The Male Gaze
What is the male gaze? Before the History of Art and Women’s course, one would’ve simply defined it by what men see, but the male gaze is more complex. The male gaze has been existing for centuries, but the actual term was marked by a feminist film critic, Laura Mulvey, in 1975. By definition, in the history of visual arts, the male gaze is how women are portrayed as an object, in the eyes and perspective of masculine people(men), giving the title “male gaze.” In the European art culture, it is tradition to paint nude women commonly as an object and indication of submission to the dominant’s (the painter) demands. This actuality is mentioned of in chapter 2 of John Berger’s Ways of Seeing, where he defines the difference between being naked and being nude;(Berger 54) “To be naked is to be oneself. To be nude is to be seen naked by others and yet not recognized for oneself. A naked body has to be seen as an object in order to become a nude". To sum up, in these paintings women are represented naked by these male artists putting female bodies out there for the pleasures and satisfaction of men, therefore creating nude paintings to enhance the purpose of women; to be “a sight"(Berger 47). For those who may not realize, the tradition of objectifying women have not only been stored in the walls of museums but cease to exist in our everyday lives. The media plays a big role in this global issue; advertisements in magazines and tv commercials amplifying the male gaze. For example, a popular company such as Coca-Cola uses women to target attention and popularity for their products. The problem isn’t that they use women for advertisement, the issue is how they use them. Since 1886, Coca-Cola has been using the female body as a focus object and since the beginning of time, females have been sold to be sex objects or are coined with sex appeal, making it incredibly easy for this company to make millions. What kind of guy wouldn’t buy a drink with a sight of big tits attached to it?
THE COKE GAZE
When it gets too hot stay cool
Patriarchy
Male power and dominance are the first things that pop up to mind when hearing the word patriarchy. What is the real definition? Well, according to the Merriam Webster dictionary, patriarchy is “ a group or government controlled by a man or a group of men.” From what I've learned patriarchy is something that is taught and is passed down through generations and generations. Bell Hooks, author of The Will to Change, defines it as “a political social system that insists that males are inherently dominating, superior to everything and everyone deemed weak, especially females"(Hooks 18). Since a little girl, Hooks lived in a patriarchal household where she was forced to act like a girl and got punished for doing the things her bigger brother should’ve done. She was taught that women are suppose to be weak, clean and serve men, while her brother was taught to be strong, dominant, provide, think and be served. These gender roles are taught and drilled into children’s brain from the second they’re born. This was back in late 1950s but, unacceptably, times haven’t changed. ‘Til this day, 2017, patriarchy still roams the minds of the youth. In my English composition class we read an article called Why Boys Don’t Play with Dolls, by Katha Politt. This article is about gender roles in society specifically with children. Politt later on mentions the influences parents have on children when it comes to their behaviors. She basically blames the families that raise these kids in an assigned gender role environment and pushes for families to be gender neutral. My experience with gender roles are a little bit different than Hooks’. I come from a hispanic family, where i had one older sister and three older brothers. With that being said, i was very involved with sports from basketball to soccer to swimming. I also played video games with my brothers. My favorite game was Saints Row where all i did was shoot people and take their money. It was much more fun than playing Barbie by myself.. My parents never had a problem with it, in fact, the more i got involved the happier they were. I had my own understanding of why boys don’t play with dolls.
Patriarchy through My Eyes
Patriarchy Pt 2
☺Before the first 3 weeks of this course i was oblivious to the world around me, especially the art world. I never bothered to stop and think why there were thousands of “naked” women being painted in the old days. Maybe i thought men were simply perverts and things never changed. Learning what the male gaze is along with familiarizing myself with patriarchy, everything connects. Knowing women have been degraded by men and society for centuries, ‘til this day, made me look at things differently and ever since I’ve been genuinely interested. I’ve never cared to be a feminist, not that i am now, but I am certainly aware and am curious to see if there will ever be a change in society.☺
No comments:
Post a Comment