John Berger describes the male gaze in
correlation the European paintings. Long story short, European paintings were
made by white men. These men painted naked women. This can be elaborated to
explain the history which involves how women were really depicted in these
paintings. For instance, thought they look naked, Berger describes them as
nude. “To be naked is simply to be without clothes, whereas the nude is a form
of art” (Berger 53). Being naked is being 100 per cent who you truly are. The nude
is a depiction; a depiction that someone else is giving while disregarding who
you truly are. While nude, you are on display for men to gaze and achieve
satisfaction.
A lot of time and knowledge from the
male painter is needed in order to achieve paintings that are for display. The position
of the female subject, where her eyes gaze, and her surroundings all play a
part in the painting. Usually the female will look away from other men in the
painting, representing the lack of affections she has. Women may also be painted
looking into a mirror to represent vanity. According to Berger, that
representation was very hypocritical and it really means that the woman looking
into the mirror was indeed a sight in the eyes of the painter.
Painters were always male and always
white. This is called white supremacy. Bell Hooks explains how patriarchy, “a
system of society or government in which the father or eldest male is head of
the family and descent is traced through the male line”, impacted her life and many other women's life just as much as white supremacy. In this case, it means
that white males controlled almost everything. Females and other races did not
have much power. Bell Hooks explains how she feels about patriarchy by using
her personal life as an example. She was taught “that it was not proper for a
female to be violent, that it was ‘unnatural.’ [Her] brother was taught his
value would be determined by his will to do violence” (Hooks 18-19). Patriarchy
was learned at a young age and refusal to learn such practices resulted in
punishment.
It was very rare to find African American
painters or female painters. Women were raised and taught to serve, be weak and
bare children, as well as be an object of sight. If a female shows too many
feelings that is wrong, however if she shows none at all, that is not “lady-like”.
Anger was not a common emotion for women. Gender roles were deeply embedded in
cultures. The basics such as women cooked and cleaned and cared for children
while men went out to work was the everyday life. However, some women, such as
Bell Hooks, challenged patriarchy. She even challenged it more than her brother did.
Certain games were not for girls and
certain toys were not for boys. Women have always been looked down upon when it
came to intelligence and looked up to when it came to sexuality. Now we have an
endless number of famous and successful female painters as well as older
painters being recognized for the incredible work they have achieved in their
days. Though, one thing that has not changed is the male gaze. Women to
this day are being sexualized in every show, movie, commercial, etc. Some males
wouldn’t dare to stare at another man shoving a sandwich in his mouth; but if it’s
a woman, I’m sure they’ll be first in line for that same sandwich. The Huffington Post, "I Am So Over the Male Gaze"
The New York Times "Longing for the Male Gaze"
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