The Importance of the Female Gaze .... Especially Today

This chart from the “Unsafe and Harassed in Public Spaces:
A National Street Harassment Report,” illustratesthe prevalence of street
 harassment among men and women in the United States. (Raquel Reichard) |
https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/she-the-people/wp/2014/06/04/
new-study-suggests-street-harassment-is-widespread/?
noredirect=on&utm_term=.10e7e44b0749

     According to a study done by Cornell University in 2015, eighty-five percent of women have experienced street harassment before the age of seventeen. Every girl has that one day where they wear something and regrets it as soon as they step outside;  The trail to their destination becomes one where they feel like a piece of meat in the market.From a young age, girls become aware that they are always being watched- especially by men, learning the patronizing side affects of patriarchy. Patriarchy is defined as a system of society or government in which men hold power and women are largely excluded from it. Bell Hooks, author of Understanding Patriarchy, expounds that patriarchy is a "life-threatening social disease assaulting the male body and spirit of this nation," and how women have become victims of this system. All of their lives, girls are reminded that they must know their place (Hooks, 21) and that they are constantly being watched (Berger, 46). It is with these reasons of oppression that John Berger defines the Male Gaze. 

Bacchus, Ceres and Cupid by
Von Aachen (1552-1615)

   Berger explains how the social presence of a woman is different from that of a man. On page forty-six of is book: Ways of Seeing, he dives into the topic by saying, "To be born a woman has been to be born in an allotted and confined space into the keeping of men..... One might simplify this by saying: men act and women appear." Therefore, the male gaze, the way in which the art community depicts the world and women from a heterosexual, masculine point of view, presents women as objects of male pleasure. The images painted of women that have been painted by heterosexual men are made for a specific audience- as you guessed it, for men! The paintings of nude women were not there for their own empowerment or confidence, it was there for the entertainment and pleasure of the male population. Even in Von Aachen's painting of Ceres and Cupid where the woman, representing Venus, is staring back at the painter/spectator, one must acknowledge that this is a look of submissiveness, not approval.

Because the male gaze is meant for a specific audience that underlines patriarchy, it brings into question: what if the painter/spectator was a woman?Would it be different? The answer is YES! Even today, social media heavily affects how we perceive others and ourselves. Women who most nude women have different intentions , most of the time, than men. An example of this is artist Mahala Preudhomme. I found Mahala on Twitter about 2 years ago when she started posting her paintings. Though it was a difficult road for her, she is now an art teacher and creator of pieces that speak to problems of body image and all discriminations. Mahala paints naked women from vulnerable angles that are raw and women in these photos exude beauty, brilliance, and complete comfort in their own skin. Through her art, many women of color have reached out and expressed their love for someone who represents them as they truly are. This is why the female gaze is super important; not only are art of women being made by women relieving proper representation but women are also become more comfortable in the body that they have instead of "constantly watching themselves" as stated by Berger, or wondering if how they look is appealing to the male gender.

Mahala Preudhomme painting herself and painting- She IS Art