Ways of Seeing

Kianni Johnson

Media 384

Women and Media

24 February 2017

Ways of Seeing

The Male Gaze is a theory introduced by Laura Mulvey. This theory suggests that films use women to provide a pleasurable visual experience for men. There are lens in which men view the world differently from woman. Specifically, women in the media are viewed from the eyes of a heterosexual man, therefore women are represented as passive objects of male desire. The job of the audience is then to view women from the point of view of a heterosexual man, even if they are not. The default lens through which heterosexual man view women is a lens of entitlement.

 The idea of using woman as an image and man as bearer of the look says a lot. Mulvey states, “In their traditional exhibitionist role women are simultaneously looked at and displayed, with their appearance coded for strong visual and erotic impact so they can be said to connote to-be-looked-at-ness” (Mulvey, 837). The role of the woman in media is important, however it is not because of what she is capable of as an actress. Instead, it is based on how she looks and specifically, which body parts people can they focus on. “Traditionally, the woman displayed has functioned on two levels: as an erotic object for the characters within the screen story, and as erotic object for the spectator within the auditorium, with a shifting tension between the looks on either side of the screen” (Mulvey, 838).

In addition, when men can identify with the male protagonist, they feel powerful. “As the spectator identifies with the main male protagonist, he projects his look on to that of his like, his screen surrogate, so that the power of the male protagonist as he controls events coincides with the active power of the erotic look, both giving a satisfying sense of omnipotence”. (Mulvey, 838) The man automatically becomes the “man to be” by his audience, based on the control of the camera and “the gaze.”

Although, Mulvey’s article focuses on the male gaze in cinema, that is not the only place where it is relevant. It continues to occur in our every-day life. Many things around us go unnoticed but they do not fail to sexualize women. Advertisements are another form of media where the male gaze is prominent. In this case, women become more than just an object, they are also considered to be what is being sold or what someone should buy. Often, the female body is shown, with no direct reasoning or message behind it besides the idea that “sex sells”. Even a general advertisement such as ad for a cheeseburger can become extremely sexualized. In some cases, you may no longer be sure what they are trying to sell.

Not sure if they're selling the burger or her body!?

 There are also plenty of examples of the male gaze in Disney princesses, comic books, the music industry, news coverage of sexual violence where they insist on blaming the victim, in politics, etc.

"Men acting while the women only seem to appear"

In reference to the male gaze, according to Berger, in the culture of privileged Europeans women are nothing more than a “sight”, used for the pleasure of the male audience. He says, “One might simplify this by saying: men act and women appear. Men look at women. Women watch themselves being looked at… thus she turns herself into an object” (Berger, 47) Berger attempts to portray women as submissive, suggesting that they know they are being watched however, they accept it anyways. Often women will act differently when they know they are being watched by a man. Subsequently, how woman portray themselves can correlate with how they are treated. “Men survey woman before treating them. Consequently, how a woman appears to a man can determine how she will be treated” (Berger, 46).

            The oppositional gaze by Bell Hooks is a theory that focuses on analyzing the construction of societal ideas and media. Not only does it reflect on the male gaze, but Hooks offers many other gazes from different perspectives. “By courageously looking, we defiantly declared: “Not only will I stare. I want my look to change reality.” (Hooks, 116) Specifically, it allows for black female spectators globally to challenge the male gaze. Hook states, “The “gaze” has been and is a site of resistance for colonized black people globally” (Hook, 116). Hook uses her platform to redefine the male gaze, zooming in more on the white male gaze, making her article a bit more bias. Hook says, “When most black people in the United States first had the opportunity to look at film and television, they did so fully aware that mass media was a system of knowledge and power reproducing and maintaining white supremacy… it was the oppositional black gaze that responded to these looking relations by developing independent black cinema” (Hook, 117). However, watching television at all was engaging in negation of black representation since black people were not likely present in most Hollywood films.

            Furthermore, Hooks makes an important claim, which is that black women are not the prominent woman used in media. “With the possible exception of early race movies, black female spectators have had to develop looking relations within a cinematic context that constructs our presence as absence, that denies the “body” of the black female so as we perpetuate white supremacy and with it a phallocentric spectatorship where the women to be looked at and desired is “white”” (Hooks, 118). Illustrating that one of the main components of the ideal woman portrayed in media is to be white and sexy. The oppositional gaze provides woman with the information, tools and ideas to challenge how they view themselves. Just as Oprah talks about in her video “Nobody who looked like me”, it is important for women, prominently black females to be able to identify with someone who looks like them. http://www.makers.com/moments/someone-who-looks-you  

          Understanding these views have changed my perspective on many things in the media. I now feel as if I am viewing things through a third eye, in a sense, judging everything to make sure to acknowledge the different gazes. Before reading Hook’s article “Patriarchy”, I had never known the definition of the word. However, after reading it many things make more sense. I agree when she says, “Patriarchy promotes insanity” (Hook, 30). She doesn’t focus on zooming in on any specific issue and instead she acknowledges that patriarchy is a weapon that hurts everyone. Hook speaks up for all the girls who has been told she can’t be a firefighter or doctor, for the boys who are told they shouldn’t play with dolls or can’t be a nurse. For every woman who has ever felt like less of a woman for wanting to work instead of being a stay at home mom as well as for the men who want to be stay at home dads opposed to being the “breadwinner”. There is an amazing link to a video, which shows a social experiment where a group of children drew men doing most of the jobs like firefighters & surgeons, only to be shocked when they met ones that are women! http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-3606869/Children-stunned-meet-female-firefighters-surgeons-RAF-pilots-drawing-MEN-doing-jobs.html 

Works Cited

Berger, John. Chapters 2, 3. Ways of Seeing. London: British Broadcasting, 1972.

Hooks, Bell. In Black Looks: Race and Representation. Boston: South End Press, 1992: 115-131.

Hooks, Bell. The Will to Change: Men, Masculinity, and Love. New York: Atria Books, 2004: 17-33.

Mulvey, Laura. “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema.” Film Theory and Criticism: Introductory Readings. Eds. Leo Braudy and Marshall Cohen. New York: Oxford UP, 1999: 833-44.

Images from Google Images