Male Gaze - Dorian Nousias

Sexual objectification of women arose as a facet of the neolithic era. Previous to this, humans roamed continents as nomadic tribes, following the migration of animals they could hunt. Once we discovered gardening and domestication, we settled down. The Tigris and Euphrates fostered humanity, giving birth to all the beauty of our arts and the all the ugliness of our prejudices. By settling, we developed the notion of property. To survive one must have land, animals, and a mate to continue one's lineage. Only the most powerful could own lots of things, so men took that mantle for themselves, subsequently treating their opposite sex as property to be sold off for the largest dowry. As culture progressed and those with the most property could relax from work, we started to create art and philosophy and science. The only people who could take time off to explore creativity were wealthy males. Thus, almost all of human canon has been written by males (and in the west they are predominantly white).

In "Ways of Seeing," Jon Berger plots the trend of the white male's depiction of women within the genre of the nude painting. He notices how the men who paint these female forms do not give them agency (Berger 61). They are portrayed first and foremost as sexual objects for the male that is viewing the image.

Notice the lack of pubic and armpit hair as well as
 her passive gaze

At this point in human history, it would have been assumed by the artist that the only people who would have the political and economic clout to obtain the artwork would be a white male. Arriving at the present day, one can observe the effects of this trend.  Most media and popular works of art in our culture are geared towards the sensibilities white male culture.  Most popular directors and actors are white and most of them are male. While the following statement is growing increasingly untrue, it is still assumed by creators, capitalists, and the puppeteers of the world economy that white males still hold most of the worlds wealth.

The ultimate manifestation of this 6,000 year old process has been termed "the Male Gaze" by feminist critiques, especially towards the film industry.  In Laura Mulvey's seminal essay "Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema" three different gazes are detailed.  The first is how the male characters in the film react to and perceive the female characters (Mulvey 838). The second gaze is that of the viewer and how s/he perceives the female character. The third gaze combines the first two, allowing the viewer to see themselves as the characters.  Men are able to embody the male character on screen, therefore allowing the male spectator to take the female character as his personal sex object.  Women identify with the female character on screen and internalize gender oppression.

Mulvey's work is a landmark piece that provides a meaningful touchstone, not just for feminist theory, but for film critique in general. However, there have been criticisms of Mulvey's work itself. Not everyone agrees that women automatically absorb the male gaze and subconsciously force it upon themselves.  For example, bell hooks suggests that it is important for women, and specifically black women, to view the ways that they are portrayed. By passing the viewed images through conscious mental filters, one can effectively critique the work and identify its issues. Hooks coined this the "Oppositional Gaze" (hooks 116). By observing the mainstream media, critiquing it, appropriating its style, and finally turning sexist tropes on their heads, portrayal of women in films can be modified to be more egalitarian.

Last semester in the mandatory media class, a lecturer came on stage and discussed the early days of television.  He was a white, 60 year old man who had worked with major television networks over his career. He then went on to explain his relationship with the show Amos n Andy

The Cast of Amos n Andy

and why the show is not racist. It was funny to me to then read bell hooks and her reaction to the show as a complete caricature of black people.  She remembered watching the show as a community and enjoying it, only because of how funny the white man's misinformed perception of black culture was.  The gaze of the patriarchal white supremacist is incredibly warped, thus producing wildly inaccurate portrayals of women and people of color.  As a white male, I have consistently fallen in to the same trap as the guest lecturer; arguing that something is not racist without ever having the point of view of those that are portrayed, especially since the institutions in power do not easily let oppressed voices be heard.  I have learned to actively critique every portrayal in media, leading me to hate some works of art that I've loved, as well as making me love some work even more for their strong female characters.

Works Cited:
bell hooks, The Oppositional Gaze
John Berger, Ways of Seeing
Laura Mulvey, Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema