Male Gaze

The word ’gaze’ is widely used in relation to visual media. Viewers also interact with visual media through their gaze. The word first appeared in film theory and criticism in the 1970s (Treasure, 2012, p. 37). In this case, visual media includes both tv shows, movies, and commercials. Laura Mulvey, a filmmaker and scholar, pioneered the concept of the male gaze. She is also well-known for her feminist article titled “visual gratification and narrative cinema,” which she published in 1975. Mulvey used the language of psychoanalysis to argue that traditional Hollywood films respond to a deep-seated drive which she called ‘scopophilia’ that gives people the feeling of sexual pleasure simply by looking (Green, 2008, p. 45). She argued that nearly all popular movies seek to satisfy the male scopophilia, which she called the male gaze. Therefore, visual media sexualizes a woman to please the male viewer. In her essay, Mulvey said that women are characterized by their ‘to be looked-at-ness’ in visual media. The woman is usually the spectacle whereas the man is the bearer of the look. However, over the years, the idea by Mulvey has been continuously challenged especially by feminist individuals (Treasure, 2012, p. 58). Media content such as articles, blogs, cinemas and even songs have been proving that the idea of the male gaze is fading away in contemporary society. In this paper, I will use two examples of media texts to show that the concept of the male gaze as brought out by Mulvey can be challenged especially with modern day media content.

Article by Nida Chowdhry

Nida Chowdhry is a feminist who has founded a non-profit organization together with her best friend. The nonprofit organization is called Fashion Fighting Famine which produces charity fashion shows every year with the aim of promoting businesses owned by Muslim women, encourage sisterhood and empower women (Chowdhry, 2014). She also writes media articles and blogs that empower women. An example of one of her posts is the one that will be used in this discussion titled ‘Recognizing and Challenging the Male Gaze.’

Nida begins by accepting that the idea of the male gaze is indeed a valid idea and it has been taught through the years even using the Bible and Quran. She says that it is not wise to think that changing the way women dress can have any effect on changing the idea of the male gaze. Nida says that the male gaze extends past the visual media, it goes into the way women are handled in society (Chowdhry, 2014). It allows for the oppression of women by the systems in the world because they are objectified and seen like people who do not have the right to speak or even decide for themselves. She says that even though a woman lives in a house with tinted windows or be on the beach naked, she is still affected by the male gaze (Yahya, 2010, p. 12).

Nida has realized that the male gaze makes every woman a subject to it (Chowdhry, 2014). No woman is free, and they all have to live in a world where everybody is focusing on her exterior. As such, they end up changing their dress code, harnessing their hips and breasts, revealing deep cleavages in an attempt to be more feminine. Women end up struggling with their sexuality as individuals. In her article, she says that there is the need for women to realize ways in which they can resist the effects of the male gaze. Therefore, the article will disrupt the idea that Mulvey brought out.

The idea of the male gaze is perverted, and it brings the need for women to free themselves from such a system. Mulvey suggests that the way women dress is one of the ways that satisfy the sexual pleasure of men (Chowdhry, 2014). Nida challenges this idea of trying to control the dressing style of women. They feel compelled to dress in particular ways by the media, their culture and even the expectations of the society. She calls this policing and asks men to stop using the bodies of women in setting the principles of modesty. She asks the men to use their bodies when setting this principle of decency or even when coming up with expectations. Therefore, this challenges the idea of the male gaze where the focus shifts from the women to the men.

The moral gaze as demonstrated by Mulvey brings out the personality of a lady as one without any values or integrity (Mazanderani, 2017, p. 68). She is simply seen as an object for sexual pleasure, and this has contributed largely to the discrimination of the woman in the workplace, schools and even in the society. Nida says that is wrong and it is time to set things right. All issues that have resulted as from the idea of the male gaze that discriminates against the woman such as sexual violence, sexual trafficking, and gender-related biases should be dealt with. The society covers it up with the wrong things such as cleavages, things, sexual drive in men and this increases the prominence of the male gaze. If the focus could be on the real issues, then the idea of the male gaze could be completely eradicated.

