The Male Gaze and Patriarchy by Peter Shafeek

La Grande Odalisque by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres 1814. 
The painting is showing a woman staring out of the picture, depicting 
the male gaze. 

When most people look at a photograph of a woman or admire a painting that has a woman in it, they don’t notice the long held tradition of gender role mistreatment trapped in these images. In the book, Ways of Seeing by John Berger, and the chapter, “Understanding Patriarchy” from the book, The Will to Change by Bell Hooks, both authors paint a clear image of women’s role in society. John Berger explains the concept of the male gaze, and how that exhibits women in art and media as a sight of pleasure for men. Bell Hooks further expands on the mistreatment of women past art and media, and describes how women are victims of the patriarchal society from the moment they are born into this world. The male gaze and patriarchy play a vital role in how women in the past until today are still being taken advantage of and are still being viewed as inferior to men.    

John Berger describes the male gaze as the tendency of men to view women as objects that are looked at primarily for pleasure and to fulfill a man’s sexual fantasies. From all the way in the beginning of the female nude depicted in European oil paintings, Berger illustrates how females are painted in such a way that turns the female from a human being into a thing that fulfills the male viewer’s “appetite” of satisfaction. Even today, whenever a model poses for a picture or when a model is put on the front cover of a magazine, she is shown looking out into the eyes of the spectator to give the viewer the illusion that she is “falling” for him, and that she only belongs to him. This essentially turns women “into an object - and most particularly an object of vision: a sight” (Berger 47). Berger demonstrates that the male gaze takes the humanity out of females, and instead, turns them into a subject of delight. As a result, when a man looks at a painting of a nude woman or stares back into the eyes of a model posing in a photograph, he can’t help himself from fantasizing about that woman, ultimately turning the woman into an imaginary trophy that he won for himself. Consequently, “a woman’s self being [is] split into two” (Berger 46) in today’s society. Starting from a woman’s early childhood, she is always taught to always watch herself, and to make sure she is “presentable” for today’s cultural norms and standards. On top of that, a woman also has to watch other men look at her. These two factors that women have to deal with constantly lock them into a cage where men are always looking at them like an animal in a zoo. The male gaze highly degrades women, and I believe that men unconsciously fall into the trap of finding themselves looking at a woman or viewing a picture of a woman, and they can’t help themselves to view her as a sexual object.    

1950's Schlitz beer advertisement showing the gender role of women
in society as housewives.

Patriarchy, as defined by Bell Hooks, is a male dominated system that makes women feel inferior by acts of violence and unequal treatment. In this system, a woman is looked at as weak, and as unable to survive on her own without the masculine man to take care of her. Hooks goes on to highlight that the dominating man tends to “maintain that dominance through various forms of psychological terrorism and violence” (18). Since childhood, women are taught the ideal rules to follow to be a female living in a patriarchal society. Sometimes these rules are enforced by fear as in the case of Hook’s father. As Hooks was a child, she liked to play with marbles, a “boy’s toy” instead of dolls like “normal” girls her age. Eventually, to teach Hooks to act as an ideal female, her father beat her with such rage and violence in front of her whole family to discipline her. Clearly, this horrific memory that Hooks shared is an example of the kind of “psychological terrorism and violence” she tries to explain to the readers. To be beaten by your father is one thing, but to be beaten by your father, while everyone watches in your family is a different level of torment that took a huge toll on Hooks. Even as a grown woman, Hooks still remembers this event so well, because of how traumatizing it was for her. Furthermore, a common mistake that people make is that they think that patriarchy only affects women. This is simply not true. Both men and women suffer from this empowered male dominated system. As women are taught to hide their feelings since childhood, men are taught to show rage, and violence to demonstrate their masculinity. Patriarchy doesn’t allow a man to be emotional like a woman; it doesn’t allow him to choose the color pink, because that would somehow tear his manhood from him. Although, today we are starting to slowly move away from the norms and ideals that constitute how women and men should act, gender roles could still be conveyed in today’s society. You look at a man who speaks in a soft voice, and who is not afraid to be emotional, and you subconsciously single him out as different. As a male who grew up in a patriarchal household, I never show my emotional side, because that’s how I was taught by my parents. This illustrates to me that if parents would let their children choose their own gender roles, then slowly, future generations will grow up to be blind to these “rules” that I couldn’t get away from, because of the way I was raised.      

