The Male Gaze and Patriarchy: the Ubiquitous Dilemmas

The male gaze is a complex notion that many individuals, more specifically women, have unfortunately become accustomed to because it a recurrent act of everyday life. However, in John Berger’s book “Ways of Seeing”, he takes it a step further and examines not only the effects this gaze has on women’s lives but also utilizes art to show how it subsisted throughout time. According to Berger, the male gaze extends beyond the tendency of art pieces to portray women as objects for the appreciation of men. It is an innate burden that determines a woman's life and her success, because women start to question their roles and if they are even worthy of being looked at. It has created a psychological impact in the minds of women to this very day because a woman cannot simply just exist, she is constantly thinking about how she is being viewed by those around her. For instance, Berger asserts, “The surveyor of woman in herself is male: the surveyed female” (Berger, 46). This shows that the male gaze is a viewpoint so ingrained in society, that it has actually become part of a woman’s mind because in a sense they are imprisoned by a part of themselves that just won’t let them act naturally. Berger explains that the reason that the male gaze is so pervasive in art is because men were for the most, the only known creators of artworks and this entitled them to a sense of ownership because the naked women they painted were thought to be their possessions. The double standards that existed throughout decades never allowed the women to experience the role of a painter or a spectator, they were always supposed to be the subject or in other words, the eye candy for men. It was only after becoming familiar with Berger’s argument, that I truly realized the overabundance of paintings, photographs, drawings, and movies that I have seen that exploited female’s sexuality for the benefit of the men viewing them. It is a concept that made me feel quite vulnerable because although women have made great strides throughout time, I still believe there is a gender gap and the male gaze is a crucial factor for the continual inequity. The male gaze can not only be humiliating but it can actually limit how prosperous a woman can become. For instance, in many professions such as business, movie industry or modeling, men take the majority of the high level positions. Therefore, how a couple men view a women can “be thought of the success of her life” and this gaze is just a palpable example of the power imbalances between genders (Berger 46). Another contemporary example that I believe is an indicator of the influential nature of the male gaze is that many times women in successful business jobs are almost compelled to wear pant suits, if want to be respected by their capabilities. If they wear skirts or dresses that tend to accentuate their bodies they run the risk of being surveyed. It seems that history continues to repeat itself because in the past women were
valued for their appearance, rather than their intellect and this still is a relevant argument.

Furthermore,the male gaze has sparked certain controversy and the idea of female gaze has been brought into the picture. While the male gaze, focuses on sexualizing women for the pleasure of men, the female gaze, especially in cinema for the most part seems to portray the hidden desires of women. For example, most movies or literary works made to appeal to the female gaze feature a female protagonist who is overcoming obstacles and prospering in her personal and work life based on her ambitions and personality. It is almost like the female viewer or reader is living vicariously through the characters.

The male gaze can actually be considered a product of patriarchal thinking and according to Bell hooks, patriarchy has become a culture that is harming both men and women and needs to be terminated. It is the idea that men are innately more powerful than women and it is their duty to control and look after the vulnerable women. However, this power men are said to possess is actually a disease that is terrorizing families universally. Women most often receive physical and verbal abuse as a result of patriarchal thinking but as Bell Hooks states in her book, “The Will to change” boys and men “are brutalized and victimized by patriarchy” and it is the system that we as a whole should fight against (Hooks 28). One of the many reasons why patriarchy is so difficult to eradicate is that a main source of this system is religion and to many individuals religion is simply indisputable. There are numerous examples of this detrimental system at work. For instance, nowadays many positions of prestige in the workforce are given to men because they are deemed as more comfortable with handling such power. A more drastic and life altering example of patriarchy is that in many cultures, men are still in charge of who their daughters are eligible to marry, taking away any liberty and decision making from her. Often so, masculinity and patriarchy are tied together and men are too frightened to ever appear weak because they fear they will lose all respect and their position in their respective lives. Therefore, after reading Bell hook’s book, I have reinforced my initial belief that I think in order for feminist movements to gain momentum, individuals should focus more on invalidating and tearing apart the roots of the system and the associated ideas, rather than blaming men for the ongoing misfortunes of women. If we continue to depict the men as the antagonists, the ideology will continue to survive for many years to come. Movements like the “Me too Movement” and facts such as artists that are women having to listen to the condescending term, “ women artist”, have shed light on the immense problem of patriarchy but in order for it to be extremely effective, individuals should acknowledge and educate as many people as possible about the psychological/emotional pain that such rigid, antiquated rules have on men and subsequently on others.

An example of how obvious the male gaze is in popular movies. For instance, in the movie, "Transformers", Megan Fox's character is wearing a crop top that accentuates her body to appeal to a rather large male audience watching they movie. The camera zooms in onto her midsection and the protagonist is so intrigued by her sexuality, rather than fixing the car, which is the immediate problem. Also, the protagonist is shocked to see that she actually knows how a car engine operates, once again limiting the capacities and intellectual abilities of women.

https://medium.com/truly-social/yes-theres-such-a-thing-as-a-female-gaze-but-it-s-not-what-you-think-d27be6fc2fed

This image reinforces the patriarchal idea that is present in many families. That because the father figure brings home the money or a larger portion of the income, they are to be valued more than the other members of the family and reserve the right as the head of the house.

https://www.plannedparenthoodaction.org/blog/10-things-i-hate-about-you-trumps-assault-on-womens-health-and-rights-around-the-world

This link shows the detrimental effects that arise, in this case for women in the United States when having a patriarchal individual in such an important political position.

Works Cited

Hooks, Bell. (2005). The Will to Change. New York: Washington Square Press.

Berger, John. (2012). Ways of seeing. London: British Broadcasting Corp.