The male gaze has brought out a mindset that associates the attention that is drawn to a woman with sexuality. Regardless of how a woman dresses or appears, she can only draw sexual attention (Sommer, 2013, p. 36). If she does not draw any attention, then she is not sexy. The mindset has affected both the males and the females. That is why ladies spend millions of money trying to improve their sexual appeal. They enlarge their breast, make their hair, bleach their bodies and even boost their hips and buttocks. Despite the fact that the male gaze system has caused this degradation, the woman is still blamed. They assume the role of marketing and media, art and literature and even law enforcers in making the woman appear only as an object that can appeal sexually.

The association between how women appear and sex should not exist. If a woman has not asked for sex verbally or initiated sex physically, then men should not use her for their sexual pleasure. Nida says that the shape of a woman or the showing off of her skin does not give anybody the liberty to treat her like a sex object (Chowdhry, 2014). The woman could be comfortable looking that way, but it is wrong for a man to own her to the point he experiences sexual pleasure by looking at her. It appears as an indirect way of controlling the body of the woman which is wrong and infringes on her rights as an individual. Therefore, the idea that the appearance of a woman in the visual media should give the men pleasure is wrong.

Nida also addresses the use of band-aid solutions primarily individual censorship (Chowdhry, 2014). She says that the use of restrictions cannot answer a systematic problem because the issue is not in the way that women choose to dress in visual media that created it. It is the mindset of people that make them assume that women are presented that way in the visual media to offer men sexual pleasure. There is the need to understand that the women are brought out that way to pass on a particular message which is not necessarily sexual (Alexander-Barr, 2009, p. 25). Therefore, there is the need to challenge the male gaze by means that go beyond censorship. Such means should examine marketing and media, films, literature and television programs. Law enforcers should come up with ways that ensure that the perpetuating of women as objects of sex by visual media is seen as gender and sexual oppression.

Article by Anna Lina Weils

The second media text that I will use in this paper is the one published in the Polyester magazine by Anna Weils on ‘feminism and the male gaze’ (Weils, 2015). The polyester magazine is a feministic self-published one which is produced twice a year (Gamble, et al., 2017). It covers all the issues that women go through such as features on problems like the male gaze, sexual violence, and discrimination and also highlights the stories of successful women in various fields. It also covers information on fashion, personal opinions on identified areas and other news especially those related to women.

In her article, Weils takes a closer look at the way feminism can fit into the idea of publicly embracing sexuality (Weils, 2015). She begins by discussing the actions of Emma Watson, a British actress, and activist, who raised the issue that Beyoncé’s feminism is very conflicted. Beyoncé is an American songwriter and singer. Emma commented that Beyoncé was male voyeuristic and although this opened a discussion about her, the primary focus was on sexual freedom for women. Weils describes the debate about sexual freedom as so familiar that one could even get another ongoing one within a heartbeat (Weils, 2015).

Weils noticed that the debate that surrounded Emma in early 2015 did not change how the society views the sexuality of women (Weils, 2015). It was however important because it opened up a chance for individuals to talk about the false perception that people have for equality and the need to feel sexy. Weils says that people only pretend to deal with these issues whereas in the real sense they are only covering them up with other things such as trying to look good (Weils, 2015). For instance, she uses the case of Beyoncé who is considered a feminist yet she can release a song titled ‘I just want to be the girl you like.’ Although she has chosen to present herself in a way that shows off her sexuality, she is still not dealing with issues the right way according to Weils (Weils, 2015).

Weils talks about how the male eye is quick to sexualize women (Weils, 2015). Bare knees or even a showing bra strap makes men begin considering the women who dress this way in a sexual way. Some of these women could be young girls who have not even joined the middle school. However, in a bid to satisfy the male gaze even when it’s not in visual media, the society already sexualizes women. The male gaze, therefore, can be seen to contribute to the sexual assault of women. The article disrupts the idea by Mulvey about the male gaze. Weils brings in the idea that if a man sexualizes a woman simply because of her dressing, then that can be termed as assault (Weils, 2015). Such a mindset opposes the idea by Mulvey that men get sexual pleasure when they see specific types of dressing styles from ladies.

The society especially the western one is oriented heavily towards men, and this makes everything to be labeled for men. This attitude affects the woman because men see her as an object which they can claim. Therefore, men think that everything women do is for their benefit. They believe that girls wear makeup to impress them as being beautiful, that they dress to get the attention of individual lovers and that even the lifestyle they choose is for the favor of men. Weils uses the example of tall ladies who often get the advice that they should not wear high heels because men do not like partners who are taller than them. She also uses the idea that curvy girls look good because men often want a lady with some meat they can grab (Weils, 2015).

