Lenses of Perception

The male gaze is “the” perspective of mainstream society. We look at media with an ego-centric male dominated gaze. The main issue with this point of view is the objectification of women. The reason why the male gaze is a pervasive form of vision is because the way we perceive things indefinitely shapes our definitions of them, In this case women. Women in the media are objectified as objects of our (male) attention. They are produced in media for the sole purpose of inflating the male ego and strengthening the structures the bind them. But the interesting part the woman plays in this cycle is that she knows she’s being looked at as an object of male desire. The male gaze is essentially a lens that is gendered around male power and control. This lens also serves as a tool to enforce these presumptions of society. Bell hooks combated these pervasive perceptions with a lens of her own which she calls the oppositional gaze. Hook’s oppositional gaze is a lens that is completely opposite of the male gaze in every way. Her gaze is of an African American female. Hook's gaze allows her to combat the male gaze by giving power to women by looking back critically. As hook’s states “there is power in looking”. What she means is that women can look back and breakdown the misrepresentations of themselves if they look back and respond. The power lies within each woman to see the media in which they are presented and to acknowledge o the image is false and a stereotype of what men want to see. John Berger’s book “The Ways of Seeing” introduced the topic of a falsified female image. This is valuable to us all because we want to make sure that the images we see do not affect our perceptions of reality. We need to be certain that what we are thinking is our thoughts and not subliminal messages from fraudulent media. It’s important to understand the lens in which you view the world.

Gaze

The male gaze seems to dominate every single photograph, advertisement, movie or any piece of media that is made. In “Ways of Seeing” John Berger writes that “Women watch themselves being looked at” and he illustrates this through many images, both painting and photographic. From his analysis it is apparent that women who appear in media are very aware of the fact that they are being looked at by an outside audience, an audience they cannot see, but one they assume is male. This is the male gaze. However, what is attractive to males can also be attractive to females and not every image that bombards us has to be solely the gaze of a male. There are plenty of women artists, and I’m sure male artists, who make art that isn’t about the male gaze. Take the two photos here, both by Annie Leibovitz, and both of Angelina Jolie, who is undoubtedly the fantasy of men across the globe. The picture on the left is obviously shot with the male gaze in mind. But the picture on the right has no trace of that. As I was reading “Ways of Seeing” I was very aware of the fact that time has passed since it was written and that it was very indicative of its time. I am in no way discounting Berger’s arguments and analysis, I just believe that things are a little bit different today.

Bell Hooks writes that the oppositional gaze is one of rebellion or resistance on the part of a subordinated group. For her, it is black female spectators as well as the greater black community creating their own “gaze” because they are not present or accurately represented in entertainment produced by white people with a white gaze. The rebellious gaze is also one of critique. Hooks finds it important for black female spectators to develop a critical gaze, “One learns to look a certain way in order to resist.” The oppositional gaze allowed black female spectators to reject the white supremacy that dominated all forms of media. Hooks also makes the distinction that when she watches media made by black women she does not “need to ‘resist’ the images even as I still choose to watch their work with a critical eye.” This distinction is important because it shows that Hooks identifies with the images on the screen in front of her, so her rebellious and oppositional gaze is unnecessary, yet she can still be critical of the material as a spectator. In the video below filmmaker Julie Dash talks about the making of one of her movies, Daughters of the Dust. This is a first hand look at media being made from the black female spectator’s gaze.

While it is apparent that the male gaze exists and dominates media images, a lot has changed since articles like “Ways of Seeing” were written. And obviously a lot has changed since the paintings that John Berger writes about were painted. But even a lot has changed in a much more recent time. While there are still many “male gaze” images and advertisements, there are also many that aren’t from that perspective. Or if they are, they could also be seen from another perspective. It is true that women have always been trained to care about what other people think when they look at them. That is still very prevalent in society, I just don’t think it manifests itself as harshly as it used to.

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.

Male Gaze and Oppositional Gaze

The male gaze is the perspective or lens through which women become a "spectacle" or object. The perspective is based soley on what is pleasing to a male spectator. It is through this male gaze that the image of women is portrayed in an idealized form. As John Berger explains in Ways of Seeing, "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," (Berger, 47). Berger's explanation helps us to understand why the male gaze has become so pervasive in popular culture; it reflects how men and women relate to each other and themselves. We can also see in Berger's Ways of Seeing how the male gaze has endured throughout history with the story of Adam and Eve and Renaissance era paintings.

