The Invisible Hand

The Invisible Hand

The male gaze is a constant factor in women’s everyday lives to which most males are not aware of. “The Ways of Seeing” by John Berger describes the male gaze as the male perception of a woman and the implications that come with a female’s physical appearance.  Berger speaks on these implications when he says, “Men survey women before treating them. Consequently, how a woman appears to a man can control how she will be treated” (Berger, 46). Males already create their own perception of a woman before speaking with them and base their actions solely off of the perception that they have concluded about her. This to me creates a dilemma as in my eyes to where there is no way for a woman to “win” in the male gaze. If a woman dresses in a promiscuous manner she is objectified by males and is only perceived based on her looks. If she dresses in a conservative manner, she is then judged for not being dressed in the manner that portrays the male fantasy, and it may lead to her being treated differently because of it. I spoke with my girlfriend about how the male gaze made her feel and she described it as “Yes it can be empowering to look good, but even though I may be confident in how I look, I feel as if I am a mere subject of observance.” This creates a problem where no matter how a woman dresses, she will feel uncomfortable solely because of how males will perceive and treat her because of how she is dressed. It also causes fear for women as they may want to dress up, but are afraid of being catcalled or harassed on the streets.

            The male gaze goes beyond just human interaction, it translates over to pop culture as well. One of the most prominent female video game characters Lara Croft from the popular game series Tomb Raider, is a clear portrayal of the male gaze in the video game industry. Lara Croft in the games travels throughout the world scavenging dangerous historical sites in order to stop a shadowy organization known as Trinity from taking over the world. Even though Lara is trying to do something as grand as saving the world, she is still portrayed as fragile, weak, and emotionally unstable, all attributes that perpetuate the male gaze. She is also hyper sexualized in most installments of the video game series with clothing that reveals lots of cleavage and that accentuates her figure. Video games are being built to attract their primary audience, straight males. While appealing to males in video games may be presented as a woman like Laura Croft, the portrayal of males in video games shows a clear contrast.

 If we compare Lara to another popular game series, Uncharted, which have almost the same premise, we can begin to see the clear difference in portrayal between a male and female video game character. Nathan Drake, the main character for Uncharted, is portrayed as a rugged, tough male that can conquer any obstacle that comes his way. The male is often portrayed as independent and rough, or in other words, just being himself. Males are supposed to act this way, there is nothing wrong with him being seen in this manner. Lara Croft has to be portrayed as fragile and weak in order to fulfill the stereotype of females in video games. When asked about Lara Croft, one of the developers of the game Adrian Smith, describes her as “frail, and someone you need to take care of” this is a clear difference in portrayal of two characters that fulfill the same role within their respective video games.

Portrayed is Lara Croft throughout the years, even when graphics weren't as advanced as today
we can see how Lara was still portrayed to represent the male fantasy.
 

  Male gaze and patriarchy are very closely related as the patriarchy is reinforced by the male gaze. Much like the male gaze, the effects of the patriarchy are not readily apparent in society. Bell Hooks describes the patriarchy as a system in society that places males above all else. A system where males are the dominant gender and women as the subservient gender. Bell hooks learned about the patriarchy early in her life when she tried doing the same things as her brother. Her father would beat her for trying, and her mother would tell her “I tried to warn you. You need to accept that you are just a little girl and girls can’t do what boys do” (Hooks, 21). The patriarchy tries to enforce the male standard of how females should act and how females should dress. The male gaze is meant to keep women in a state of discomfort from where males can continue to hold their status in the patriarchy. 

           I have come to understand the male gaze and patriarchy as tools that are used daily to subtly oppress women into being subservient to men. In relation to the male gaze, understanding its impact on someone like my girlfriend made me realize that it is a much bigger issue than I had previously believed it to be, especially taking into consideration the effect that it has on pop culture such as video games. These concepts have changed the way I consume media as now I am wondering if the media that I am consuming is pushing forth an agenda without me noticing.

Works Cited

Romano, Aja. “Why We've Been Arguing about Lara Croft for Two Decades.” Vox, Vox, 17 Mar. 2018, www.vox.com/culture/2018/3/17/17128344/lara-croft-tomb-raider-history-controversy-breasts.

Berger, John. Ways of Seeing. British Broadcasting Corporation, 2008.

Hooks, Bell. Understanding Patriarchy. Louisville Anarchist Federation Federation, 2010.