Patriarchy Through the Male Gaze

There are many ways different types of people may define the male gaze. Initially, it is the depiction of a woman’s appearance and role in society based on the perspective of men through art, visuals and literature. According to John Berger, the idea of the male gaze is “not because the feminine is different from the masculine, but because the ideal spectator is always assumed to be male and the image of the women is designed to flatter him.” (64) In his book, Ways of Seeing, Berger states, “Men look at women. Women watch themselves being looked at. This determines not only most relations between men and women but also the relation of women to themselves.” (47) Simply, men’s actions provoke a female’s appearance. Women tend to change their appearances in order to satisfy the male by losing their humanity and turning into an object that is looked at rather than a subject that is heard. You would think the objectification of women is something that started when media expanded into paper and visual technology, such as magazines, movies, television and online websites. In fact, the male gaze started centuries ago through male artists and their representation of females in their paintings and popular works of art.

The male gaze has become pervasive in art and popular culture because men continue to find new ways to expose women to the media as time goes on, turning their sexuality into a public phenomenon. One prime example of the objectification of women through the male gaze are beauty contests. Pageants, such as “Miss America,” which began as early as the 1920’s, continue to popularly grow and enhance our country’s interest in the idea of judging women by their brains, talents and bodies. Events similar to these are most often run or owned by men who contribute to the male gaze by glamorizing a woman’s appearance as her only objective in life. It’s as if females can only be admired for their beauty rather than breaking barriers from their appointed roles in society. The exploitation of women is not the only issue these contests face considering the lack of diversity they display. The typical lineup of young and skinny female contestants could possibly alter a little girl’s aspiration to fit into society through the exaggeration of a false reality. Although the agenda behind these events have become far more transparent to women and feminists all over the world, televised pageants continue to gain recognition from millions of viewers every year.

Patriarchy is formerly defined as a society run by a government system which gives males power and authority over females who are usually excluded from the subject. Through Bell Hooks, “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.” (18) In her book, The Will to Change, Hooks states, “Citizens in this nation fear challenging patriarchy even as they lack overt awareness that they are fearful, so deeply embedded in our collective unconscious are the rules of patriarchy.” (29) It’s difficult to abolish something that has been set in stone for decades. As the years go by, females continue to progress and alter the various demeaning definitions of patriarchy. The only thing left to abide by their struggle is the modification of not only men, but society as a whole. The time to stop fearing change is now and we must allow it to happen, for the state of equality.

The subject of patriarchy dates far back during the time of the Italian Renaissance, which began as early as the 14th century. Throughout those years, men ruled and had contained the strength and control that women were not allowed to have at all. They were to obey their fathers and husbands while having no political rights as well. Females had to take on the role of housewives by working in the fields, raising children and maintaining their households by cooking and cleaning. Those who did not marry had to either live with male relatives or join a convent. The power of patriarchy gave women zero independence, only allowing them to hold their authority over kids. Men were placed at the top of the leadership scale, leaving women near the bottom of societal roles. Even as a male myself, it is hard to believe the small opportunities women were given and I now fully understand the importance of female empowerment. The ideas of patriarchy and the male gaze come hand in hand as together they are the reason women face hardships while climbing the social ladder in today’s world. We must acknowledge these issues as a whole in order to pass and recreate society’s limitations.

By Peter Merly

Bibliography:

1. Berger, John. Ways of Seeing. Penguin Publishing Group. 1990
2. Hooks, Bell. The Will to Change. Washington Square Press. 2004.