In response to the exclusive nature of the male gaze, the oppositional gaze has developed. The oppositional gaze, as described by bell hooks, challenges the authority of the spectator in order to give oneself agency or the permission to look. Historically, the male gaze posits the white male as the spectator; people of color are not permitted to be spectators especially when the object of the gaze is a white woman. According to hooks, the oppositional gaze means that, "Not only will I stare, I want my look to change reality." The oppositional gaze challenges the male gaze's power to construct the mainstream reality and consciousness. An example of the oppositional gaze would be Spike Lee's film entitled Crooklyn. This film, as noted by hooks, was criticized by white mainstream media for not having a plot however that was clearly not the case. In watching the film, the audience sees the story of a black family living in Brooklyn and the tragedy they experience when the mother becomes ill with cancer. The storyline, as hooks explains, is not of interest to critics and they therefore dismissed the film.

Given the structures of male gaze and oppositional gaze I have gleaned a better understanding of certain forms of media in terms of perspective and who their intended audience is. For example, for the past several years I have stopped watching Black Entertainment Television (BET) because of the negative portrayl of black people. When the company changed hands from black ownership to predominately white ownership certain changes became quite apparent. Shows such as BET news and Teen Summit which featured more culturally conscious dialog were dropped from programming. It became apparent to me that the perspective had changed and although the intended audience was the same, the messages had more of a negative effect.

THE MALE GAZE=THE MALE TRUTH

The "Male Gaze." What is the male gaze? In my own words, I'll define it as looking onto a woman and getting satisfied by it. A man looks down onto a woman, and she is submissive to him; the same way a king looks down onto his people, and they are submissive to him. We experience the male gaze all the time. On television, we see women all the time, but we must ask ourselves, "Are these images from a male stand point or of a females?" Most definitely the gaze is from a man, and my evidence for this is because of the media. Almost every single commercial you see is made by a man. They know how men react, they want us to watch so they put a women in tight-short clothing and throw water on her. Even television is targeted for the male audience they want men to watch. Its as a tool for brainwashing, and it has worked for years.

In the past, artist use to draw women. Harmless you think, but no!

They make them unveil themselves and paint the women naked. They call it art, but in reality its a perversion, or a early form of pornography. Another way this male gaze is used today is in pornography. It is so similar to the example above in which the artist has the women looking directly at the viewers, same way in pornography the women looks at the camera man. The camera man and the artist use the same technique, they give the viewer a sense of visual pleasure. The artist paints with a brush, the camera man paints with his movements when he pans up or zooms in. Men can look at this with their lustful gaze, but so can women in their own way. According to Bell Hooks, the oppositional gaze is when women critique the films or images they see and not to accept them. This developed nowadays because people are learning more about women rights and are becoming more aware like myself of the male gaze and how men, at least in the majority run all types of media. This male gaze is used to oppress women and keep them below men and and keep them as slaves in our eyes or to be more technical, sex slaves. Similarly with the media, they say Muslims oppress women, well all I have to say about that is that people need to get their history strait and stop following what the media says. You can ask my wife yourself, do I oppress her? He have to stop this notion of following what we see and hear, but to learn how to oppose it or critique it ourselves using our logic and ask ourselves, "Why is this image the way it is?" or "Why am I receiving this message like this?"

9/29/09 Presentation

For our project, we will cover the Guerrilla Girls, Inc.

Our group members include:

Vanessa Ascanio

Malikia Bradley

Sasha Boyce

It is easy to take the male gaze for granted because it has become so engrained in society and is so pervasive in the media. It is what informs all advertising and shapes the way the women have come to be viewed in the media – as objects. The male gaze sets women up as objects to be looked at by men. The male gaze is a concept that is used by women as well. We look at ourselves and at other women and make judgments about our desirability to men. We are programmed to obsess over the way we look and present ourselves in the most attractive light for their approval. The picture perfect portrayal of women in advertising and in entertainment has created a world where women are constantly striving for an unattainable and unrealistic model of beauty. As a woman I constantly struggle with the images of beauty put forth in magazines and reflected in T.V. and film. On the one hand I hate that I feel the need to conform to such unrealistic standards and on the other I still strive to attain the body and the look that I find and that our society finds appealing.

The oppositional gaze that Bell Hooks writes about developed out of exclusion. Black women were not being represented or included in film. The male gaze was constantly directed at white leading ladies. The oppositional gaze is a way of looking that challenges what you are looking at. Black women looked at the stereotypical representations of themselves in film and the absence of black female characters with an oppositional gaze and eventually made strides to changing their portrayal. I wonder how an oppositional gaze could affect and possibly change the way we have come to be shaped and programmed by the male gaze.

The male gaze is defined as a women being objectified by a male spectator which began centuries ago. There is now an important critical literature on the representations of women in the media and western art. John Berger's book Ways of Seeing provides an accessible introduction, and Laura Mulvey's famous essay on the male gaze launched an important literature in the field of cinema. The male gaze is not only a trick perpetrated on hapless women by manipulative men. It has become part of the structures of feeling of our day and age, and as such it interferes with both men's and women's psychological health and our ability to have mutually fulfilling relationships with one another. The male gaze is used in many different aspects of media such as advertising and film.

