Male Gaze and Patriarchy by Mah Noor

“This is a man’s world,” the most common phrase used in our everyday lives, by not only men but also women. Our social system automatically upholds men to a higher standard than women. This ‘higher standard’ unfortunately comes with an intense role to play by a man. He has to be portray characteristics of being macho, violent and assertive in order to be considered a ‘real man.’ This idea of patriarchy is described by Bell Hooks in The Will to Change. She talks about many different forms of patriarchy but the one that I see the most in everyday life is the means of differentiating a boy from a girl. For example, boys are often told to suppress their emotions because it is perhaps ‘girly’. In my own household, my brothers were usually told by my parents to stop crying because ‘it is something girls do’. The vulnerability of a man is generally seen as a feminine quality. Bell Hook’s shines light on this concept by sharing her own relationship with a man who was often ignored in the society because of his gentle demeanor but it all changed once he started to “assume a more macho persona, embracing the dominator model that he had once critiqued. Donning the mantle of patriarch, he gained greater respect and visibility” (Hooks 28). This change in his behavior may be triggered by his friends or fellow workmates but it was further reinforced by the pleasure of being the dominant one in the crowd. This person perhaps did not consciously like his new and ‘improved’ persona but it was helping him to progress in the society. One may say, that patriarchy only hurts women but in reality patriarchy hurts men more. Hooks write, “Patriarchy demands of men that they become and remain emotional cripples, since it is system that denies men full access to their freedom of will….” (Hooks 27). This goes back to the idea that men have to act aggressive and violent to prove their masculinity. Eventually this protroyal of a macho man ends up hurting women in many different ways for example: sexual abuse.



 Hooks claims that “most of us learned patriarchal attitudes in our family of origin, and they were usually taught to us by our mother” (Hooks 23). It sounds odds that why any woman would teach patriarchy to her kids yet according to Bell Hooks it happens. Patriarchy might not be visible in most households but it exists. Mothers usually let fathers discipline kids or teach them a valuable lesson because mother underestimate their powers of influencing their children. Why would any woman think she is not capable of shaping her child’s character? Because she believes a man is more capable of being the authoritative figure than her. This misconception gives rise to patriarchy in that family. Hence why Hooks believe that women are also to blame for patriarchy.



I came across this scene, Women in the workplace, from the famous American sitcom Family guy which portrays how patriarchy gives rise to male gaze. In this scene, a group of friends at work are joking about women having boobs only so they have something to look at while men talk to them. Even though it is just a sitcom, but the concept that all men are agreeing and praising the person who is joking shows that men maintain their ‘macho persona’ by sexually objectifying women. Patriarchy and male gaze is directly correlated. Women are sexually objectified and expected to be sexually pleasing to a male's eye. If the man sees women as an object more than a person, he is considered to be more macho. In ‘Women in the workplace’ there is a scene where a man is claiming “irrational and emotionally fragile, female coworker are a peculiar animal.” Even though this scene is not meant to be taken seriously, but it is just strange to think that no male would ever say that about males, or females will never be in that position to judge and make comments on her male co-workers in such manner. The use of the word ‘fragile’ relates back to patriarchy.



John Berger discusses male gaze in “Ways of seeing.” He describes male gaze in many different ways. Male gaze could be an internal critic of a woman wanting to be approved by a man or it could be a woman using her body to attract a man’s eye. Berger writes, “Men look at women.

Women watch themselves being looked at… Thus she turns herself into an object- and most particularly an object of vision: a sight. In today’s culture women are often used as an ornament to lure men. One of the common example would be the restaurant Hooters. Waiters are required to wear skimpy clothes to attract more customers. A woman’s body is used as a decoration piece to purely please men-  and this is what male gaze looks like. Women are often just thought of being the sexy object and nothing else. Many advertisements and art in today's society uses sexuality as the strategy to sell the product. There are many advertisements and tv shows out there that uses woman’s body to sell product or to gain more viewers. I came across this website that shows 7 ridciuslosly sexual ads for totally unsexy things. These short clips illustrates how society thinks that nudity is what most women have to offer. Breger emphasizes that women are judged based on a male’s opinion, If he thinks she meets his standards of beauty then she is considered beautiful, however if he does not find her pleasing then she is not considered beautiful. Breger writes, “those who are not judged beautiful are not beautiful. Those who are, are given a prize” (Breger 52). If a women is considered beautiful by her male friends, then she will allow herself to think she is beautiful but if her male friends do not find her appealing then she would not allow herself to think she is up to society’s standards. To be considered beautiful and appealing, many women are express themselves or are expressed in a sexual way. This ties back to the idea that women are only considered beautiful if she is fulfilling the thirst of a man’s lust. Women’s body is often enhanced in a way that will attract more male viewers. Her body may not be true to her real self but it is acceptable as long as its accepted by the male society just like illustrated in the picture below.

References: 

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.

-Mah Noor