Links:

http://www.arttrav.com/art-history-tools/being-a-renaissance-woman/

https://www.bustle.com/articles/39638-is-miss-america-sexist-it-depends-on-where-you-are-in-the-world

The Male Gaze and Patriarchy

     The male gaze can best be defined as women being portrayed by men as objects through art to please or pleasure them sexually. “Men dream of women, women dream of themselves being dreamt of. Men look at women; women watch themselves being looked at” (Berger). This concept was prevalent during the 1900s in mostly European art. Most of the paintings were made by men and consisted of naked women, predominantly to pleasure other male viewers through her attractiveness. The nudity in the pictures serve no purpose but to trigger the sexual hormones or sense in a man; therefore men enjoy looking at it and are the primary audience of European art. Surprisingly, most women at the time seemed permissible with it, or they just didn’t pay enough attention to what was going on, or they straightforwardly just lacked care about how men were depicting them. In “Ways of Seeing,” John Berger utilizes many illustrations, examples, and his thoughts to explain the fundamental idea of how women are depicted and what the “Male Gaze” really is.

     The male gaze is very persuasive in art and popular culture because women are objects rather than subjects in most of the 1900s paintings and current magazines and other media portrayals. If women were subjects, they would have clothes on in paintings and be depicted because of her character or her actions in the picture. “She is not naked as she is. She is naked as the spectator sees her.” (Berger, 50). Most men who view the paintings care about the attractiveness of the woman and nothing more.

     From a very young age, women are told they are supposed to look good in other’s eyes. A mirror serves an essential symbol for the concept of how women look and how they should look. “Behind every glance is a judgment, sometimes the glance they meet is their own” (Berger). Whether it's the judgment of a man or a woman, they are judged upon every glance based on how they look; sometimes they are criticized. Women, even when they are alone, are continually being envisioned by someone, or sometimes themselves. She cannot avoid imagining herself performing whatever action she is. This situation is the case because, during their childhood, women are taught to survey themselves continually and perfect every imperfection, ultimately to be as most attractive as possible to men.

This image with the title, “Vanity,” was painted by a man merely for his pleasure as he enjoyed looking at her. The painting’s sole purpose was to please the creator and any other man that viewed it. There is a mirror in the woman’s hand to show that she is admiring her beauty; thus the title “Vanity” comes into place. Although vanity isn’t the main depiction men get from viewing this, it is the word that should be portrayed and what the artist wants to be represented.

     Patriarchy, similar to the “male gaze,” was another issue during the period, and it still exists now. Bell Hooks describes it as, “the single most life-threatening social disease assaulting the male body and spirit in our nation.” It fundamentally means men are most dominant or at least more than women. Men hold power and are physically, mentally, and emotionally stronger than females. The father or eldest male usually puts patriarchy into practice and entitled the head of the family. Men aren’t generally assumed to cry or show any negative emotions other than anger as they are emotionally stronger than women. We are told that men are supposed to protect women from harm because women aren’t physically capable or strong enough to protect themselves.

     Patriarchy doesn’t only affect women but men as well. From childhood, men are taught to be aggressive and show dominant presence. They are also not supposed to express emotions, especially crying. However, not every man wants to be like that; some want to be soft and gentle, but parents and society encourage them to exist as a dominant figure.

     This encouragement prevents some individuals to express their actual personality due to their fear of society's criticism. These two subjects, “male gaze” and patriarchy, are very pivotal towards attaining a gender equal world. Understanding and discussing these two topics have indulged me to conclude that we live in a mostly male-dominated world, and women have very few opportunities. Whether an individual is male or female, if interested they should be allowed to practice and involved in what the other sex does. I, a man, have learned not to judge a woman based on her appearance from the very first glance, but rather to take the time and judge based on character and personality.

This illustration is an example of women taking action and claiming they can also be patriotic as men. Patriarchy, similar to the “male gaze,” was another issue during the period, and it still exists now.