"The surveyor of woman in herself into an object - and most particularly an object of vision : a sight." - JBerger

Just taking a look at any magazine whether its for men or women we can find an example of the male gaze. The women are programmed to pose for the spectator viewing the image reducing themselves to objects and sex symbols. Men do dominate the world of Media and therefore women are unconsciously forced to be submissive in order to succeed. The difference today is that women are able to control the gaze. By using the oppositional gaze women get a chance to take control as Bell Hooks points out. What is going on in a typical fashion ad, then, is not that the viewer is looking at a woman who is actually subordinate or childish. Rather, the models are posed so as to show that they know that they are being looked at. Although she speaks of Black women being the female spectators we can use it for all women. She mentions that the oppositional gaze is empowered by looking. Black women can use their power by looking critically at the lack of or misrepresentations of their gender in early films.

"There is power in looking." - BHooks

The male gaze as I understand it is the way a woman is objectified in imagery. Images in which the woman is the main focus not necessarily for her empowerment but rather for the audience. She is reduced to an object; a piece of meat.

Seeming she exists to be gazed at, to gawk at her scantily clad sometimes naked body. She is exposed, not celebrating the power she has in her beauty and confidence but to satisfy the desires of her audience. John Berger in “Ways of seeing” draws reference to the male gaze, he says “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 ultimate importance for what is normally thought of as the success of her life.” She is constantly aware of the gaze so much so that she continuously watches herself, always conscious of the way she is seen by others.
Looking on the other hand allows one to regain the power lost by the male gaze. Specifically Bell Hooks focus on “The Oppositional gaze” lures us into the world of The black female spectator. I can definitely relate to her as she recalls her childhood being restricted from being an active spectator. I was taught as a child that girls were to be seen and not heard; as depicted in the male gaze. The power that was gained through looking came by way of being able as black females to not just sit aside and look pretty but to look at media especially with a critical eye. Black women were not equally represented in media and having the power to “look” brought that fact to their attention, which thankfully allowed women to make a change. I’m thankful for women like Bell Hooks who captured the power a woman can gain in looking.

The Power lies within the eyes.

The Media Controls Our Brains

It's a funny thing, the male gaze and the stronghold it maintains on the general public. It seems to me that, although this male gaze was created by people, it is so ingrained into people's minds that it seems to have taken on a life of its own and slops itself onto all the ways that humankind shares media with each other. Yet it seems to me that the male gaze cannot be blamed on anyone because its so sneaky that most people, when they view media, don't even realize that women are being portrayed in this objectified, unrealistic manner. As a white man, who knows that women are constantly being objectified in almost all forms of media and who tries to make it a point to recognize the fact, I find myself forgetting that this male gaze exists and going about my own business as a viewer. But its there, and it seems to me to be ever pervasive in pop culture for the sheer fact that even at a young age, people in this country are taught that sex sells, and that over the years the image of what women, and men, should be and look like has slowly molded and formed in such a subliminal way that it makes it difficult to eradicate from the general consciousness.

One example of the male gaze the applies to every aspect of the project is found in the upcoming movie Surrogates. The plot itself is about replacing your body with what is supposed to be perfect beauty by transplanting your consciousness into a surrogate body. If this idea isn't the definition of the male gaze, then I don't know what is. But also the movie goes further to display the male gaze with its advertisements. When passing by ads for this movie, I also see more advertising the women surrogates then male ones, and they are always half naked basically yelling out that I'm a sexbot, a total object for a man's desires.

The territory of The Gaze

The dominance of the male gender over the female gender has manifested itself in different forms. One of the representations of this dominance is through the male gaze. The male gaze is a physical and psychological state of existence where men reinforce their gendered dominance by viewing women as commodities and not as equals. The woman becomes an item to be gazed upon by a male. Men express their dominance through strength, sexuality, money, religion, and many other facets of society.

The purpose of the male gaze is to establish a power separation between the male and female genders. This gaze is a pervasive situation in the media because women have accepted the realization that they are looked at and have to be looked at as objects in order to achieve a type of recognition or acceptance as a gendered species. An example in popular culture of the 21st century is when male rappers and singers use women in their music videos to express a statement of power.

To combat this gendered dominance, women, and specifically women of color who are even a greater minority than white women, have established what is called the oppositional gaze. This type of gaze is in essence a response to the male gaze.

The oppositional gaze is a force used to destroy the stereotypical values that the male gaze has established for women. This gaze is used to demonstrate that women are not only objects used to look at, but to show that women are intellectually sound, are not strictly focused on physical appearance, and that they are fully capable of taking an initiative in government, education, religion, and the other realms of civilization that men have dominated since the beginning of time.

As a man living in the United States, it is very easy to fall into the trap of the male gaze. But the more I educate myself about society and about the different aspects of the media, I am becoming ever more liberal and open minded about the realization that the oppositional gaze is powerful and it should not be taken lightly.

