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.