The male gaze is a symptom of the
larger problem in society – the issue being the regression of education, the
ability to read, and the ability to logically argue, all of which inevitably
prevents the progress needed to be made in society in status quo. The male gaze
is the way people see women through the perspective of men; women too view
themselves through the perspective of the male. The male gaze is illustrated
through paintings by the apparent nature of the female subject’s attention –
where her existence is dedicated towards his pleasure. In John Berger’s book
titled Ways of Seeing, he defines and
illustrates the male gaze. He writes, “[s]he has to survey everything she is
and everything she does because of 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). The male gaze and the value of women being
contingent on how attractive she appears to men is pervasive in art and popular
culture.
 |
The image above is an ad for the fragrance Jimmy Choo
Man. Although this fragrance is intended for men, the
editors of this image felt the need to include the bottom
of what may be presumed to be a female with heels on.
|
The male gaze translates to daily life in the form of hair-free arms to smooth legs. Some women feel the need to remove their natural bodily hair so that they may
feel feminine, and be more likely attract someone. The pitfall of this logic is
that pubescent girls are the ones who lack body hair; grown females who are
able to carry a child have biologically evolved to have hair on their bodies
for whatever significant purpose the hair serves. To think that man would want
a female whose body resembles that of pubescent female is odd and alarming. Yet
some women feel the need to still make sure they are hairless everywhere below
the neck because of the fear of the repercussion of rejecting what society has
come to consider feminine and attractive. When some females choose not to get
rid of their bodily hair, their first critique most likely happens to be from other
females; the second group of people to critique this rejection would be men who
would not hold the same standards for themselves.
The male gaze plays well into the commandments
of patriarchy, which is a political social system that dictates the gender
norms in which the man holds the power and the woman is his aid. According to
the prominent feminist bell hooks, “[p]atriarchy is 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” (hooks 18). In this system, the
dominant man is not allowed to cry or express emotions – both of which are
natural and should be permissible. In this system, a woman cannot be the boss
because her hormones would not let her think logically – yet the science behind
this claim is misconstrued because men also have their own cycle where their
estrogen levels as well as their follicle stimulating hormone and their luteinizing
hormones rise and fall throughout the month.
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| The overwhelming presence of skin-lightening ad in India in hopes of better future despite majority of population having a tan complexion. |
Patriarchy extends to the East hemisphere
as exemplified by the well-known cosmetic brand as “Fair and Lovely” who sends
out the message that “lighter(skin) is better” and that if a female wants
success in her life, she should use their facial cream to make herself lighter.
These “success” cases run from finding a husband to landing a dream job. The
woman’s skills, quality, personality, character, and ability are less significant
compared to her looks. Such illogical advertisements would not have been an
issue if public did not buy into their message, but the reality is far from
that. When time comes for matrimony, the girl’s skin color is still considered
a great factor right before her cooking skills, especially for families from
the rural areas; individuals from such areas have less access to education and
tend to be more engrained within the societal system which has been established
for them. Girls feel the need to lighten their skin to attract a suitor (who he
himself may have darker skin color than her even though there is starting to be a market for them as well). In cases like this, the male gaze
and patriarchy work hand in hand. Ignorance fuels the continuation of the
patriarchy and the male gaze, and the refusal to attempt to understand someone’s
perspective is contingent within our society today despite the widespread
access to education and knowledge.
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.
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