The Male Gaze and Dance

The male gaze objectifies women, because it transforms them from a natural image to something perverse in order to feed the male ego.

This is predicated on the fact that women will play their part of the game. They must engage that gaze and thus validate the man's ego.

As we read from Mulvey in regards to film, "the two looks...are obsessively subordinated to the neurotic needs of the male." (Mulvey, p.843)

I have always been hyper-conscious of the gaze, but from a different perspective; dance. Since I was four years old, I have stared at myself in a mirror and worked to become not only a technically proficient dancer, but to replicate the image of my body as a dancer in terms of a man's vision. George Balanchine is the man to whom most ballet dancers revered as the master of this vision. His image of female ballerinas negated any sense of woman-hood, as he preferred young, ultra-thin dancers who looked to remain pre-pubescent throughout their careers. Thus, the New York City Ballet dancers held the standards by which dancers all of the world strove to attain.




In the above clips from The Turning Point movie, the dancers show this idealized vision. About 1 minute into the clip, you will see Mikhail Baryshnikov gazing at Leslie Browne and she supports his gaze and further almost begs for his approval through her movements.

The oppositional gaze, in terms of dance, shows a different story. So, what if dancers did not want to support this unhealthy image both physically and mentally? What if they wanted to embrace their womanhood, embrace their curves, and dance regardless if anyone was watching?

Enter contemporary movement, and the idea of women freeing themselves by dancing barefoot and in loose clothing to express their feminity.



The contemporary modern movement took dance back into the realm of equality, and gave women a sense of power by negating the male gaze. As bell hooks wrote that women who participated in an oppositional gaze by choosing not to participate, "created a critical space where the binary opposition Mulvey posits of 'woman as image, man as bearer of the look' was continually deconstructed." (hooks, p.122-23).

Thus, throughout the history of modern movement, we see a much different image and often a much different philosophy of the dancers who embody the movement. Generally speaking, these dancers challenge traditional notions of feminity on many different levels. Some are quite brash and 'vocal', while others create their own space for their expression away from the gaze.

For example, Hannah Kahn is an extremely well respected modern dance choreographer who refuses the gaze in terms of her choreography. The dancers practice and rehearse in a space without any mirrors, and just relate to one another through the movement. In the clip below, we see the dancers in very loose, free-form costumes which allows for the movement to speak for itself.

The Male Gaze

What is the male gaze? It's the way men view women. the way men want women to be, and to appear. The image that is created in a man's head that creates pressure in a women's life. For example, seeing beautiful women (or what is thought of as beautiful) on billboards, 'demonstrates' to men what is 'out there'- it plants a seed that the grass really always greener on the other side (is it greener or is it astroturf?). We, as women constantly strive to be and achieve something that is frankly impossible.

I do not believe women are the weaker sex, but I do believe we are the more compromising and accommodating one. We want to feel loved, and accepted- unconditionally. So unconditionally that we are willing to throw our conditions out the door to be pleasing to men. I am not blaming all of the women's insecurities on men because I believe we have just as much of a say in this "creationm" as any man does. But this industry is a really big business; and a job of a businessman is to sell. What sells? Sex. Men have created an idea as to what is beautiful, and what is desired.

Last week when we discussed the male gaze and as degrading as most women find it- there is always that excitement as well as the intrigue that someone is watching or admiring you. Throughout the week the most poignant example I could think of was Marilyn Monroe, which then lend me to think of all the young "starlets" from 1930's to present date (Judy Garland, Elizabeth Taylor, Sophia Loren, then the more popular, Brittany Spears). All these women, have one big thing in common, they were 'created' from man's idea.

Bell Hooks article spoke of how women are objects- but not only was her focus on gender, she was also a voice for race.

I used to be greatly affected by the media's view of women. For a very long time I thought of myself as disgusting, and completely inadequate because I didn't look at certain way. It wasn't until I began to look closer I was able to see the cracks the media. For me, 'reality' TV shows such as "The Newlyweds" with Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson actually helped to open my eyes to see a different side of the media- to see that the pedestals that all celebrities that are placed on- well, they were placed there by us and our oppositional gaze.

before
after
'reality'

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.

The Male Gaze

For the longest time men have seemed to dominate the world. Women worked under men, and had to fight for their rights. Women have come so far from where they have been, yet they are still under men. Men run everything. Its a male dominated world, CEO, president, big time named directors, ect. Because of it being a male dominated world, most things are seen through the males eyes.