Links

John Berger _ Ways of Seeing Chapters2&3

bell hooks _ Understanding Patriarchy

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.
Relevant Magazine

Evonny Portilla The Male Gaze and Patriarchy

Evonny Portilla 

The male gaze is the way men look at women. Males wouldn’t see women for their intelligence or capacity to do things but as a sexual object, a pleasure machine. A painting of a naked woman is an exact example of a male gaze, it’s the woman’s purpose through a male eye in the painting. John Berger stated the gaze was a way men used women as objects in their art work. John Berger states “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” [Berger 46]. This demonstrates how women were seen as objects and how that was seen as their success. Women were often painted with luxurious clothes and wearing expensive jewels and standing straight, the woman was seen as an object modeling for the pleasure of the male artist to look at. On page 47, “The surveyor of woman in herself is male: the surveyed female. Thus she turns herself into an object – and most particularly an object of vision: a sight” [Berger 47]. Women were so invested into thinking they were watched by every male to the point where they themselves saw men looking at them and then starting contemplating on what they are instead of who they are. Women just turned into a view, instead of actual person. Male painters saw them as objects and made sure to capture their naked bodies down to every detail. The painting to my right called “Reclining Bacchante” by Trutat 1824-1848, there lays a woman naked of course, posing for the painting while a man watches her body gleaming. The man’s attention is focused on the women’s body. The woman posing is staring straight holding a sexual pose, the artist definitely made sure her body was the center of attention, because in the back ground, in the dark is a man’s head. Specially his face, his eyes are staring at the women’s glowing body, concentrating on the women’s body features. The painting is an example of the male gaze. It is pervasive in art due to males having more power at the time. The fact they were able to be educated meant power. Especially as artist males were taken more serious then women were. The opportunity a female had was to be in the panting but has to be painted the way the male saw her. The male didn’t see her for who she is but for what she is. What she had to provide, which was her body. Male artist painted women obviously naked but when they weren’t naked they would paint women well dressed. The male artists made sure they painted women the way they want to see them and the way they saw them worth which was degrading for a lot of women.

Then there is also patriarchy, Bell hooks described patriarchy as “a political-social system that insists that males are inherently dominating, superior to everything and everyone deemed weak, especially female, 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 19]. I am personally against patriarchy, as a female, personally I hope I am seen more than just having breasts and a vagina. I wouldn’t like to be looked down upon men. I am striving to be a dentist and that’s in the science field, where back then a woman would’ve never thought of studying. When applying to dentist school I hope when my application is being reviewed my gender wont matter but what I bring to the table matters. In today’s day women are still not as equal to men, but it has definitely changed a lot since when a lot of these paintings were painted. Patriarchy states that men are superior then women and that women are weak and not capable of doing what men do, that only men are allowed to dominate. Which is false in every shape and form. A woman had to work their way up the ladder and the women today are still continuing to climb the ladder. The picture above called “Man drawing reclining woman” by Durer 1471-1528, is a clear indication of patriarchy. The way the women is laying down naked while all the man does is watch with lust and paint her. The male is clearly painting her but not with a clean mindset but a dirty pleasure mindset. He is wanting her sexually, all he sees is a vagina that can make him feel good. The woman lays down with such delicacy while the man is sitting up straight and most likely ordered the female to pose the way he wants to paint her. Women are much more worth then their bodies but their minds. As a woman in this society my mission is prove that my brain, my personality is worth more than my body.

Citations:Berger, John. Ways of Seeing. British Broadcasting Corporation and Penguin Books, 2008
bell hooks (Author). “The Will to Change: Men, Masculinity, and Love Paperback – December 21, 2004.” The Will to Change: Men, Masculinity, and Love: Bell Hooks

Pictures:https://i.pinimg.com/originals/09/9a/17/099a17306b4bbc88698000608b25638c.jpg
https://www.cla.purdue.edu/english/theory/assets/images/art2.gif

