The male gaze is
the unwanted silent threat to women. Walking down any ordinary street, a
man watches a lady up and down from head to toe. With such invasive behavior,
women can’t help but to feel objectified and vulnerable. John Berger explains
it perfectly in Ways of Seeing
saying, “Men act. Women appear.” Men are freer to live where women are
constantly under a microscope. Men do the watching, the gazing. And women are
only perceived as objects to admire or look at without hesitation. Berger also
says, “Men look at women. Women watch themselves being looked at.” Women are
persistently scrutinized on the basis of our society’s structure. The social
order we’ve created requires us to maintain an image. Whether we admit it or
not, we have a very materialistic viewpoint on the world surrounding us.
Material things construct the entirety of our lives. There is no escaping it;
rather we need to embrace it, and ultimately revolutionize the way we look at
each other and more importantly, ourselves.
As a model, I’ve
first handedly witnessed prejudice based on gender as well as racial
background. Women are so subjectified to the point where they fall in love with
the attention. From liquor commercials to car commercials, from raunchy
restaurants (ex: Hooters) to lingerie advertisements, women are told what to
look like in order to be ‘happy’ and ‘successful’. Our society has created a
false pedestal on which many women desire to stand upon not concerning themselves
with self-respect. The attention feels too damn good to give up. They objectify
themselves because they settle for the male gaze. They aren’t willing to wait
for gentlemen to come their way. They want numerous looks. They want to flaunt
a sexy persona that is, for the majority, a self-told lie. But women are forced
to lie to themselves because we only engage or react to a certain way women
look and behave.
The oppositional
gaze is one of retaliation. It serves an instant gratification of being
rebellious to the normalcy of subjecting women, but it does not tackle the root
of the problem. This alter gaze brings awareness that there is a certain power
in looking. Acknowledging one’s own power allows one to control the way they
feel when others look at them. Observed by Bell Hooks, we see a dual battle of
sexism and racism. She describes how mainstream media lacks diversity and
actually promotes an unconscious segregated society. She strives to cure the
ignorance through her own profession in the film world. She focuses on the
purpose of films noting that they are not mirrors of reality, but a
representational art form which enables us to discover who we are.
There is hope for
the human race. Some of us, men and women, are able to step outside of reality
and manifest a life solely for us, not buying into the mainstream way of doing
things. We aren’t all caught up in the sex-crazed matrix most of humanity has trapped
itself in, nor are we old-fashioned conservatives. Some of us have successfully
managed to be ourselves, be comfortable in our own skin, and be happy. We know
that popular culture is a lie. We know that humans are speeding down the wrong
path. They are searching in all dark places in search for the light. This isn’t
a sexist issue. This is a humanity case. We are always pointing fingers at the
opposite sex not realizing we’re both guilty.
We have to redefine our
morals and standards because as of recently, we’ve derailed so far off the
track that people don’t stand for anything anymore. We fall for everything that
comes our way, we get hurt, and then we put up massive walls the size of the
one in China so that no one can ever again hurt us. We’ve developed a
psychological problem that installs a fear of other people. We fear what other
people think about us, how other people look at us, and what people will say
about us. We’ve learned to not trust anyone but ourselves. We’ve taken being an
individual out of context. We’ve created monsters that we really don’t like
staring at in front of the mirror or rather, we’ve tricked ourselves in
believing that the image in the mirror is the most lovable versions of
ourselves.
https://www.google.com/search?q=liquor+ad&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=Bpc8UtuHF5ev4AO3soHwBQ&ved=0CC8QsAQ&biw=1226&bih=911&dpr=1#q=liquor+ad&tbm=isch&facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=YUYPJ8jCMxKUsM%3A%3B-kJSioag6OfHjM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fartatm.com%252Fwp-content%252Fuploads%252F2010%252F05%252Fsmirnoff_advertising_3.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fartatm.com%252F2010%252F05%252F50-creative-and-inspirational-liquor-advertisements%252F%3B550%3B363
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/08/business/media/08adco.html
There are people who oversee advertising with a moral code in mind, but there's a gray area of what's socially acceptable.