The media portrays women as to be objects for men. They have to look a certain. They have to be skinny, beautiful, big boobs. They wear high heels and only the latest fashions, even to the grocery store. They make women out to always having to look beautiful, when in reality nobody can always look beautiful, and live up to this media hype of women. Teenagers growing up with this concept and thinking that they have to always look beautiful in order to get a males attention or be top in a job or company is just ludicrous. Yet most fall for this male gaze and perspective, and women play with it, for their enjoyment. It's always how do I look?, does this make me look fat?, ughh I can't be seen like this!. When guys just throw on what's lying on their floor from the other night, and women still fall at their feet. As women we like that, that's why we keep entertaining men. We love compliments, we love being looked at and watched. And as much as we objectify men, having them pose certain ways, wearing what we want for our own personal entertainment, it's not as powerful for them or for us, as their gaze is for women.

I think women could go far and make it to the top if it wasn't all about looks, if we didn't let the media portray us, the way that do. If we instead grew "balls," (metaphorically speaking). If we decided to demand respect. Decide to take charge, not be objects. Theoretically, women should own men. We carry them for nine months. Without our love, and raising they would not be where they are today. They should be working for us, yet we are still let them dominate over us. We cater to them, we let them look at us the way they do, and we enjoy it.

The Gaze: Male and Oppositional Gazes in Western Media Culture

In Western media, the male gaze refers to the controlling visual images of women that are constructed and reinforced by men. As cultural constructors, men often sexualize these visual images, which exclusively represent the standard Western cultural standard of beauty - i.e., Anglo-European, thin, big-breasted women. Therefore, the woman in the image becomes objectified. She is no longer a woman, but a visual object that is gazed upon by men, available for the sole purpose of inciting visual, sensual and sexual pleasure for him.


A fine example of the male gaze in action would be this scene from the 1955 Marilyn Monroe film The Seven Year Itch, directed by (male director) Billy Wilder. The most infamous scene of the film, and arguably one of the most memorable cinematic scenes in pop culture, it depicts Marilyn Monroe, who is wearing a dress, walking down a city street with a male companion. She stops to walk across an air vent above the subway tracks. "You feel the breeze from the subway?" she asks her male companion. "Isn't it delicious?" The camera then pans down to Monroe's exposed legs, now visible from under her raised skirt, and focuses on them for several moments. When the camera pans up, Monroe's face is lost in ecstasy, obviously unaware of how her male companion is walking around her, cocking his head to the side, and sizing her up: he is enacting the male gaze. When he is finished leering, he suggestively replies, "Sorta cools the ankles, doesn't it?"

Despite the fact that most women in skirts or dresses would avoid a subway air vent at all costs, Monroe's character is displayed as a woman who not only seeks out the subway air vent, but willingly steps over it, spreads her legs, and allows the camera (which is representing the male audience) to get a good, long look at her revealed lower body as she tosses her head and giggles in pleasure. Monroe is deeply sexualized: the image of her in this scene represents a visual image of a woman set up on a pedestal for the sole purpose of providing visual and sexual stimulation for its male audience. Her male companion overtly represents the male gaze as he indiscreetly drinks in her image and then approves of her performance - her pleasure is only displayed as a performance for his pleasure - with a sexually charged comment.

While this example can be used to describe how images of women in the media are controlled and constructed, it is important to note that Monroe is a white female. The images of African-American women in Western media are not only as controlled and constructed as images of white females are, but furthermore, are marginalized and heavily stereotyped based on racial bias, if not made outright invisible. Author bell hooks, in her essay, "The Oppositional Gaze," discusses how black females establish an "oppositional gaze" in which they can reject the images thrown at them by the patriarchal, Anglo-centric media by looking at these images with a critical eye. hooks points out that the very privilege of being able to look is already a rejection of the societal portrayal of African-Americans as "unworthy" of looking at white people. This oppositional gaze was indeed a political one as well as a critical one: hooks notes that the women who take on this gaze often do so to directly confront the white supremacist politics that are interlaced with many portrayals of black women in media.

Why is the male gaze pervasive in Western media? Because it has succeeded in dividing and conquering women as a group. Unfortunately, the male gaze is not solely male anymore. After years of oppression, many Western women have internalized the insecurities and self-hatred that have grown out of the male gaze and now look at other women with a "female gaze." This female gaze is not one of sisterhood or solidarity, but instead one of patriarchal judgement. Western media has made it not only acceptable, but "cool" for women to expect other women to always look a certain way, be sexual a certain way, and to act a certain way. This is a recycling of the male gaze, but this time perpetuated by women.


As a female, the male gaze effects my life on a day-to-day basis. I am programmed by society to care deeply about what men, and others, think of my appearance. Like the image of Monroe in The Seven Year Itch, society tells me that, as a woman, I must constantly be putting myself on display for the gratification of males. This conflicts deeply with both my agency as a woman and my identity as a feminist, and is a source of daily struggle. As a media consumer and future media maker, I make great strides to follow the lead of bell hooks and consistently assert my oppositional gaze to the male gaze. I subscribe to Bitch Magazine, a non-profit feminist magazine that devotes itself to recognizing and rejecting framework of the patriarchy in pop culture, and I actively read feminist blogs and Twitter feeds, such as Feministing and The Happy Feminist. In the future, I hope to be part of the creation of media that contributes to real women's bodies and existences being heard, seen and appreciated for their accomplishments, rather than being objectified and expected to serve an oppressive cultural norm.