The Male Gaze

 Male Gaze and Patriarchy

Male gazes is a term use in everyday Society. It is something that has existed  from the beginning of time till now.  In John Berger's passage, "Ways of seeing," he shows us a clear understanding of what it means. He states, " men act and women appear. Men look at women and women watched themselves being looked at. " (John Berger 47) what Berger is trying to imply  here is that women are view as objects to man while the man has the women for pleasure only.  Throughout history  men have been sent as the dominant ones in society. The first presidents was a man, men own land, properties,  and we're allow to vote. On the other hand women were only allow to stay home, cook,  clean, and just take care of the kids. This was not fair at all. Even black man were able to vote before the women was allow to.  This is not only seen in person but also in the art world.  Many men artist drew girls that were fully naked. Why?  Well because they believed that women' were made to serve them. Taking it back to Adam and Eve, the first the people ever made,  Berger says," the second striking fact is that the woman is blame and is being punished by being made subservient to the man. In relation to the woman,  the man becomes the agent of God." With this passage Berger is trying to inform the readers that God made the man first and made him a woman so that he won't be lonely and she would serve the man.  Still today we see the term male gaze.  The reason because society has this view that men are the one who would be the most successful.  Women still earn less than men working on the same job.

Patriarchy is the world we live on. Patriarchy is describe by Bell  Hook in, "understanding patriarch as ,"a political social system that insist 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... " ( Hook) this is similar to Berger views about society. Who we are as a person is already determine by our gender. If you were born boy you're the dominate one . If you were born girl society is against you. Patriarchy views women as the weak ones and man as the tough ones. So it's saying that men are allow to rule women because that's how it suppose to be. we see this everyday and that is the sad part. oh no men don' cry. Only girls can do that because crying is for the weaks. But the truth is everyone cries and sometimes it feels good. Who we are is majorly influence by our parents. we are who we are for how we were raise. If someone grows up in a bad neighbor with parents being aggressive the kid would most likely be the same. We are raised similarly. Girls could cry during a break up but if men were to cry he would be consider a baby or a loser. Not a man. In society we hear "you throw like a girl" or " be a man or man up." This is how you know that society is messed up. By saying you throw like a girl, one is referring to throwing weak or bad.  It's not right but we choose to stay quite and not do anything. As If they have already accepted their fate as weak women.
I witness this everyday as a women in society. Looking at Instagram, women are accepting this instead of saying no. They post pictures in sexual ways. But it shouldn't be like this. Being a girl is hard because we are viewed as objects many times and are are not respected for what we do. I feel like instead of fighting it we accept it because we are raised that way. This change my view in the sense that we have the power to change through art though words but we choose to accept society as is. We have the power to change what people think, women are on the rise and who knows maybe in the future the roles would be flipped. 

https://www.thoughtco.com/patriarchal-society-feminism-definition-3528978

Male Gaze

Since the beginning men were always the higher gender and women have had to follow them. Men have always had the advantage and the power, women were simply there to serve men. Traditionally men look at women as objects for them to use and view women as less than them. The “Male Gaze” as John Berger states is “men act and women appear”(berger 47). Berger means that men create and do everything, while women just exist. Berger also states “Every one of her actions -whatever direct purpose or motivation- is also read as indication of she would like to be treated”(berger 47). Women’s actions are always being watched and for their actions, they are judged upon. Based on how a women dressed many opinions can be formed. A women could be wearing a skirt and depending on how long the skirt is will determine the what type of women she is. This is the type of judgements not only men make of women but other women to women as well. With the male gaze, even after all the rights women have acquired in the United States, it does not matter what type of qualifications she has, what will matter is how she is presents herself and the fact that she is a women will give her a disadvantage.

The male gaze presents itself in the art and in the popular culture still to this day in movies, tv, shows, art work and pictures. In movies, women are objected. Women can be thrown away and replaced like a pair of shoes. In the movie “House Bunny” the main character is Shelley lives in the Playboy mansion until she is thrown out and replaced by a younger women. The male gaze is presented here because women are seen as objects that are expendable to men. A man would not just throw away another man and replace them with a younger men but they will to a female because they are not people they are objects. A movie like this shows that no matter how far women come along with their rights they will be always be seen as less. The male gaze is also present in the popular culture would be how the famous designers use beautiful women to model their clothes. They do this to attract buyers to buy their clothes. The Victoria Secret models are all beautiful, men and women lust over these women. Women wish they looked like the models and men want these women, like that want material objects, like a new pair of shoes. Women are used as advertisement for cars and all other type of products. When companies use women in car advertisements it gives men the idea that if they buy that car maybe they could get a girl that looks like the one in the advertisement, again women are used as objects.