great post. 5th paragraph is so powerful! *goosebumps*
ReplyDelete"Women are so subjectified to the point where they fall in love with the attention. From liquor commercials to car commercials, from raunchy restaurants (ex: Hooters) to lingerie advertisements, women are told what to look like in order to be ‘happy’ and ‘successful’. Our society has created a false pedestal on which many women desire to stand upon not concerning themselves with self-respect. The attention feels too damn good to give up. They objectify themselves because they settle for the male gaze. They aren’t willing to wait for gentlemen to come their way. "
ReplyDeleteThis is perpetuating the idea of women being at fault for being oppressed and their bodies exploited (I don't understand how one can "objectify themselves"). People often use "self-respect" as an excuse for something they don't approve of (like another person's behavior, self presentation, etc.). That language is generally coded for women and people of color. The 'gentlemen' thing? First, it's heteronormative. Chivalry is all about the extreme dichotomy of gender roles. I'm not certain how the waiting works out for princesses in high towers but I'm sure it gets really tedious. Women want to live and pursue partners, too.
"We know that popular culture is a lie. We know that humans are speeding down the wrong path. They are searching in all dark places in search for the light. This isn’t a sexist issue. This is a humanity case. We are always pointing fingers at the opposite sex not realizing we’re both guilty."
These are blanket statements that don't really mean anything? Sure, women can be sexist too, but internalized sexism isn't as harmful as sexism by men. It is literally life-threatening. In response to your last paragraph, I don't believe it's that easy to avoid the male gaze (what I think you're referring to, though it's vague) as simply as ignoring it or thinking happy thoughts. It's an invasion of personal space and safety in daily life and as exhibited in art and media. The male gaze should be challenged in those realms; if you witness a woman being catcalled or harassed, why not confront the offender? If the offender is a man he's mostly likely going to listen to reason if it comes from another man because of the whole "respect" thing and "seeing men as fully realized humans (capable of having autonomy)" thing. This link: http://vimeo.com/62868258 is a funny take on the male gaze, and sort of a reversal in the music video.
Overall, I enjoyed this piece. I disagree with Rebecca, and her opinion that your statement "...Women are so subjectified to the point where they fall in love with the attention..." perpetuates the idea that women are at fault for their exploitation and oppression. If I'm understanding you correctly, you are not blaming or bashing women for the oppression that they face, you are doing just the opposite. You are merely calling to attention how many girls and women are now being brainwashed into thinking that they must be objectified and exploited in order to be "somebody" or valued in society. This I feel you explained in the following sentence " Our society has created a false pedestal on which many women desire to stand upon not concerning themselves with self-respect."
ReplyDeleteCommenting on the self-respect matter, it can seem a bit offensive and pious when used, however, reading this I do not believe that this was your intent. It seems as though you are just suggesting that the media's portrayal of women tends to affect them in such a manner, that they abandon all self worth, and unfortunately disregard all things positive and valuable about themselves in order to "fit in".
I agree with the self awareness of the false ideals created by the media. However, disagree with many of the comments that you had about the male gaze. Women do not have to wait for a gentleman to come their way, for a prince charming to sweep them off of their feet. The notion of the pure woman waiting for a hero is another archetype created by the very media that you are critiquing. It is okay for women to get a sense of being powerful for being sexy in the male eyes, and to be envied by other women. It is not right, however to call this woman vain, because she enjoys her own image. Just as Berger predicted, you are most likely enjoying the sexually charged advertisements posed by men and blaming the female models for being so provocative and lacking in "morals".
ReplyDeleteAs always, I love your writing. You dared to touch on something women, all of us, need to hear; we actually fall in love with all the attention. Further more, I like your approach on how we can determine how we feel when confronted by the gaze.
ReplyDelete