Male Gaze & Patriarchy

The male gaze, according to John Berger, is the idea that women become objects for a man’s pleasure. It is the idea that men are made to gaze or look at women and women are made to be looked at. The “Ways of Seeing” also goes onto explain that “The surveyor of woman in herself is male: the surveyed female. This she turns herself into an object - and most particularly an object of vision: a sight” (Berger, 47). Berger dates it back to the story of Adam and Eve where they become aware of their nakedness after eating the apple and Eve being punished for doing so. Her punishment then became being ruled over by Adam and becoming a mother. In a website I found, https://www.bluffton.edu/~sullivanm/forum/gender2.html Mary Ann Sullivan provides examples of art of men and of women and the differences between the pieces. In “Oh What a Difference a Difference Makes: Gender in the Visual Arts, Sullivan writes, “Their portraits were designed for the male viewers; the women are passive, powerless objects subject to the controlling gaze of males.” Unfortunately, the male gaze is so prevalent in art and in pop culture because of this idea that men have dominance over women.

The Male Gaze in today's world/society

The male gaze is existent, even in today's world, due to patriarchy. Bell Hooks explains in “The Will to Change,” that patriarchy is the fixed order in which males are superior to the female. Patriarchy is the plague of society that infected people to thinking that “males are inherently dominating, superior to everything and everyone…” (Hooks, 18) thus making females the inferior or subordinate sex. We see the patriarchy win everyday, without even realizing it. I believe patriarchy does not discriminate against any race, religion, or class. I know of girls my age who are putting themselves through school solely because their parents believe that their education is not important compared to that of their brothers because she is to be married and stay home with the children. I have also taken a course called Women in the Economy, which I now realize is another class that proves that patriarchy exists. The United States Bureau of Labor statistics shows the a myriad of data that show the unfairness of women in the labor force of all working ages and races. The May 2014 could be found at http://www.bls.gov/opub/reports/cps/womenlaborforce_2013.pdf There are an extremely large number of male CEOs because it is considered to be a “man’s job” because women cannot be in charge or are considered too emotional for such a high-up position. We see in every ad, billboard, or even in the music we listen to that the man is always the hero and the women is the sidekick; the man is the king yet the women is the servant; the man is the breadwinner and the woman is the housewife. Even when society allows women to do something, it has to be the way society wants it to be. In chapter five of “Women, Art and Society,” Chadwick mentions, “As long as the woman artist presented a self-image emphasizing beauty, gracefulness, and modesty, and as long as her paintings appeared to confirm this construction, she could, albeit with difficulty, negotiate a role for herself in the world of public art.” Even this thought could go back to the idea of the male-gaze when she mentions the fact that is has to be a “self-image.” Is there a reason a woman artist could paint someone or something else than herself or other women? It all goes back to the male gaze and patriarchy, when women are finally able to do something, something they enjoy it still has to be enjoyable to the man. It still has to please the male viewer.

Woman naked on the cover of a magazine for men while the men are fully covered and dressed in suits

It is these things, big and small, that have made me realize that these structures very much exist even in 2016 and I understand that they are unfair, unjust, and unacceptable. Reading “The Ways of Seeing” and “The Will to Change” have further educated me on these structures and have changed my views about various art and media. I have taken an Introduction of Women’s Studies course here at Rutgers my sophomore year which made me very aware of the fact that I am a feminist and have since with confidence identified myself as a feminist. I have since become very mindful of the things said about women and the unfairness we are subjected to everyday. My final for the class was to write a paper on a topic of my choice. I focused on the art forms of movies, television shows, and music and the unfairness women face in these categories. Some of the women I included in my paper are helping the feminist movement but I also discussed those who are not. We never had a discussion on the male gaze nor did we discuss patriarchy. After taking that class and joining Art and Women, my knowledge grows along with my infuriation about the way women are viewed, including the male gaze. I have a growing interest in social media and hope that my career will involve my use of social media. I can say with great confidence that after learning what I have and what I will continue to learn, that I will not be another individual of society that helps women become objects. I hope to and aspire to be a women that is able to break the cycle and make a change.

Tumblr post mentioning the quote of John Berger's "Ways of Seeing"