Most men do not know what patriarchism is but yet a lot of them practice it. According to Bell Hooks “most men never think about patriarchy- what it means, how it is created  and sustained” (Hooks 17). Men do not think that the world they live in is patriarch. This is because when brought up to them they connect it to feminism. Hooks states “ Patriarchy is a political-social system that insists that males are inherently dominating, superior to everything and everyone deemed weak, especially females” (Hooks 18). In example of patriarchy in today’s society would be the 2016 elections. Many men probably not agree with Donald Trump but they did not want to see a women in office so they went with Trump because he is a man. In a patriarchal society men are always in charge and women are to follow them and listen. Having a women in office would go against everything they are. Men always want the power, this is something they learn from when they are young at home and in order to make a change in our society. 

https://blackboard.rutgers.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-1234746-dt-content-rid-3417982_1/courses/201792108220701/Berger_WaysofSeeing2%263.pdf

https://blackboard.rutgers.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-1234747-dt-content-rid-3417981_1/courses/201792108220701/bellhooks_Chapter2.pdf

Male Gaze

Jonathan Rico

09/27/2017

The male gaze. It has been around since the middle ages and continues to lurk even today in everyday life. Generally speaking, the male gaze refers to the  depicting of women from a masculine point of view, as to objectify them. John Berger, however, in his novel “Ways of seeing,” he breaks it down as, “Men act and women appear. Men look at women. Women watch themselves being looked at” (47). Berger argues that we live in a society where looking and objectifying women has become the norm. Even though this book was written over 40 years ago, we can still see that it has not changed much in our society. In fact, some may argue that it has become even worse. This is evident when Berger states, “You painted a women because you enjoyed looking at her…..first and foremost, a sight” (51). This is evident in many paintings that were made during the renaissance. Many of the women were painted nude because the men gained pleasure from it. They would be objectified and be in positions that made them look exposed and almost vulnerable. It also shows how men made the women in the paintings look at themselves almost to demoralize, or show them that they are objects.

In modern times, the male gaze is apparent in everyday life and is used in almost every industry. For example, there are billboards with half naked women on almost every main highway and usually they are used to advertise a service or company. It is persuasive in art today because it appeals to the masses. When women are depicted in art our society views them as “beautiful,” or “classy.” These are labels that are given so the people just go with it. When it comes to popular culture, the male gaze is present in almost everything. For example, on television all commercials feature women who are deemed as attractive. They do this so men will find the female attractive and associate them with the product they are advertising. An example of this would be in the movie industry. Almost all movies have a lead actress who is very attractive so it appeals to men to go and see it. Another example would be companies such as Victoria's Secret, which depicts attractive women with revealing clothes on. They appeal to women by making them lust how they look and want to be just like them. It attracts males because when they see these women they “want” them, as to objectify them.

Patriarchy can be defined as a society or government in which men hold the power, while the women are largely excluded. According to bell, patriarcy is a, “political-social system that insists that men are inherently dominating, and superior to everyone and everything deemed weak, especially women”(18). This is seen in our past as well as our modern times that we live in today. For example, our country was founded on the principles that men had all of the power while the women listened and did not hold any of it. The purpose of the women was to stay home and watch the house and kids while the man does all of the work. In modern times, patriarchy still occurs when it comes to leaders of countries. The majority of leaders are males due to the fact that people do not want a women in charge because they believe they won’t be seen as “powerful.” Berger also thinks society teaches kids to, “believe that their dominator of women”(27). This shows how the male gaze isn’t inherently in men, but that it is taught at a young age and it develops as they get older.

