Male Gaze and Patriarchy

Amaree St.Juste

Professor Cacoila 

9/16/2019

21:082.207.01

Male Gaze and Patriarchy

The revealing or near-nude outfits that women wear to a Slut-Walk parade is to represent for the women who are subjected to the observation of men, meaning their bodies are at the mercy of men. The way a women is dressed can justify harassment, an assault, or a rape. This event ties into the notion of the male gaze because when men see women’s bodies they feel they have a right to access and critique a women’s physical appearance. The Slut Walk is a contemporary event that has received much criticism and controversy however the intentional decision for a girl or women to dress revealing is to claim the power and rights to her body. I rejected the idea of claiming sexuality and the Slutwalk because it was being seen by young girls, however I can now say if the male gaze is impacting how girls and young women are being viewed, then it is more than necessary to expose them to a community that is advocating for the awareness of sexual assault and harrassment. Stemming from what is supposed to be innocent, simple art, the male gaze has become a mind set of some men. The definition behind the male gaze has been a way to justify horrific crimes against women, the reason this generational right to a women’s body has existed is because it fall under the cloak of patriarchy.

John Berger articulated what the “male gaze” encompasses in, Ways of Seeing, by explaining the nature of the relationship between men and women through art. He references historic paintings to show the origin of women being displayed objectively. The definition that Berger gives to describe the relationship men create with women is,

 “...men act and women appear. Men look at women. Women watch themselves being looked at. This determines not only most relations between men and women but also the relation of women to themselves. The surveyor of woman in herself is male: The surveyed female. Thus she turns herself into an object- and most particularly an object of vision: a sight” (Berger 47).

Every single photo used in chapters 2 and 3 in Ways of Seeing all depict female nudity, none of males. The use of female nudity and relaxed poses symbolizes the submission of the model and the control of the male painter. Additionally the owner of the painter owns the rights of the painting and the rights to the model. 

Sir Peter Lely: Nell Gwynne
Here lies Nell Gwynne who is an actress. The young boy is her son or Cupid. 

The ways in which men observe women is harmful to their future relationships. The images of Adam of Eve are the first depictions in European art of patriarchy and why it has to exist. Berger states the absurdity of the justification behind women being unable to govern themselves. “He states, the second striking fact is that the woman is blamed and is punished by being made subservient to the man. In relation to the women, the man becomes the agent of God” (Berger 48). Eve convincing Adam to eat the apple incited the idea of nakedness being wrong, this simple tale enabled the idea that women need monitoring from men. Men governing their household and in particularly the women of there household has been passed down from father to daughter and son. These ideas are then told their future children. The duration of patriarchy lasting effects on society today. Author Bell Hooks is an author and an activist who details the impacts that patriarchy had on her life and in particular, her brother’s life. Belle Hooks states, 

“Patriarchy is a political-social system that insist 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 to maintain that dominance through various forms of psychological terrorism and violence”( Hooks 18). 

This definition of patriarchy is what demonstrates how men have the right to feel superior over women and subsequently feel they have the right observe and objectify women because women are deemed weaker. Patriarchy is what justifies the actions because men are taught this by their fathers and mother’s teach patriarchal ideas to their daughters. From both parents a girl is told that she should be subservient to men. 

I lived in a single-parent household, raised by my mother, I never viewed men as more superior to women. Watching my mother work hard at one job and then picking up a second job showed me that women in fact work twice as hard as men, regardless if they are acknowledged for their hard work. This perspective of men being superior over women in the workforce applies to Black women, especially in my life experiences. I have come to understand patriarchy by observing certain socio-economic concepts such as the wage gap between women and men, also by listening to the different opinions people have concerning violence against women. Popular movements such as the Slut- Walk, and the MeToo movement have had a major impact on the way I view feminism and the objectification of women on social media. Aforementioned: the SlutWalk represents the women that have been violated sexually based off their appearance. The MeToo Movement  is fighting against patriarchy by having women pursue legal action against men in the Hollywood Film industry who have sexually harassed or assaulted them. I was unaware of how many women in society were and are presently being taken advantage of because they are expected to play the submissive role at their jobs. Most of the violence that is brought forth by the male gaze is behind the scenes of a the films we watch, however the music industry is an explicit depiction of how men degrade and objectify women. Many of the popular Hip-Hop/ Rap music is a prime example of the degradation of women and their bodies. Most of the women mentioned in rap-music are being described sexually and in a degrading manner. None of the music discusses the positive attributes of women, just physical descriptions of their bodies and what male artist have done to women. After noticing that most of the music is about how to degrade a women sexually and demoralize her character because she is promised money, I am very specific about what I listen to. The music videos never display women have careers or families but just showing their bodies. A female artist, Megan Thee Stallion, has used platform as an artist to demonstrate that women can be sexual, intelligent, and fun. Her album of her are normally revealing but what she conveys in her music about herself is that she is a normal college student who praises sexuality, but should still be taken seriously as an artist-and women.

A Megan Thee Stallion "Fever"

Megan is using different visuals from her music videos and putting them on her album cover. 

Although her lyrics may contain suggestive language but she is not describing sex for women as submissive or for the enjoyment for men but for the demands that women have during sex. She also discusses that her sexual nature does not discount her from being taking seriously professionally as an artist. Because female musicians are often not taken as seriously as a male, she is a contemporary artist that uses her platform to shame the objectification of women.

Although men will continuously claim their observations of women are innocent, Leisurely activities such as art and music, extends to social issues and discussion showing that the male gaze has impacted the relationships between women and men.

Works Cited
Berger, John. Ways of Seeing. British Broadcasting Corporation, 2008.
Hooks, Bell. Understanding Patriarchy. Louisville Anarchist Federation Federation, 2010.
https://www.christies.com/lotfinder/Lot/sir-peter-lely-westphalia-1618-1680-london-4942789-details.aspx