The Male Gaze and Patriarchy

The Judgment of Paris,

Lucas Cranach

1528

John Berger’s analysis of the male gaze can most easily be described as a perspective of the world through the eyes men. However, simply stating that the male gaze is only a male perspective would be incorrect, because the male gaze runs much deeper. The gaze is deeply rooted in our society as a form of control through male dominance. Traditionally, the male gaze is seen through paintings of women who convey a blank expression. Although, the blank expression says more of the painted women with the use of their eyes and who they are looking at, rather than strictly their facial expression. For example, Berger describes the nature of women as being, “the surveyor and the surveyed…two constituent yet always distinct elements of her identity as a woman” (Ways of Seeing, p.46). According to Berger, the women painted in the traditional arts are women who look directly at the spectator and not the painter. The woman’s gaze almost says that she sees the spectator and acknowledges him, so that he may have her in a form that captures her very essence. In this case, the women are the surveyors. Berger goes deeper when he mentions, in the previous quote, that the other part of a woman’s identity is her being the surveyed. Berger claims that women are born to be looked at and her very existence is for the appraisal by others. For instance, he says, “Her own sense of being in herself is being supplanted by a sense of being appreciated as herself by another” (Ways of Seeing, p.46). This quote strikes at the heart of an old traditional way of thinking that continues to exist. The quote practically states that women are simply a prize to be adorned by men and the only trait that matters is their beauty. If a woman is not deemed “beautiful” then she will not be considered as a “prize worth having,” let alone a woman. The male gaze is so pervasive in art and pop culture due to the way we raise our children. We raise girls to believe that the way they appear to others is the most important feature they have no matter what underlying skills, talents, or superior intelligence they potentially could display if given the chance. As a result, some may believe that the existence of women is to compete with other women through a beauty contest and nothing more. To add to that, video games display an over-sexualization of women, most likely for the pleasure of men, with the use of character designs. This proves that the male gaze continues to exist today in modern art. 

Susanna and the Elders,

Tintoretto

1555

          Patriarchy can most easily be explained as a system that favors men over women in almost all areas of life. Under a patriarchy, men are the dominant presence and women are the subordinates. Bell Hooks clearly 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 to rule over the weak and to maintain that dominance through various forms of psychological terrorism and violence” (The Will to Change, p.18). In simpler terms, patriarchy is a poisonous system that divides men and women. When men and women are divided, progress is slowed for all. Furthermore, patriarchy not only affects women, but it negatively impacts men, too. For example, Bell Hooks says, “Patriarchal ideology brainwashes men to believe that their domination of women is beneficial when it is not” (p.27). Men are expected to be strong and to never show emotion during tough experiences, which can cause an internal self-destruction. According to patriarchy, men are not considered men if they do not dominate women. Not being considered a ‘man’ may be the worse insult to other men, possibly even to those who have sworn to break down the pillars of patriarchy. I’ve come to understand these structures, patriarchy and the male gaze, through higher education. I’ve been lucky enough to have been humbled by my experiences at Rutgers University by my peers who have exceptional ways of thinking and viewing the world. The diversity in the university has brought people from all walks of life with a new perspective on how a person should define himself. I’ve come to realize that my role in these structures may be to also break down the pillars of patriarchy with the simple method of not following nor mentioning it to younger generations, whether the younger generation be from my own family or someone else’s family. A change of thinking is needed, but a change of that nature will not come overnight. As previously stated, the younger generation may be the key to that change of thought to dismantle patriarchy, but the shift still needs to come from everyone.

- Aaron Gangadin

Sources:
Berger, John, and Michael Dibb. Ways of Seeing. London: BBC Enterprises, 1972.

hooks, bell, 1952-. The Will to Change: Men, Masculinity, and Love. New York: Atria Books, 2004. Print.