~ Objectifying and Dehumanizing Women ~

          According to John Berger, the “male gaze” refers to the act of portraying women in visual arts for the ultimate pleasure for male spectators. In other words, the male gaze consists of 3 different perspectives that Berger articulates: the individual behind the creation of the portrait, the characters within the image, and the image’s spectators. To put in simpler terms, it is the way that men look at women and what they look for when looking at women. A crucial component of the male gaze is to objectify women in society and dehumanize them. There are many reasons why the male gaze is unwelcomed and detrimental in art and pop culture. One of the reasons is that it reinforces the danger of the standardized portrayal of gender roles within society. Additionally, this phenomenon leads to bigger issues such as a patriarchal system embedded within society.

          In his novel, “Ways of Seeing,” Berger compares a man’s presence to that of power. He states, “The promised power may be moral, physical, temperamental economic, social, sexual – but its object is always exterior to the man” (Berger 45). On the contrary, a woman’s presence “expresses her own attitude to herself, and defines what can and cannot be done to her” (Berger 46). From these quotations, it is evident that the dominant gender are males and not females. A female is not allowed to admire herself, but rather think of what others expect from her and worry about how she appears to others. Meanwhile, a man is capable of pursuing any of the desires pertaining to the woman. For instance, the image below by Félix Trutat is a perfect example that illustrates the male gaze. In this portrait, the woman is shown reclining in a chair in her nude body. The female is forced to uphold a specific position and facial expression. If you look closely, you can tell that the woman’s facial expression reveals NO passion or pleasure because she is simply the one that is being “surveyed” and not the “surveyor” (Berger 46). Towards the back of the portrait, a man is shown “gazing” at the female and his eyes are glued to her naked body as if she is an object!

"Reclining Bacchante" by Felix Trutat, 1895

A portrait that illustrates Berger's ideology of the "male gaze."  

         Another reason why the male gaze is pervasive in the arts is that it denotes the lack of power of female subjects in the art world. For example, Berger exclaims, “Men act and women appear. Men look at women. Women watch themselves being looked at” (Berger 47). This quotation reinforces the fact that the women in these portraits that are made by men exemplify lust and availability. The image below titled “Vanity” further signifies the lack of power that women pose. Berger utilizes this image and voices, “You painted a naked woman because you enjoyed looking at her, you put a mirror in her hand and you called the painting Vanity, thus morally condemning the woman whose nakedness you had depicted for your own pleasure” (Berger 51). Hence, Berger highlights that the artist uses the mirror in his portrait to make the woman “a sight” (Berger 51). Thus, the title of the image contradicts what is actually occurring. The woman is not admiring her own appearance, but rather posing for the pleasure of her audience. Thus, this enhances the notion of the male gaze, because men believe they are entitled to be pleased by looking at an “object” that brings them pleasure.

"Vanity" by Hans Memling, 1485 

Berger utilizes this image to retaliate against the title, "Vanity," which is contradicting. 

          In Bell Hooks’ The Will to Change, the author provides a detailed explanation of the disease known as “patriarchy”. Patriarchy is defined as a system where men maintain power in society and women are instructed to be idle. In other words, women have been “othered” from art history for many decades and that is due to the ignorance within society. Hooks states, “To end male pain, to respond effectively to the male crisis, we have to name the problem. We have to both acknowledge that the problem is patriarchy and word to end patriarchy” (Hooks 33). Hook emphasizes ignorance in this quotation because not only are women affected by patriarchy, but men are as well. However, society as a whole fails to recognize the danger of this issue. Personally, I’ve seen the difference in parenting between my older sister and me versus our younger brother. As he matured throughout the years, I’ve witnessed many times where he strived to uphold the stereotype of having to be a “tough” boy and brush things off in the patriarchal system society has. Hence, he faced the crisis of “patriarchal masculinity” as Hooks exclaims because he has constantly been pressured to conceal his true emotions in order to not go against the norm in society (Hooks 32). 

          Moreover, Hooks articulate that “Patriarchy promotes insanity” (Hooks 30). The patriarchal views instilled within society must be changed to allow individuals to become sane and not experience this feeling of wrong or injustice. The ideology that “women are incapable of greatness” must be diminished (Nochlin 2). This statement is very untrue because women were not even allowed to or given permission to enter a school/ facility to pursue arts. Nochlin argues that women were never given a chance to display the “greatness” they possess! This correlates to Berger’s ideology of the woman as a submissive individual who has to adhere to the expectations put forth for her in the patriarchal society that she lives in. 

          The issues that both Berger and Hooks convey bring about many contemporary arguments, one of which relates to the “female gaze.” In other words, this term is the opposite of the male gaze that came about to fight against patriarchy. The female gaze incorporates the female experience in art, where women look at other women and depict the female form. This notion came about to debunk the male gaze by providing works in which the subject in the image is not viewed as an object, but as a compassionate and humane individual. In the exhibition for the “female gaze,” as shown below, many works are displayed by women artists depicting the female form. The women in these images are portrayed differently than through a man’s perspective because it reveals more emotions. In other, the woman is not expected to be in a forced position in order to receive admiration from her viewers. As the image illustrates, she lays flat, with her long, beautiful hair flowing as she wishes instead of having to pose in a specific way for the pleasure of others. Other positions held in these images by the women motivate the birth of the feminist movement!

The Female Gaze Exhibition: Cheim & Read, NY
Women Look At Women
25 June - 19 September 2009 

Works Cited:

Berger, John. (2008). Ways of seeing. London: British Broadcasting Corporation.

     Exhibit-E.com. (n.d.). The Female Gaze - Women Look at Women - Exhibitions - Cheim Read. Retrieved from https://www.cheimread.com/exhibitions/the-female-gaze

     Hooks, Bell. (2005). The will to change: men, masculinity, and love. New York: Simon & Schuster.

     Nochlin, Linda. “Why Have There Been No Great Women Artist?” (n.d) Retrieved from http://www.writing.upenn.edu/library/Nochlin-Linda_Why-Have-There-Been-No-Great-Women-Artists.pdf

     Web Gallery of Art. (1996). Retrieved from https://www.wga.hu/html_m/m/memling/3mature4/26vani11.html