The text is accompanied by many images that serve as a prime example of the male gaze. Typically, the women are naked, and they are poised in a relatively dainty and humble manner, or helplessly. Some images blatantly voyeuristic—depicting a man peeping at a female who is posed naked. Berger allocates a significant chunk of the text to a historical category of European oil painting where women were the subjects, and he states, “in the nudes… we can discover some of the criteria and conventions by which women have been seen and judged as sights.” Indeed, in the concept of male gaze, women are just sights. And at the women’s own expense, they just appear for the pleasure of men, and nothing more. This objectification of women is problematic even today. Like the painting and pictures in the text, the images we see of women in the media today are still quite similar—especially in popular culture.
Perhaps it is not as obvious, but popular culture today still objectifies women. One can think of the photo shoots for many magazine covers—magazines targeted for women and men—and quickly notice a common theme of women who are provocatively posed. For the photos in men’s magazines, it sells sex and reinforces the male gaze in our society. And in women’s magazines, I would argue the images serves under the control of male gaze because it exemplifies to women the type of look and cadence society wants to see. I love music. I listen to it everyday, and I can hardly think of songs that don’t reference to the male gaze because so many do (even if it does so ever so slightly). However, a perfect example of the pervasiveness of the male gaze in today’s media is easily found in rap music. Today, rap culture is ultimately about men exerting their power, and women are just necessary accessories to that image of power. Laura Mulvey introduces examples of this pervasiveness in film as well. Films like Broken Mirrors on women working in brothels for instance not only objectifies the body and sexuality of women from men, but depicts the violence of men against women—further devaluing them.
In the culture of male gaze, women do not oppose. But perhaps they should to help initiate and promote change in such an oppressive and demeaning circumstance. In “The Oppositional Gaze” by bell hooks, she also talks about gaze as a means of power. It is not the power of men over women, rather the general power that a gaze has: “By courageously looking, we defiantly declare: ‘not only will I stare. I want my look to change reality...’” (hooks, 116). Not surprisingly, this gaze works in opposition to the conventions of the male gaze that has held women down for centuries. The author channels this power to address women, and their need to establish agency. Although hooks mainly focuses on the oppositional gaze against the representation of black women in films, this same concept can still be applied to the male gaze. Women need to actively critique the male gaze as a means to challenge and defy it, not just passively let these images of women appear in media for consumers to absorb without fully comprehending the underlying political and social messages attached.
I am always an advocator of being a more mindful consumer when it comes to the media. I will admit, however, that I may not be the most defiant consumer. I never felt the need or urgency to challenge, and a lot of the times I do consume things that promote the male gaze (i.e. rap music). I listen to the lyrics and often think how ridiculous they sound and demeaning they are to women, but I am just fond of the bass and rhythmic composition of a lot of different genres of music (and on that, rap and hip-hop happens to be one of my favorites). I feel that part of establishing agency and challenging conventional ways is also the individual realization and critique of media as it is portrayed today. That is why it is vital for people to be conscious of the media they consume, whether they enjoy it or not. Personally, I always try to look at media in many ways. It isn’t that I like it and that’s that. But, okay, I enjoy it. What is this piece ultimately for? What message is it sending? Where could the idea for this piece possibly have stemmed from? And why do I enjoy it—what aspects appeal to me, and what aspects I would change if I could?Perhaps it is not as obvious, but popular culture today still objectifies women. One can think of the photo shoots for many magazine covers—magazines targeted for women and men—and quickly notice a common theme of women who are provocatively posed. For the photos in men’s magazines, it sells sex and reinforces the male gaze in our society. And in women’s magazines, I would argue the images serves under the control of male gaze because it exemplifies to women the type of look and cadence society wants to see. I love music. I listen to it everyday, and I can hardly think of songs that don’t reference to the male gaze because so many do (even if it does so ever so slightly). However, a perfect example of the pervasiveness of the male gaze in today’s media is easily found in rap music. Today, rap culture is ultimately about men exerting their power, and women are just necessary accessories to that image of power. Laura Mulvey introduces examples of this pervasiveness in film as well. Films like Broken Mirrors on women working in brothels for instance not only objectifies the body and sexuality of women from men, but depicts the violence of men against women—further devaluing them.
In the culture of male gaze, women do not oppose. But perhaps they should to help initiate and promote change in such an oppressive and demeaning circumstance. In “The Oppositional Gaze” by bell hooks, she also talks about gaze as a means of power. It is not the power of men over women, rather the general power that a gaze has: “By courageously looking, we defiantly declare: ‘not only will I stare. I want my look to change reality...’” (hooks, 116). Not surprisingly, this gaze works in opposition to the conventions of the male gaze that has held women down for centuries. The author channels this power to address women, and their need to establish agency. Although hooks mainly focuses on the oppositional gaze against the representation of black women in films, this same concept can still be applied to the male gaze. Women need to actively critique the male gaze as a means to challenge and defy it, not just passively let these images of women appear in media for consumers to absorb without fully comprehending the underlying political and social messages attached.
MV: Hands Up - Lloyd Banks feat. 50 Cent
This links to a music video of a rap song that beats the idea of male gaze over you're head. I thought about it because it was actually one of the first rap songs I remembered listening to when I was WAY younger, so I may not have been as aware of any of the messages then as I would be now. I haven't heard it in a while, and looking back... listening to the lyrics, I am shocked!
Works Cited
Berger, John (1972). Ways of Seeing. London: British Broadcasting Corporation and Penguin Books.
hooks, bell (1992) Black Looks : Race and Representation, Chapter 7 "The Oppositional Gaze."
Mulvey, Laura. "Author/Auteur: Feminist Literary Theory and Feminist Film." Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema. 90-110.
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