The Male Gaze & Patriarchy

John Berger describes the way we portray women in art as subjects as the male gaze.  “Men act and women appear. Men look at women. Women watch themselves being looked at. This determines not only relations between men and women but also the relation of women to themselves. The surveyor of the 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). I think this excerpt from Berger is the best explanation of what the male gaze is. Women are dehumanized in a sense and made into an object specifically to please men. Everything that the women does from there on, should be for the approval of men. This is pervasive in art and in popular culture in a variety of different ways. 

Karl Lagerfeld Advertisement 2014
(Link)

For example, if we take a look at most advertisements targeted for men. In this instance, we have this cologne ad, again targeted for men, the woman in the picture is naked and submissive looking, whereas the man is holding her. This is image can be closely related to the following that Berger included in his text:

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

The woman is looking at the "surveyor" aka the man who the painting/ad is for with what I would like to describe as puppy eyes, submissive and available. 

Patriarchy, as described by Bell Hooks, is a “political-social system that insists 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). Basically, it’s a factor in our society that enables men to feel entitled, a society where men are supposed to act a certain way, strong, exemplify leadership and dominance and if not, they are deemed lesser than. This lesser than can be said to be in relation to what women are viewed as because of patriarchy, in a patriarchal system, women have their place and there are standards of what they should do and how they shall act. However, she also comes to describe what this does to men in our society. Men are not supposed to show weakness and be sensitive which in turn creates a harmful environment, where their mental health can quickly deteriorate. For example, Hooks describes how growing up there was a difference in her upbringing versus her brothers. She was taught (as a woman) to be the caretaker and to be subservient, whereas her brother was taught to be served, to be dominating. When they veered from their role, specifically her brother, he was severely punished. 

The reading of the male gaze and patriarchy has really enlightened me and has shown me to look at many things differently, and also observe and understand things that happen in society. I have learned that these structures are things that are instilled into us from hundreds and hundreds of years ago, and that not much has changed to change this way of thinking, and that only recently have we begun to challenge it.  This understanding has really influenced how I look at media know because, while I knew the concept of women being objectified, I did not really understand it as in-depth as I do now. For example, when there are campaigns targeted for men, I look at the role of women and how they are being used in order to sell and draw in men. Now, I also am able to self-reflect and ask myself for example, why I want to post certain things and if it is for validation of other people instead of for my own pleasure.

These concepts have paved the way for contemporary arguments such as intersectional feminism. For example, patriarchy refers to men being superior in today’s society and feminism, although the definition has evolved today, focuses on bridging that gap and making both genders equal. Intersectional feminism aims to bridge the gap between ALL genders, and also aims to bring light to notions of the differences between, for example, white women and Hispanic women.  As a woman, there are certain deprivileges that they may face, but women of color on the other hand face adversities due to their ethnicity and gender. There are also other political/social/economic factors that affect people and it is important to bring light to these instances and which is what this argument aims to do. One great example of intersectionality in the film is Moonlight. This film is able to show discrimination against, WoC, PoC, the LGBTQ+ community, etc. and how it all overlaps and affects the individuals who identify as one or more. All in all, these "labels" are all interconnected in the way people face adversity, and intersectionality does the job of showing that. 

Works Cited

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

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

Links:

Youtube Video on Moonlight (here)