Answering the question: “what is the male gaze,” requires some background in the way women are seen by the rest of society and by one another. The male gaze is defined by many as a portrayal of women in art and media in a way that will appease a male viewer. John Berger states: “but because the ‘ideal’ spectator is always assumed to be male, the image of the woman is designed to flatter him” (Berger 64). He makes a good point when he says the ‘ideal’ spectator, introducing the idea that art might be made for a certain type of audience. This brings me to my next point, and explains why the male gaze was and continues to be visible in all forms of media.
The first image that comes to mind when I think of the male gaze—an odd one I acknowledge—is that of Sofia Vergara in an extremely fitted bathing suit holding a can of Pepsi. What does Sofia’s body have to do with Pepsi? Absolutely nothing. Sofia’s body is being exploited to sell more product, and it works. Men see Sofia and they are excited by her figure and when they are in the super market later and walk past a case of Pepsi they actually notice it instead of contenting on by. This is the point I make, Pepsi had a target audience—men—and they designed their ad to appeal to it.
The first commercial she did for Pepsi in the 80s was especially sexualized and can be seen here
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| Shot from Sofia Vergara's Pepsi Commercial |
I am a gay man, does that mean I am immune to the attempts by markets and artists to attract my gaze at their creation? Not at all. It requires a different type of gaze. If you think the images of shirtless models hanging inside Abercrombie do not get my attention and convince me to peruse their selections of clothing I cannot afford, you would be wrong.
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| Abercrombie Stock Photo |
Berger talks about the spectator being forced into using their imagination when viewing art designed towards the gaze of men. While analyzing the work of Rubens he says “but, in a more profound sense, the painting ‘contains’ time and its experience. It is easy to imagine that a moment ago before she pulled the fur around her shoulders, she was entirely naked” (Berger 61). Is this not what we all do when we see revealing images of someone we find attractive? I can say I often find myself wishing I had a day on the beach with the men in the Aberocrombie photos I mentioned.
The male gaze is only accepted so widely, because the society we live in—and most societies in fact—follow a patriarchal structure. Bell Hooks gives a very detailed definition of just what patriarchy is: “patriarchy 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 rule over the weak and maintain that dominance through various forms of psychological terrorism and violence” (Hooks 18). Hooks says that in a patriarchy that males have the right to dominate the weak, the use of the word ‘right’ has power. It is not only that they can dominate, but they have the right to do so meaning they will never be questioned for it. I find it interesting also that Hooks uses the word ‘weak’ rather than female, insinuating that dominant males aren’t only dominating females. They are dominating weaker men, LGBTQIA+ identifying individuals, those with disability, and a whole host of others including women. They continue that this dominance is reinforced with “psychological terrorism and violence.” That is important to note, as no one would take a patriarch serious if he didn’t give them a reason to. If a ‘weak’ person did not feel threatened by a patriarch, they lose their power. So, in essence, we are giving our oppressors power, if we stand up to their intimidation they are powerless.
A great example of patriarchy would be the film industry. It is run by men and men assert their dominance of young women trying to work their way up. The greatest example is Harvey Weinstein who took advantage of so many women, raped them, and convinced them that if they said anything they would never have a career in show business. This can be viewed—and I acknowledge it is controversial but it is my claim—that over all of those years where women kept quiet, they were empowering him to continue his torture of women. He has lost his power now, but only because of the voices of many strong women, who risked everything to take his power away.
Patriarchy tells men they have the right to power, and the right to the ‘male gaze.’ Doing nothing to take this power away enables and encourages men to dominate those ‘weaker’ to them. In case you do not see it in your daily life, this article explains the pervasiveness it has on all aspects of your day-to-day tasks.
citations:
Berger, John. Ways of Seeing. British Broadcasting Corporation, 1972.
Hooks, Bell. The Will to Change: Men, Masculinity, and Love. Washington Square Press, 2005.
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