The Male Gaze

The male gaze to me is defined as men looking at women as things to be objectified or admired. Most of the time it tends to be objectification, where the man sees the woman as a piece of meat to be treated however he feels like it. Every time you see a pretty woman walk down the street it is almost guaranteed that a male's eyes will always be following her and you can tell who those guys are cause their heads usually turn to look at her as she's passing by. This is a gaze that makes women feel uncomfortable most of the time because they know exactly what the man wants when they're looking at them like that.

Television and movies are basically physical forms of the male gaze, with always having a pretty girl in often sexy, skimpy, or slutty clothing being paraded around on the screen with the intention of getting male viewers. There are very few shows or movies that doesn't have a sexy female cast to entice the male audience, even children at a young age can't help but be attracted to these programs because of who they're seeing.

However the male gaze doesn't just mean seeing the women as a sex object but how men perceive women as a whole. Usually women are portrayed as weak and helpless unable to do the easiest of things without a man there to help them. Even the strong women you see aree often given limitations or subjected to moments where they become completely powerless against their supposed superior male counterparts. Such stereotypes include how women can't drive or how they can't open jars.

Even in this day and age where women rights have become such an integral part of our society, it's more often than not that women will be viewed as a someone who's there as eye candy or the damsel in distress. But it's getting to the point where we see an equal amount of strong and independent female protagonists for girls to model themselves after and hopefully we'll see that future female president of the united states one day.