The Male Gaze

The male gaze is the power that male spectators in a patriarchal structured culture have over women. It is a pervasive form of vision in popular culture, because it controls every aspect of a woman’s life and is evident in almost every form of media.
Media dictates what a woman should look like. She is supposed to be sexy, which may entail high heels, skirts, and make-up.
From magazines to film the image of women is suppose to be one that will capture a mans attention. For instance, beauty magazines are used as guides for women on how to acquire the right look that will make her more appealing to men. They advise women on everything from how to cover dark circles under her eyes to how to remove unwanted hair.


The power of the male gaze is also evident in television and film. These forms of media depict what patriarchally structured societies assume women should look like, and the benefits she will acquire from adapting to that ideal.


As in the film “Secretary” by Steven Shainberg. Where a secretary realizes that in order to gain the attention of her male boss she needs to wear clothing that will reveal her female body to him.
On the other side Bell Hooks explains that women can win back their power from men by developing an oppositional gaze. The oppositional gaze is the critical analysis of media and how it is used to create the realty of a woman as being the victim. In order for a woman to break free of this victimization, she needs to develop her oppositional gaze that is developed through observing media, by means of watching and reading all kinds of media, then critically analyzing it. However, by passively watching media a woman can’t develop this oppositional gaze.

In reading about these structures I have come to understand that although the male gaze is so deeply ingrained in our culture we can eventually make it extinct by critically analyzing images the media presents to us. By understanding these structures I have come to realize that my own identity as a black female has not been developed organically, but developed on the basis of female ideals based on fictional images in the media.

A Very Familiar Gaze...

We've all seen it: the image of a woman gazing back at the camera submissively and seductively over her exposed shoulder.

It is a very familiar image; a very familiar gaze. We saw it in the films and photography of the 1940s and it pervades the media of today. It is without question a product of what is still a very male-driven society. Why is it pervasive in popular culture? It is a known fact that the ringleaders of the media world are men. Thus, this facet of our society is drenched in patriarchy. After reading Berger's Ways of Seeing, it is understood that the male gaze is used to enforce control over women, showing that the man has the power. Media images are then created to enforce that power. We can see this power clearly in the images I spoke of previously. The woman is submissive to that male power, letting her guard down and allowing herself to be seen as an object, a sex symbol. More often than not, women are portrayed in this way, usually exhibited in a way that implies a relinquish of her dignity and inferiority to the the spectator (which is intended to be a male audience). So, this display and portrayal of women in the media is done through the male perspective. The camera is this perspective, it is the lens by which women become the passive object of desire. It is because of this very portrayal and abusive control by men that creates the insecurities and obsession with physical appearance seen in women and girls of all ages. This domination that men have had and many women's willingness to submit has perpetuated this idea of objectification of women and has caused women to be incessantly aware of how they look because they know they are being looked at. Little do many women know that body image pressures seen in the media and battles with anorexia, bulimia, etc. are all a result of the male gaze. It is because of this gaze, the idea that women know they are being watched and feel the need to live up to the expectations of their spectator to earn the position as being the object to be desired, that they obsess about their image and feel they need to look a certain way. They obsess over the need to feel and look "sexy" and appeal to the men watching them. They then develop a complex,and see a reflection of themselves being watched and are conscious of and obsess over how they are presenting themselves to not only their spectators (men) but to themselves! It is because of this gaze that the motto "sex sells" was born and is commonly referred to and used in the world of advertisement and marketing. We also have to remember, however, that women look at women. This is referred to as the "female gaze". And as one of my delicious posts, I tagged an exhibit entitled "The Female Gaze." It examines the idea that women are just as conscious of how they are being perceived by other women, as they are men.

As a women in this society, of course I am unavoidably immersed in this very sad an dissapointing world guided through the male gaze, and at times it undoubtedly provokes, triggers and stimulates the perspective that I have of myself and my identity in this society. However, by being aware of its origins, that is the first step to conquering it and not allowing it to influence or damage your view of yourself, your dignity, and your identity as a woman alongside men in this society.

Similarly, the oppositional gaze, is the product of a white male-driven society. Bell Hooks developed this analysis of thought, encouraging black women not to accept stereotypical representations in film, but rather critique them. She encourages them to look critically at their cultural environments in order to move forward. The act of looking is for the black individual, power. There is power in looking, and if you're not looking, you're not using your power.

