is a concept that many especially men wrongfully defined; they believe that it has to do with feminism and women's liberation therefore, ignore it because it's not “relevant” to them. When the truth is that it's totally about them; which arose as a political system that portrays men as superior over those that are deemed weak, especially women, to rule and maintain their dominance through violence and psychological terrorism. It just supports the belief that men are worth more than those that are below him. It creates this line between masculinity and femininity; males should be strong, keep their emotions inside forcing them to act like robots. For females very soft sided, often overly emotional and submissive; what the man “in charge” of her said had to be done. Bell Hooks states, “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.” (Pg. 19) Patriarchy created a predetermined script of how both genders should act and behave. It didn't leave space for individualism but it brought the belief that all people of a gender should act one way as if they were machines. It created confusion if children did not meet these guidelines. As what happened to the narrator, she wanted to play with marbles but it was a boys game and when she insisted her father beat her. Nobody did anything to stop the cruel act, her mothe just told her that she should understand that she is a girl and for that reason is limited to what she cannand cannot do.
     It makes me reflect on the customs which I was taught and raised by my parents. It makes me realize how much our past ideologies have developed. My family believed strongly in gender roles, like the mother had to stay home with the children and it was the father's duty to go to work and bring a check home. My little brother had to play only with trucks, cars, and superheroes when he was a baby. However, lately he has been liking The Powerpuff Girls, superheroes that others would say is strictly geared for “girls”. Though most people would panic, it's not a huge problem because they are great it makes me happy I can share that with him. He tells me the reason he is amazed with them is because they are female heroes; her only knew male ones.

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