What's There to Look At?

Victoria Secret's purpose is to show case their lingerie but in this ad,  it is not the main focus.

How much is too much when you’re only looking? Is it still only looking when it turns into searching? The male gaze has been prominent since the middle ages and it still is now that we’re in the 21^stcentury. John Berger - English art critic, novelist, painter, and poet, shed light on the objectification of women in his essay, Ways of Seeing. “And so she comes to consider the surveyor and the surveyed within her as the two constituent yet always distinct elements of her identity as a woman” (Berger 46). A woman’s identity is often distinguished by two very broad categories - who is watching them and what is being watched. Because the male gaze is so prominent, women could feel forced to uphold a standard that was never created by them. Their self-esteem lowers as the gaze rises. The male gaze allows for the judgment and competition between women to intensify. Lingerie brands, most famous being Victoria Secret, indirectly supports the male gaze. More importantly, Victoria Secret was founded by a male, Roy Raymond. Berger also states, “but because the ideal spectator is always assumed to be male and the image of the woman is designed to flatter him” (Berger 64).Victoria’s Secret is designed to not only increase the confidence of women but to please the eye of men. Women could wear things that make them feel confident, but they are still always under the surveillance of men. When women are confident and comfortable in the clothes that they wear, they can be referred to as a “whore.” How exactly does wearing crop tops or bodysuits reference a whore? The idea that men call us names because of the way we dress, is because they objectify us. Our body parts are not made for the view of men, even if accentuated in certain clothing. The male gaze is prominent throughout social media platforms because they’re more sexually driven. The arguments of whether or not breast feeding is appropriate in public is at large in the 21^stcentury. Breast feeding, something that’s natural, is seen as inappropriate because breasts have come to be something sexual.  

The work of Kara Elizabeth Walker

Is it really inappropriate or does it cause discomfort for those who view breasts as nothing but a pleasurable object? From male gaze, comes female gaze. Male gaze has influenced artists, film and photographers to capture the essence of the female body. The female body is not just to be stared at but to be admired. Although it is obvious that men objectify women, the reasoning behind their actions could be because they grew up in a patriarchal society. Often times, little boys are exposed to the ideas that playing with dolls are wrong and they should wear the color blue. These societal rules are engraved into their brains from the second that they’re able to process anything and it later becomes “Boys are just being boys”. Gloria Jean Watkins, also known as Bell hooks, is an American author and social activist. In her book, Understanding Patriarchy, she states, “The crisis facing men is not the crisis of masculinity, it is the crisis of patriarchal masculinity. Until we make this distinction clear, men will continue to fear that any critique of patriarchy represents a threat” (Hooks 32).  Men are expected to be seen as the most powerful and when given any idea that threatens this expectation, they reject it. Women, especially of color, didn’t and still don’t have the same power as white men do in the art industry. Art wasn’t seen as something masculine but why do women still come to a disadvantage? In Guerilla Girls’ Bedside Companion to the History of Western Art, they state, “When they do give women praise, they speak of her as if she were an aberration of her sex because of her talent” (Girls 15). Women were always expected to be the house wife, to not be expected of anything. Whereas men, are always expected of something. The idea that women canbecome something, make men fearful. The lack of support in these structures curate a platform that doesn’t allow women to come forward with confidence. 










Works Cited 

“Kara Walker.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 13 Aug. 2018, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kara_Walker.

“Works, 2015.” Kara Walker, www.karawalkerstudio.com/2015.

Hooks, Bell. The Will to Change: Men, Masculinity, and Love. Washington Square Press, 2005.

http://artandwomenfa2018.blogspot.com/2018/09/male-gaze-and-patriarchy_71.html