The male gaze and patriarchy depict women as instruments that are controlled by men, and hence, men are viewed as the superior beings. In fact, the male gaze is one of the many examples that fall under the patriarchal umbrella. The way men look at women as mere sexual objects when they look at them in paintings or photographs really portray how society objectifies women. Both John Berger and Bell Hooks demonstrate how women are always suppressed to be lesser human beings than men, whether it’s through how women are conveyed in art or how they are raised with specific gender roles from childhood.  

  --Peter Shafeek  

Works Cited:

- Berger, John. Ways of Seeing: Based on the BBC Television Series with John Berger. British Broadcasting Corp., 2012.

-Hooks, Bell. The Will To Change: Men, Masculinity, and Love. Simon & Schuster, 2004.

Male gaze and patriarchy by monique antoine

susannah and the elders (Rembrandt)

the male gaze as described by Berger is the way that a woman should look to attract a man. another thing is that women apparently are more attractive when they are no longer dressed. in most paintings in this time period, the painting of a nude woman, the woman is looking out of the painting to the observer, which is usually a man. even in the picture shown on the right, no matter how unsettling the image, she is always looking out to the audience, attracting male eyes, almost like real females despite being absent in most past art. this is also pervasive in part because of the fact that a woman can be nude for a painting for male eyes, but being nude anywhere else assumed shameful and disgusting. its almost like a double standard that men have with women of this time because of nudity being only for their eyes and only for their viewing pleasure alone. there was even a portion where Berger talks about a section of oddly pornographic paintings that, again, were only for the viewing eyes of a single male or just for males alone.(berger56).Patriarchy from the understanding of bell hooks is a social construct that society made for us.society made us into women. Without this society, we would all be equals but instead, we ended up being the smaller weaker sex and the ones that could give birth to children. Becuase of these factors, women according to bell hooks are treated like second class citezens and are defined by our fenimity and our beauty than our skill and our status. The structures of patriarchy are defined as being the stages that defer from women. Women are supposed to be a certain way and are supposed to be silent and almost invisible and even nonexistant. Everything apparently is the woman’s fault and noone elses fault including when it came to attacks and rapes that was of no fault of their own. Even today, these structures are indeed beginning to curmbkle as women are beginning to fiund their voice and beginning to speak out, other countries are still treating women as second class citezen.understanding the structure now hasnt made me change my mind.i still believe that the structures should be changed and the patriarchy should be dismantled. The only problem is what replaces it?

Does a matriarchy replaces the crumbled patriarchy and its just the vicious cycle in reverse and men are the ones being oppressed and no longer the oppressors? We are indeed In a new era where the times are changing faster than we can realize but the problem is do we want to repeat history again after the patriarchy goes down? is that a safe thing to do after it goes down? believe me I agree with bell hooks and Berger but at the same time we to think of what happened at the page I should goes down this does change this doesn't change the fact that women are being oppressed no matter the skin color the the nationality the age it doesn't matter. nobody in all honesty should be oppressed in this day in age. this shouldn't be an issue but it is still to the people who are still holding on tightly to the roots of the patriarchy and not letting go. the people who are still keeping it alive who are still keeping these false stereotype alive and making more problems For the ones who have to deal with this Society day by day without a change. even though females are the ones who are majority taking down the patriarchy men have also come up in arms to help tear down the patriarchy men don't have to be the aggressive ones, the ones who make the six-figure paycheck, the ones who have to discipline the kids and just be downright unresponsive and cold. men are evolving as well as a woman. men are learning to be more Kinder and gentler and also more open-minded when it comes to relationships and also parenting of children. certain men have to take up the responsibilities in the situations of being the only parent to raise a child or being responsible adults in a relationship. Even though progress is being made they're still chances that everything could just go backwards.  our president of United States is not helping in this at all along with the conservatives who believe A Woman's Place is to be only in the kitchen and always be caring for them it feels like Society going backwards and not for the better but just for the worse. but that's what Society does, it takes two  strides forward and one big jump back to the Dark Ages. I'm or side with bell hooks saying that when men are Taught to be aggressive and rude at a very young age it just continues the next child and the next child in the next child in the Next Generation keeping this string of aggressive men and putting more aggressive than in our society that we don't need .not all men are vicious animals. not all men are born to turn into these businessmen that make millions of dollars sweeping women off their feet End women are not these beautiful petite dolls that must be kept locked away I only seen lewdly to 1 man or into a man of pleasure. I believe that a society changes so will the paste jerky and hopefully, we don't go into a matriarchy Because if men can be brutal to women back in the day women can be just as worse the men and talk to themselves.we don't need a  matriarchy we need quality.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susanna_and_the_Elders_(Rembrandt)

