On ways of seeing/viewing

The male gaze is an idea or concept coined by Laura Mulvey in her essay “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema”. The concept explains how film and media are seen through the eyes of the male, specifically the white heterosexual male. Which means that the mainstream film and media is created by this male and catered for such an audience. Mulvey states, “The determining male gaze projects its phantasy on to the female figure which is styled accordingly.” (Mulvey 837)  This shows us that the women in media are not an entity of their own rather their sole purpose is pleasing the male spectators.  Examples of the male gaze in popular culture can be found in magazines (Cosmopolitan), movies (Bad Teacher), and music videos (Robin Thicke’s Blurred Lines).

John Berger elaborates on this more in his work, “Ways of Seeing.” He states “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-and most particularly an object of vision: a sight”(Berger 47).  Both Berger and Mulvey argue that the reason this occurs in popular culture is not that the female is different from the male rather it is assumed that the male will be watching and in order to gain his attention the female is objectified and seen as something for sexual pleasure only. 

Dolce & Gabbana AD (Flikr.com)

We can see how the female is objectified in this Dolce & Gabbana ad. She is lying on the floor while four men surround her. The men are also in suits, which portrays them as being powerful while the woman is scantily dressed and in this ad, it comes off as if all the men are pursuing her.  The male gaze also pushes the narrative that women are submissive to men and women are something man can possess or have ownership of like an object or property.

However, in “The Oppositional Gaze”, Bell hooks brings up the counter gaze that exists but is not recognized in mainstream media and film. Bell hooks brings this up to highlight how there are different ways of viewing. Also, she shows how the oppositional gaze is liberation to the victims of the male gaze. She points out that the oppositional gaze allows the audience to deconstruct the narrative the male gaze is sending and thus creating a separation between their identity and the one that is being portrayed. This is highlighted when she states the following “Critical black female spectatorship emerges as a site of resistance only when individual black women actively resist the imposition of dominant ways of knowing and looking.” (Bell hooks 128) Bell hooks specifically talk's about the black female gaze and elaborate's on the individual first recognizing that they must look back and criticize the messages they are being sent.  Only after the acknowledgment and criticism of the male gaze is someone able to resist its impact on them.

Hijab (Google.com)

As a Muslim woman living in America the prevalent male gaze in mainstream media has caused a lot of difficulties. My parents had brought me up in a way that encouraged modesty, so it was very confusing and shocking to see the blatant objectification of women in American media. Also, there are very few numbers of Muslim women who cover i.e. in hijab (Muslim head covering) that are shown in a positive light in mainstream media. When Muslim women are being discussed they are spoken about as an entire group and not as individuals, which causes a lot of conflicts because we are being portrayed as the same when we obviously aren’t. We all have different experiences and opinions.  However, individuals in the Muslim community have recognized this bias and are trying their best to make sure everyone knows it. An example of this can be found in the following: “How does the Media portray Muslim Women”. These types of info-graphics are very useful because they bring actual statistics and are capable of being distributed quickly to a large audience.

Overall, I believe that the readings were very insightful and show us how media really works in favor of the male versus the female. So as a female consumer I have to be extra critical and aware of the messages that I am being sent. The readings also push us to challenge and question the male gaze.  

Sources 

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

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

Mulvey, Laura. "Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema." Film Theory and Criticism: Introductory Readings. NY: Oxford UP, 1999: 833-844.