The male gaze has propagated such chauvinistic mindsets, and they are hurting to the women (Mazanderani, 2017, p. 80). Women have their preferences about their individual lifestyles. They choose what to wear and how to appear for their sake. Therefore, unless a woman demonstrates through physical actions or verbally that she is adopting a specific lifestyle for men, then it should not be assumed otherwise (Lueptow, 2013). The male gaze is challenged in this context because it suggests that women do not have any freedom to decide the kind of behavior to adopt without the influence of the men.

Weils says it clearly that women have every right to act in a sensual way without being considered that they are doing it to please the men (Weils, 2015). Women want to appear sexy to look and feel good about themselves. Weils says that one of the reasons why women love what they do is because they enjoy it. The male gaze is therefore challenged in this context because it assumes the chance that women would want to appear sexy because they feel entitled to it. It is difficult for any person to keep doing something that they do not like. Therefore, it is impossible for women to keep looking good for men if they do not enjoy it themselves (Lueptow, 2013).

The articles raise the issue of empowering women to look the way they want without considering what the society thinks (Weils, 2015). If they would do this, then they will cease to play into the male gaze as Weils puts it. They will understand that their sexuality was made for them and they have every right to be proud of it just like men. They can walk around in lingerie, short dresses, and show breasts not because they want men to note them but because they are proud of who they are. The male gaze is disrupted here because it stops focusing its attention on the role of the body of a woman to please men. The woman handles herself as she pleases because it is her sexuality (Alexander-Barr, 2009, p. 58).

Weils also talks about how the body of the woman is taken as though it does not belong to her (Weils, 2015). Male musicians will use naked female bodies to promote their videos, either on the cover or in their songs. Looking at it from this perspective, the female body is used for the wrong reason in that case. The videos are watched by millions of men who are only seeking to satisfy their sexual pleasure. The female has lost control over her body which belongs to her. The male gaze is disrupted by this article because Weils discourages the use of women bodies for purposes such as this one.

Conclusion

Clearly, both media texts disrupt the idea of the male gaze as put forward by Mulvey. Both authors have explicitly described how the male gaze is a bad attitude in the society that only seeks to make ladies appear as sexual objects. They have both highlighted the plight of the woman’s body which is often used by men for their sexual pleasure. The society has also endorsed this attitude by assuming that everything done by women including their dressing style, their appearance, and shape is done to satisfy the men. The authors call for action to disrupt this chauvinistic perception using methods such as women empowerment and enacting laws that protect the women against being seen as sexual objects.

References

Alexander-Barr, R., 2009. The Male Gaze meets Modernity: Introducing New Levels of Gaze. 1st ed. New York: Cambria Press.

Chowdhry, N., 2014. Recognizing and Challenging the Male Gaze. [Online] Available at: https://nidachowdhry.com/2014/02/18/recognizing-and-challenging-the-male-gaze/[Accessed 8 April 2017].

Gamble, I., Duffy, E. & Jones, G., 2017. About Us. [Online] Available at: http://www.polyesterzine.com/about-polyester[Accessed 9 April 2017].

Green, P., 2008. Cracks in the Pedestal: Ideology and Gender in Holywood. 2nd ed. Amherst: University of Massacheutts Press.

Lueptow, K., 2013. 4 Ways to Challenge the Male Gaze. [Online] Available at: http://everydayfeminism.com/2013/05/changing-male-gaze/[Accessed 9 April 2017].

Mazanderani, F. H., 2017. ”Speaking Back“ to the Self: A Call for ”Voice Notes“ as Reflexive Practice for Feminist Ethnographers. Journal of International Women’s Studies, 18(3), pp. 67-87.

Sommer, T., 2013. The Male Gaze in Hard-Boiled Whodunits: Women Controlled in Hammett, Chandler and Gardner, Odense: Syddansk Universitet.

Treasure, J., 2012. Male Gaze. 2nd ed. London: Picador Publishers.

Weils, A. L., 2015. Feminism and the Male Gaze. [Online] Available at: http://www.polyesterzine.com/features/feminism-and-the-male-gaze[Accessed 9 April 2017].

Yahya, W., 2010. Male Gaze, Pornography, and the Fetishised Female. The International Journal of Interdisciplinary Social Sciences, 5(1), pp. 1-18.