by- monique antoine

The Male Gaze and Patriarchy

The Luncheon on the Grass. Edouard Manet 1863.
Google Art Project

The term "gaze" is used to describe how viewers look at visual representations. The "male gaze" suggests a sexualized way of looking at and objectifying women. In the male gaze, a women is positioned as an object of the male heterosexual desires where her thoughts, feelings and her own sexual desires are unimportant. The goal is to frame her using male desires. For example, paintings from the Renaissance-era, which are female-dominated nudes, were painted simple for a man's pleasure and most of these paintings displayed many of the same qualities: the woman is looking at the viewer, an almost emotionless expression, is either lounging or reclining, and is surrounded by beautiful fabrics and settings. The painting The Luncheon on the Grass by Edouard Manet is a good example.

Even today one doesn't have to look very far to find the effects of the male gaze. Images in current media advertisements, (Liu Jo and Brandon Maxwell) still objectify women by utilizing the same qualities found in the Renaissance paintings. These photos utilize the male gaze quite differently. 

Liu Jo Spring 2012 Campaign

The white woman in the photo on the left is seated comfortably on a sofa and the lightening in the room is very calm and welcoming whereas the black woman in the photo on the right is laying on the floor at the foot what appears to be a stair case in a much darker setting that is more alluring and sensual. By placing the black woman on the floor the male gaze is interpreting the black woman not lounging as her counterpart, but rather trying to seduce which is evident in the position of her body. Her torso is parallel with the floor and her pelvis is

Leila Ndo for Brandon Maxwell. 2016

conveniently facing the viewer and she is dressed in a "little black dress" which is synonymous with sexuality. Contrast that with the dress that the white woman in the left photo is wearing. The male gaze interprets the white woman in a very long, flowing dress that fully covers her body except for her arms and feet and so the seductiveness is less obvious. When you look at that photo you get the impression that her husband or lover has just arrived and has awoken her unexpectedly. The photo on the right screams of ideologies of black women reminiscent of the past when the male gaze saw them as wanton and loose.

In his book, Ways of Seeing, John Berger points out that during the Renaissance-era, European paintings of women were done in the nude and that "the picture is made to appeal to his sexuality" (55). By presenting women in this manner is to add an air of voyeurism to each picture. The woman is always placed in a position of vulnerability and she often appears as if she is waiting for the viewer or male(s) accompanying her to take action thus causing herself to become inactive. As seen in the images and paintings above, the expressions on the women's faces are very subtle as if she is responding to the viewer with calculated charm. By placing the woman in a particular setting and fabric, she becomes less of an individual and more of an object in a landscape. "To be born a woman has been to be born, withing an allotted and confined space, into keeping of men" (46). To every painting there is an artist's perspective, and that artist is usually a man and as a result, females are regularly sexualized because of the male gaze.

bell hook. izquotes. com

In bell hooks book "The Will to Change" she describes patriarchy as a male dominant social structure with men having authority over women and that "Patriarchy is the single most life-threatening social disease assaulting the male body and spirit in our nation" (17). She acknowledges that while women suffer the most damaging effects of this dominance, she also points out that patriarchy also shapes the identity of men and almost strips them entirely of their own free will. Patriarchal societies are very common and as hooks states, unfortunately "Listening to the voices of wounded grown children raised in patriarchal homes and you will hear different versions with the same underlying theme, the use of violence to reinforce our indoctrination and acceptance of patriarchy" (21) made me realize how far reaching the tentacles of patriarchy are.

I have come to understand the impact of these issues by watching the news and hearing horrible stories of rape, murder, and violence against women, teens, and babies at the hands of males who come from societies that devalue women and see them as nothing more than a way to satisfy their lustful desires without the fear of punishment or prosecution. The ever present male gaze that is still very much prevalent in all forms of entertainment and media adds to a "rape culture" that victim blames. Conversely, I am also aware that there are men, in fact, some of my very good friends that resist a society that demands the become a member of the patriarchal system. These brave men choose to stand side by side with women and for women and demand equality for all. An article by Clair Warner describes the affects patriarchy has on men. It's the responsibility of each and every individual, male and female, to stand together and fight to end patriarchy.

By Dorothy DeFrank

Works Cited

Berger, John. Ways of Seeing. British Broadcasting Corporation and Penguin Books. Book. 1972

hooks, Bell. The Will to Change: Men, Masculinity, and Love. Simon & Schuster. Book. 2005

Leila Ndo for Brandon Maxwell. 2016. Google Art Project. Web.

