The Gaze

The origin of the male domination over women can be traced back to biblical times. John Berger quotes an excerpt from Genesis, and he states that what he finds striking is "that the woman is blamed and punished by being made subversive to the man. In relation to the woman, the man becomes the agent of god". It can be argued that from this point in time the male gaze has been formed. The male gaze is the way that women are viewed in society. The spectator may vary but because of the way that they are being depicted and presented they (the spectator) walk away with the same general view. 

The male gaze for many years has been a pervasive form of vision in popular culture. The reason that this is so is because men have been the only people that for so long have been presenting women to society. Women would see how they were meant to been seen and act through the depiction of these men. Throughout history is has been the male artist that present women to the spectator. If it wasn't an artist doing this is was a male director, etc. It is because of this that women have in fact presented themselves in the matter in which they have. Women have this idealized role that men wish them to play. A role that for so long has been the one which they chose, or it can even be said, forced to fill.

However, as time has gone on more and more women have taken a notice of this depiction and the expectation of them by society. The result of this is their choice to not only react but to look back. An example of this appears in the article The Oppositional Gaze by Bell Hooks.  In her article she states "not only will I stare. I want my look to change reality.  Even in the worse circumstances of domination, the ability to manipulate one's gaze in the face of structures of domination that would contain it, opens up the possibility of agency". I think that this statement sums up what the oppositional gaze is all about. She want to show that as a (black) woman she will not only look but will force those that are looking to notice her view(s).

When reading these article the thing that kept popping into my mind was the fact that as a child I was always told to "act like a lady". This was a comment that was said to me not only by my parents but any adult that saw me acting "unlady-like". Till this day I dislike that statement. It was something that was always repeated if I was playing too rough or speaking to loudly (as if that is not an acceptable way for a girl to be). If someone was to tell me today to act like a lady, I would inform them that I don't have any intention on being a "lady". I act the way I do in accordance to the way i feel at the moment. And by doing so I don't have to meet anyone's expectations of character based on my gender.