Male Gaze and Patriarchy

Male Gaze and Patriarchy by Naomi Santos

Miss Universe 2015 Pia Wurtzbach passing the crown to Miss Universe 2016 Iris Mittenaere
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The role of women in the society is a topic that can be portrayed through art, and popular culture. According to John Berger, male gaze is the validity of women’s beauty and purpose of existence based on the approval of men. He also described that being naked and nude have two different meanings. In page of, he describes that, “To be naked is to be oneself. T be nude is to be seen naked by others and yet not recognized for oneself” (Berger 54).  This emphasizes that a woman’s body can be seen as a nude if the intention behind it is to be displayed and looked at. In John Berger’s compiled illustrations, the women are always nude. Just simply being art means that they are meant to be looked at, to be watched. These women have to look a certain way to be classified as beautiful. To further this observation, Berger even describes how women compete with each other in beauty contests.  In The Judgement of Paris by Rubens, Paris gives an apple to the most beautiful woman according to his own standards (Berger 52). In this case, women compete who gets the apple based on Paris’ judgment. This can be related to today’s popular culture in various pageants such as Miss Universe, Miss World and Miss USA, where women from different backgrounds represent where they’re from to get the crown. They are then ranked based on their talents, looks, and intelligence.  This is pervasive in art and in popular culture because it implies that women should act and look at a certain way to be appreciated. For example, some of the criteria to be part of Miss Universe require them to carry themselves that embody the modern woman that everyone will approve of once she’s on stage. What I found the most interesting criterion is that contestants that join Miss Universe may not be associated with marriage or child birth. This requirement seems like in order to be Miss Universe or a woman that may represent the “modern woman” in whole world, women should be single and not care for a child. They also have to go through various screening stages to prove that they deserve the crown, and that is to gain the approval of everyone even from social media. By joining the contests, they are exposing themselves to get judged by everyone around them. They even have to have the perfect body to compete for the swimsuit round, where they get judged on their appearance wearing a bathing suit. During the pageant, they have to be on their best behavior and act appropriately or in a popular phrase “Act like a lady”.  In this instance, the women in the beauty contests are becoming the women in the illustration in Bell Hooks, they are displayed in the public to compete and to be watched. In other words, as much as they want to be themselves and comfortable in their own skin, they are being judged by everyone including the male gaze.

Bell hooks quote in Teaching Critical Thinking: Practical Wisdom
explaining that anyone including children can be a victim of patriarchy
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On the other hand, a man’s role has also been standardized through the idea of patriarchy.  According to Bell Hooks, patriarchy is the idea that men dominates society through the use of power and aggression. He argues that, “patriarchy is the single most life – threatening social disease assaulting the male body and spirit in our nation” (Hooks 17). She believes that the standards that the society deems acceptable in order to be the ideal man is what destroys men and our society. Hooks shares her own life story that her father always forced her to be less aggressive than her brother through the use of violence. This implied that she and her brother growing up to be themselves was wrong because of the society’s expectations that men are supposed to be more powerful than women by displaying rage and aggression, which is the opposite of aggressive Hooks and her passive brother. What bothered me the most was the way the father created a harsh environment in order for the children to follow his orders as the “patriarch” or the ruler of the household.  In a way, I can relate to Hooks because my father is the same way. My father always believed that me and my sister always had to follow his rules, while my brother could do whatever he wants in his life. He warned us that we could not date until we finish college, or else, he would disown us. He kept mentioning that he knows how boys’ minds work, and we would just get pregnant if we start dating. As soon as I started dating in the senior year of my high school, he found ways to track me, and immediately started treating me differently. That was the reason why he never provided me money for my tuition in college. He mentioned that there was no reason for me to go to college since I would just get pregnant. My patriarch dad always believed in his own thoughts and words, and would never take my opinions because I’m “just the daughter”. What’s even worse was that he blamed my mother for raising such a “rebel child”. Well, thanks to him. I learned to stand on my own as an independent woman who provide for my own education, believe in myself with high confidence, and surround myself with people who see the real me. I strongly believe that patriarchy is what destroyed my father. He believed that as a man and a father, he was in control of everything, but in reality, he was not. He was only in control of his own destruction.  

Sources:

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

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