Manet, Edouard. The Luncheon on the Grass. 1863. Google Art Project. Web.

Serrenti, Mario. Kate Moss for Liu.Jo. 2012. Google Art Project. Web.

izquotes.com. bell hooks. Web.

The Male Gaze and Patriarchy

Judgment of Paris by Ruben

Paris gives the prize to Venus, whom he judged to be the most beautiful of the three.  

         Throughout history one can observe how women were used in visual arts as an object to transmit the role that both women, and men had to fulfill in society. The Male Gaze as depicted by John Berger reflects the idea of how women is seen by men trough these different paintings but also the message of submission, and weakness that the painter wants to transmit in order to please the spectator, which in this case is always though to be men.  Berger states “women are depicted differently from men not because of feminine is different from masculine but because the ideal spectator is assumed to be male and the image of the woman is designed to flatter him” (Berger, 64). This transmits how man has the power, and control over women and everything around them. He also analyzes the idea of how the essence that identifies each woman is not for herself but to meet the expectations of the viewer, the man, who has to observe and analyze the characteristics, beauty, and the value that transmits to him. Berger states that, “She (woman) 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 crucial importance for what is normally thought of as the success of her life”(Berger, 46). For instance, women need to compete with each other in order to be considered attractive or beautiful enough to be chosen by men. Seeing the painting of The Judgment of Paris by Rubens clearly shows how this essence and beauty, mentioned above, is put in competition and how these men can judge women with the objective of "rewarding" the winner and how others envy him for being now the "owner" of who will meet all their demands, but at the same time transmits this appealing sense of satisfaction and victory of the woman who is chosen. Although this painting was created a long time ago, in today's society, this same behavior can be observed in games, advertisement, and beauty contests around the world. In these contests, hundreds of women compete with each other to be selected and get the crown (the prize). In these competitions you can see the frustration and sadness of women who are not considered as beautiful as the winner, transmitting once again this erroneous message that the woman has to work and demonstrate not to herself but to others that deserves to be chosen and accepted, and of course influencing women to have the "perfect" body at any cost. The male gaze is very pervasive in popular culture because woman is still treated as an object to be used, and projected towards men in order to make more appealing a certain product, which fuels this idea that man dominates women and can abuse them physically, psychologically or sexually.

Patriarcal Society by Malte Mueller / Getty Images

         Patriarchy is a social problem that has been transmitted from generation to generation. Bell Hooks gives the meaning of this problem that even nowadays is unknown to many people. She defines patriarchy as a “political-social system that insists that males are inherently dominating, superior to everything and everyone deemed weak, especially females, and endowed with the right to dominate and rule over the weak” (Hooks, 18). She shows how her family inculcated in her, the idea that the woman has to be weak, caring, be dominated and how she suffered from patriarchal violence for showing actions that were not according to the role her parents imposed on her. On the other hand, his brother is taught not to show feelings, to be dominant and show strength and power to society. She said how her brother was taught that, “ rage was permitted and that allowing rage to provoke him violence would help him protect home and nation” (Hooks, 19) This type of behavior creates this idea that men have to be aggressive, insensitive, and strong and that although this leads to violence, it is accepted by society. 

         Through the story that Hooks reveals with her family, I can realize how my family follows these same standards, and how difficult it is for them to change this way of thinking. My mom (a single mother) always taught me that I do not need a man to succeed. However, my mom’s family, who lived and were very close to me, always tried to remind me of the roles that both men and women have to fulfill in this society. It is very frustrating for them to see that my profession is more important than getting married. In addition to this, the few times that I talk to my dad, he never says he loves me but he asks me why I do not say that to him, which is quite ironic; he also reminds me how important it is for a woman to be caring, careful, and efficient when getting married; but on the other hand he "teaches" my little brother that he has to go out with many girls, enjoy, and experiment because that is what men do. Reading this paper made me realize how much our society today needs to work to change this problem. This way of thinking can be very difficult to change in people who grew up, and lived their whole lives under these standards, however, it is our duty to teach new generations about gender equality, that men also cry, that they can also be and show affection to others, because although this seems insignificant, in the future this will benefit men and women.

                       Sylvia Walby’s Six Structures of Patiarchy: Sexuality

                    Males condemn women who are sexually active as slags,  

                        males with many sexual conquests are admired.

By: Katherine Vega

Work cited:

1. Berger, John. Ways of Seeing; a Book Made by John Berger. British Broadcasting Corporation and Penguin Books, 1972.

2. Hooks, bell. The Will to Change: Men, Masculinity, and Love. Simon & Schuster, 2005.