I have come to learn about the male gaze after reading the definitions as well as seeing examples of it in everyday life. From billboards to movies, it is apparent and continues to show in most of advertising. When I used to see commercials on tv I would not think anything of it, but now that I understand the male gaze I can see the strategies they use to try and entice people to use their products by displaying attractive women. When I look at various artworks I now have a new perspective on what the meaning or underlying message was. I have also come to see how patriarchal the world is by how little women there are in power. Most of the time it is not because they are under qualified it is because the people do not want to be seen as “weak.” These patriarchal ideas are subtly taught to children at a young age and according to Berger, are “brainwashed” into believing it.

Links:

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

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/patriarchy

https://www.theatlantic.com/sexes/archive/2012/11/america-is-still-a-patriarchy/265428/

Men's Gaze and Power

In John Berger's, Ways of Seeing, he describes the male gaze as the perception of women from a man's view. Berger breaks down this topic a lot into different pieces but one part of the text that stood out to me was , “ Men survey women before treating them”. As a verb the word survey means to look carefully and thoroughly at someone or something, especially so as to appraise them. Therefore, before a man treats a woman he looks for what value she has or what she has to offer to him, which he is then known as the “surveyor”. A little before Berger says this, he states, “ and so she comes to consider the surveyor and the surveyed within her as the two constituent yet always distinct elements of her identity as a woman. Which he explains later on in the text, as the woman being composed of two roles. The same role a man plays which , is looking and a woman and being the surveyor. Except in the woman's case she is the surveyor of herself. Constantly looking at herself and trying to find her value in herself because she know she is being looked at by the other surveyor. Which leads me to the second role she plays , which is the surveyed. The one who is being observed ,  not only by herself by men. Then the question at hand is how come the woman have these two roles within her. The answer is simple, it because the “ Men survey women before treating them”. All a woman wants is to be respected, admired , taken care of and loved. A woman can not find any of these things if she does not first appeal to a man. In the male gaze , a woman is only an object of his gratification.

We have come along way since the middle ages. From a time when women were on the same level as cattle or livestock. We are now , lawyers, doctors , presidential candidates,  mayors, and public figures. Although how far have we really come since then? The male gaze is still prominent in pop culture and art today. One of the biggest leading factors in why women are still seen as an item is because of  social media and pornography. In social media , females basically brand themselves and put themselves out there for the views, the likes, tweets, all because they want the attention. Sound familiar? .... “Her body is arranged in the way it is, to display it to the man looking at the picture”. Even though Berger is referring to the artwork made during that time, I still feel that it's relevant today. Don’t get me wrong not every female applies to this but for  the ones who do it purposely and show themselves in a  way where they know a man or someone will see it. Although this way of bing is a lot more subtle than pornography. The basic principles of porn is basically everything involving the male gaze is. It's only for pleasure, sometimes for women, but the majority of the audience is men.

In Bell Hooks, The Will To Change: Men , Masculinity and Love, describes patriarchy as , “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 psychological terrorism and violence.’’ This basically means that Men have this overall authority over anything, as if they’re second to God. For example , in churches the idea that men were put on earth to rule over it and take control of everything on it was reinforced. I’ve come to see patriarchy as a concept that grew into a way of being and it's just being spread intentionally and unintentionally. Understanding this concept now makes sense when you apply it to different art forms. For example, when you see different art pieces of nude women , they’re body positions give off the idea of submission, with the man being behind the brush being the dominant. Even with some art pieces like the “ We Can Do It” propaganda poster , also called “ Rosie the Riveter”. One of the most iconic posters during the 1980’s ad an inspiration, but it's just a woman flexing. Why is this inspirational? It’s inspirational Because she is a woman. Which in a way shows what woman weren’t seen as during that time by their male counterpart. They weren’t seen as strong , hard workers because even during the 1980’s there was still patriarchy being upheld in the workplace and households.

