The Male Gaze and Patriarchy

The Male Gaze as discussed by John Berger in his book, Ways of Seeing, as well as Patriarchy, as discussed by Bell Hooks in her book, The Will to Change, work to explain gender issues and inequality that have been a reality throughout history and to present day. Berger conveys the concept of the male gaze as the portrayal of women from a heterosexual, masculine viewpoint. When Berger states, “To be born a woman has been to be born, within an allotted and confined space, into the keeping of men,” he is asserting the idea that men are dominant in a society that expects women to be submissive to men because of that dominance (Berger, 46). Berger reasons that men hold the power and authority in society, and because women do not have control they become objects to men. Berger correlates a woman’s appearance with her identity, highlighting the idea that to a man, a woman is only valuable if she is compliant and works to provide him pleasure. Referencing specific art works in the category “nude,” Berger depicts the way that women are perceived through male eyes. He distinguishes the following commonalities about early European nudes of women: the women typically are staring directly at the artist, the women are positioned in such ways that are pleasing to the artist, and the artists were men. Berger conveys the irony of these types of nudes when he states, “She is not naked as she is. She is naked as the spectator sees her” (Berger, 50). With this, Berger emphasizes the point that women are constantly being objectified and seen in society not as equals, but as accessories that should be obedient to men and their desires. This is exemplified in a nude work by English painter Sir Joshua Reynolds. The work is titled, “Cupid Untying the Zone of Venus,” and it depicts Cupid untying the ribbon that is positioned around the waist of a woman that covers half her face with one hand but stares directly at the artists with the other. She is positioned and expressing herself as waiting to submiss to the wishes of the male illustrating her. We do not see her for herself, but in the way that Reynolds sees her.

"Cupid Untying the Zone of Venus" by Sir
Joshua Reynolds (1784)

Similar to the expression on the woman in Reynolds’ work, modern day images illustrate women in similar positioning and facial expression. Magazine covers such as Vanity Fair, Rolling Stones, and Entertainment convey women such as Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, and Anna Paquin in ways that would please men. This is also true for the way women are depicted in advertising, on album covers, and more. Media and popular culture today is very influential in shaping what is to be considered acceptable, especially with the increase in technology and social media over the last decade. Women continue to be depicted through this male gaze and because images, videos, commercials, television, music lyrics, and more have increasingly become prevalent and unavoidable in everyday life, society continues to promote this mindset or way of thinking. 

Paris Hilton featured on the cover of
Vanity Fair's  October 2005 Edition

 

This acceptance of the male gaze and its steady effect on the worlds perception of women can be attributed to the system of Patriarchy. According to Bell Hooks, patriarchy is, "a political-social system that insists that males are inherently dominating, superior to everything deemed weak, especially females, and endowed with the right to dominate and rule over the weak and to maintain that dominance through various forms of psychological terrorism and violence," (Hooks, 18). This means that society is structured in a way that assumes power and dominance to men, resulting in women and anyone with lesser power to become inferior. Hooks asserts that patriarchy is a social construct, and that gender roles are expected and assumed to be obeyed for the simple fact that the system is in existence. While many extreme feminist theories propose men to be the enemy, Hooks emphasizes the idea that both men and women perpetuate patriarchy. She states, "Patriarchal thinking shapes the values of our culture. We are socialized into this system, females as well as males," asserting that and both men and women are affected negatively by being told how to act and behave (Hooks, 23). Men do receive benefits in society today such as higher pay in the workforce than women, the judicial system being more forgiving and giving lighter sentences for crimes such as rape and domestic violence, and more. However, it is very apparent that both men and women instigate this mindset. Children from a young age teach girls that a value is in her looks as clothing sections for girls are much larger and feature more "feminine" articles like dresses, bows, ruffles, etc. Adults speak to young girls in high pitched voices and tell them that they are "pretty," "cute," and "adorable," while young boys are told that they are "so strong," and "big boys." On Katy Perry's album cover the bottom reads, "One of the boys." This is a problem because it highlights the conception that women are supposed to remain “in their place,” and it is wrong for women to act aggressive or in any way not compliant with society’s strict gender stereotypes.

Katy Perry's 2008 Album Cover titled "One of the Boys"

This idea the women should be confined to domestic affairs and men should be the primary financial supporters is ridiculous. The idea that women are to be submissive and men are to deny their feelings is ridiculous. The idea that women are inferior to men is ridiculous. Both men and women are humans, and equal humans at that. Patriarchal values are so deeply integrated into society that the male gaze and gender roles are followed and exhibited without question. Bell Hooks and Berger have made me realize that the most efficient way to change this way of thinking is to be vocal about gender disparity in society, and to slowly work to make people aware of the problems and ways to correct encouraging strict gender roles.

-Nicole Arena

Works Cited:

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 & Shuster, 2005.