It is obvious how white and white male domination pervades the media. It is commonly seen in films from years ago and from those of today. An example of this is the representation of "Sapphire" in Amos 'n Andy. I think it is critical for this segment of our society to view their portrayal in the media with a very critical eye and not accept false representations and not accept the belief that this is an accurate portrayal of who they are. In doing this, they are opposing what is meant to be an oppressive portrayal. This power that they have to look at what is being portrayed and how it is being portrayed is exercising their right and in doing so will prevent being submissive to false representation.

I think that regardless of race, we are all subjected to a moment in when we are labeled, misrepresented, misinterpreted, stamped with a stereotype. We have many expectations created for us, and preconceived ideas about who we might be depending on many factors, including skin color, social class, etc. Whenever I am faced with this obstacle, I do view it with a critical eye and evaluate the situation carefully. It is importatant to be confident in the person you know you are, challenge the "oponent" by presenting yourself in a way that will contradict their preconceived, malinformed opinion. In doing this, you conquer the need to give the oppositional gaze.

Gazing in the Grass

"Men look at women, and women watch themselves being looked at." I had to come post this as soon as I walked in the door, because honestly, I was just that woman described in the quote. And to be honest again, I have been that woman... more than once, twice, three times... I look at is as a sort of mating call... Like the Birds of Paradise, who color their plumes and put on ridiculous shows for their potential mating partner - that's kind of how I see it. I was riding the subway home from work, and across the way, there was an extremely dashing man... he was mysterious, with his sunglasses and his tattoos across his neck, a scar right in the middle, where a dark green figure 8 moved perpetually while not moving at all (my analysis is that he believes he will be eternal, death or destruction no matter). Regardless of all of this, I felt him looking at me... and I wanted to look at him too, but instead, I looked inside, at myself, and felt my heart beat a little faster. I started shuffling through my ipod, and breathing a little deeper, because I knew he would be able to see my sternum rise and fall, and probably be drawn to my clavicle. And I didn't mind. Because I found him attractive too. I am not so sure that he was trying to exercise some sort of patriarchal power over me. I am not so sure he was trying to be pervasive and objectify me either. Why does it have to be so dramatic like that? Maybe he just thought I was pretty, and I thought the same of him. I was looking at him in the same way he was looking at me, but I definitely took note of the fact he was looking at me, and changed my behavior/mindset as a result of that. Regardless of the power and idealization, it did become a situation of audience/spectator. But I could have easily been "objectifying" him also. I could have been exercising my matriarchal power over him. Who's to say it was anything so intense as that? Couldn't it have been a simple fact that we found each other attractive?

I understand that because of history, and how things have played out, the male gaze is indeed something to be aware of, and critical of. There have been many instances where the male gaze is perverse. Woman has no doubt been a source of titillation, beauty, excitement, and interest to men. Let's face it, we are definitely more appealing to the eye (and I say that in jest). The thing I grapple with the most is this huge wave of pornography, and how that can affect men (and women). I am surprised no one has mentioned this yet in class. Porn can become such an addicting aspect in one's life, and completely ruin anything real or meaningful. The perverse nature of this material is already somewhat uncomfortable, but when you see how it can take over one's life, you realize the power of the male gaze.Women become these idealized things, fantasies, the drive behind an active pursuit of personal pleasure and gratification for men. To me, I feel there are two sides of the coin. Men gain power in the sense that women can be seen as degrading and nothing but sexual pleasure objects. On the other side, women can gain power from this as some dumb fool who is so obsessed with her sexual nature will give her money, attention, and pleasure as well, while potentially going against everything he has in his own private life.

bell hooks introduces us to the oppositional gaze. The oppositional gaze is one that takes a more critical approach. It is the response to the male gaze, in the sense that one being looked at will look back in a certain way. It is a form of resistance to the objectifying nature on a male gaze. Dating back to the early times of the slaves, when they were told not to look at their master, and in turn were gazed at with disgust, the oppositional gaze was formed - slaves learning to look at their masters or others on the plantation in a certain way. The oppositional gaze is interesting, because it grants a little more assertiveness to the one who is doing the looking. That is a nice thing compared to the objectifying nature of the male gaze. Perhaps my experience on the subway, and the way I was looking at that man, could be looked at as a form of the oppositional gaze (though I also think it could be viewed as the "female gaze" which I am coining for all intensive purposes).

Not to oversimplify, but we are all just human. We are curious, interested, rude, nice, mean, ugly, beautiful, and so many more things... it is human nature to look... to stare... to glare... to "gaze"... everyone is different in their intentions, in their likes and dislikes... but we are all one.

Ways of Seeing

The Male Gaze is pervasive in culture because since the dawn of time, all thing threaded into the fabric of our nation ( Religion, Politics, sex) have men in the power seat. This particular gaze enforces the patriarchal view of how men see things; therefore pushing the view onto the masses. It is by no coincident that things are this way, the majority of entertainment CEO are Men (i.e. Rupert Murdoch NewsCorp., Robert "Bob" Iger from Disney, Sir Howard Stringer of Sony Music Corp, Philippe Dauman of Viacom). This male dominated media sphere is made by men, and inevitably for men.