Now that I’ve grasped the idea of patriarchy and the male gaze , I feel like I can apply it to my life in some aspects. Some things will come as little as someone not wanting me to lift something at work because I’m a female and they don’t think I can do it. Then there are things when being in a relationship with someone , they claim dominance in the relationship , which isn't all negative but can be if used inappropriately. In today’s society there are still specks of the past ideas  sprinkled throughout the subconscious of some people's minds which influences us to still do things unknowingly and knowingly that we have already recognized as a concern, but as time goes by I think we’ll get better.

Work Cited
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.

Ajibola Martins

09/27/17

Male Gaze and Patriarchy

The common term for “Male Gaze” is defined as the act of depicting the world and women in the visual art and in literature from a masculine and heterosexual perspective, which displays women as objects of a male pleasure. The “Male Gaze,” as described by John Berger, means that women see themselves as the item being worshiped to fulfill the contentment of men. According to the way of seeing it, Berger states, “You painted a naked woman because you enjoyed looking at her, you put a mirror in her hand, and you called that vanity”(51). The glass given to the women shows a negative connotation because it shows  her, in a way, how she needs to be seen as. Men paint in the way that meets his fantasy of how he pictures a woman to be. Also, Berger says, “The nakedness is not, however, an expression of her own feelings; it is a sign of submission to the owner’s feelings or demands”(52). A woman’s nakedness  doesn’t necessary mean that she is appreciating herself, but the fact that she is trying to give pleasure to the one that has authority over her, which is the male. In today’s world, women dress to feel good and attracted to. Yes, they often get the attraction, however, the attraction is only directed towards their physical assets. Victoria secret shows and models, for example, is a representation of the Male Gaze. The use of very skimpy clothes and expensive lingerie makes it appealing to men, and perceives the message that it is acceptable and meant to lure men to fantasize over them. Another example is Calvin Klein’s Perfume for men, called Obsession. The model, Kate Moss, is shown to be entirely naked in a product made for men. What does that mean to the producer and men in general? With the picture, the product would be wildly bought by the targeted people, men, because the thing they fantasize the most about and picture a woman to be is directly on the product.

    If a woman is not half naked on television, or in magazines, they are not seen as attractive. The nakedness of a woman is often used as a competition. Those who are not “judged beautiful, are not beautiful. Those who are, are given a prize”(Berger, 52). According to Berger, being beautiful and meeting the standards of a man is awarded. This shouldn't be the case due to the fact that one’s view of “beautiful” is different from others. For the others that don’t win a prize, they are forced to be seen as inadequate in the Male Gaze. That is another way of viewing Patriarchy, meaning the “Male Gaze” is closely associated with Patriarchy.

What is Patriarchy? Patriarchy is a system of society in which men hold the power and women are largely excluded from it. In Hooks view, Patriarchy is a “political-social system that insists that men are inherently dominating, and superior to everyone and everything deemed weak, especially women”(18). Patriarchy has been around for a very long period of time. Although people still practice patriarchy in certain religion and culture, it isn’t widely practiced now as it was in the early 1900s. Men are taught the practice of Patriarchy at a young age, even at church. Patriarchy goes hand in hand with gender role. Men are brainwashed to “believe that their dominator of women”(27). They are raised to be tough and to not express their feelings as much, because it shows signs of weakness. For example, the only job a woman had was to bore children and take care of the home. They were unable to vote, educate themselves, or have a say in any political or social affairs. Men, on the other hand, had every opportunity one could think of. Patriarchy has changed over time. Women are now able to do what men do and even go as high as they please. My view on Patriarchy is that men do have and should have higher authority on women; However, it shouldn’t be to the point where the man would hold the woman back on what she wants to achieve. Going back to Adam and Eve, Adam was created first, and later given a woman to accompany him. For this, a woman’s job is to support her man, while making sure she is satisfied with her everyday life.

Citations:

https://felixlaing.wordpress.com/2016/02/29/is-the-male-gaze-theory-still-relevant-in-todays-cinema-and-culture/

https://wgs160.wordpress.com/tag/male-gaze/

John Berger _ Ways of Seeing Chapters2&3

bell hooks _ Understanding Patriarchy