From Pin-Up to Playboy

The male gaze is simply a man's perception of a woman. However, the complicated part is in distinguishing the difference between how a man "looks" at a woman versus how a man "sees" a woman. Many people confuse these two as the same thing, when they are in fact conflicting. For example, generally, when a man looks at a woman he is focused on her physical attributes: breasts, legs, eyes etc. However, when a man sees a woman he thinks of her role in society: her occupation, her duties as a mother/sister/wife etc. Today, women are rising up and trying to diminish this idea of a “male gaze” and bring the gazes of the two genders together.
The media holds to be the antagonist in this situation. From the early days of big Hollywood production, television, radio, print ads and just about every form of mass media in America would objectify women. The motto “sex sells” would fuel the encouragement for women to pose in sexy outfits to endorse product sales. This exposure can be seen from as early as the girls of 1920’s pin-up to the models of Playboy today. The man’s gaze was constantly being manipulated by the unrealistic women he would be looking at.



The male gaze in the way a man would see a women’s role in society was also being altered by the media. Images of women holding pot pies and smiling or cleaning in skimpy outfits made the idea of having the typical housewife appealing. Articles about domestic life would outline the duties of a woman and thus further justify mistreatment and misogyny.

The above is an article printed by Housekeeping Monthly, which clearly defines the role of a woman as a housewife. Some of the guidelines include “be happy to see him” and “a good wife always knows her place.” After being exposed to articles such as this throughout your adult life, it’s understandable (but not justified) why the man’s view of a woman is so flawed.
Bell Hooks in her article “the Oppositional Gaze” explains that although women were already having a hard time being equal to men; black women were having just as much trouble being equal to white women. In the media black women were negated and white women were dominant. By popular demand, the lighter the woman’s skin, the more attractive she was; this created even more distance between black and white females. If a black woman was portrayed in film, she was usually just a servant to a white woman; thus a black female was either misrepresented or not shown at all. “Most of the black women I talked with were adamant that they never went expecting to see compelling representations of black femaleness. They were acutely aware of cinematic racism- its violent erasure of black womanhood.” (Hooks, 119) In response to the negation of female blackness in film, black female critical thinkers began to assess the flaws in cinema by developing an oppositional gaze. Instead of being hurt by the absence of black female presence, black women began to interrogate and dissect the aspects of the movie; its message, content, form, language etc. (Hooks 122)
I have come to understand that there are in fact restrictions between men and women based on gender and color. In the past, I would look at an advertisement that featured an attractive girl and not think much of it. I never knew how powerful the effect of mass media was on the divides within gender and race. Now, I’m starting to deconstruct the message behind the billboard. I’ve started to understand that these women’s bodies are unrealistic, and that their beauty is due to the work of graphic designers and extensive photoshop. I understand that I am both the consumer and the spectator in this media circus. Mass media relies on people like me to further their agenda. As consumers and spectators, we all hold more power than we think.