The male gaze encompasses the view of woman as lacking agency or the power to look, to be, to have opinions. It often placed woman in the field of passivity and to be looked on as an object. This idea of woman as passive and a spectacle to be stared at is reminiscent of John Berger's "Ways of seeing." Berger quotes that "men act and women appear." this means that men look at women while women watch themselves be looked at.

The notion startled me, at first. I had spent many classes and lecture learning how women were objectified by the male media and how we can one day help break those tightened molds. Berger suggested that women in fact elude to the objectification. But can it be? I realize now that it most certainly can. It makes sense! women dress up t be looked at otherwise why by the latest fashions? As Berger laments " those who are not judged beautiful are not, those who are are given the prize." It can be cause we like the way we look in fashions, we feel they make us look good, but it is as much to attract a man as for any other reason.

The Oppositional Gaze is, as described by acclaimed write bell Hooks is how Black women are excluded and included in the arts. They are made to feel they should not see themselves in their white media counterparts and lack a sense of "agency." the gaze of opposition is a sight of agency, a place in which we can defy what we (black women) see on the screen.

The Oppositional gaze challenges the views of authority in that women are not given permission to look or "gaze" as they would like. Like any other person can. Black women have been forced to resist and be critical in order to achieve some identity. This gaze also helps to fight the idea of women as being subservient to men. Hooks presses upon black women to not only NOT accept the black stereotypes media projects, but to write about them, critique them , make it known their dissidence towards the unfair portrayals.

It is both hard and easy for me to understand these to ways of seeing as I am a woman but not black. As a woman I see everyday how we are watched. I can only imagine as a minority how it would feel to be consistently misportrayed. I imagine it would be hurtful and over all frustrating and that's probably an understatement.

Even in Children's Cinema...

The male gaze is a term that was first coined by Laura Mullvey. In her article “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema," Mullvey describes the male gaze as almost a gaze given my “the male” that projects a list of expectations and creates a “phantasy onto the female figure.” The female responds by playing that typically desired and expected “exhibitionist role, women are simultaneously looked at and displayed, with their appearance coded for strong visual and erotic impact so that they can be said to connote to-be-looked-at-ness.”

Basically, the determining male gaze is a list of visual and physical expectations that “the male” projects on to “the female” that makes the female act, dress, look, etc. accordingly to those expectations, resulting in women becoming sexual/erotic beings that willingly participate in this because they desire to be looked at; women become sexual and erotic only as a result of male expectations. They fix themselves up so that others (men) see them as desiring or pleasing.

A personalized example would be that when I go shopping, instead of picking out what I really like to wear, I think of how my boyfriend would like me to be dressed; what makes him smile? What are his favorite colors to see me in? Does that look sexy? Would he like that on me? Women’s perceptions of themselves are only seen through the male.

The determined male gaze is all over pop culture. In most movies, there are hot chicks, only a beautiful cast (if I remember correctly, life is not full of only hot people and especially hot women.) And in every movie there is a full body shot of some hot woman in revealing clothes; a close up of her shoes, onto her legs, bottom, torso chest and then her luxurious long hair, followed by a shot of her face that is almost never looking at the camera initially, shyly peering down and then giving flutter eyelashes. It’s the typical shot of a woman. Do I look at women like that? No. But hey, maybe men do and in all reality, isn’t that all that matters? (No).

Even in radio, if there is an interview of a hot new female artist, don’t we always hear the cute, subtle little chuckle and almost-smirk like qualities of her laugh and conversation. Does this make her any more appealing to me as a woman? No, but it sure gets male listeners. But the most ironic thing is that that makes more young girls do that, act like clones to get male attention.

The oppositional gaze is a term coined by Bell Hooks response to years of the oppression that African Americans received in the United States as a result of slavery. She writes about how African Americans were ever allowed to look Whites in the eyes because of fear for their lives or how black men could be killed for looking at a white woman. As time went on, the practice carried on through generations in the African American communities. That’s where the oppositional gaze came in; Hooks writes about how by looking at Whites or even each other in the eyes, there was a certain power that came with daring to look that established a platform to “be” and not just exist. In her article, “The Oppositional Gaze,” Hooks writes, “not only will I stare, I want my look to change reality.”

After understanding both of these concepts, I’ve really had to evaluate why I do things and the power that they connote or even give away. They have forced me to re-evaluate every piece of media that I see, the conversations that I overhear. For example, this weekend I went to the movies and saw “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” and there was a character, I forgot her name, who wanted a career as a weather girl but only got it after she changed her appearance. She also felt that she had to play dumb to get the guy she liked. Wow, That made me think of the power of the male gaze. Something that is even present in children’s cinema.