The Gaze

            Since the birth of media, we, as consumers and people have always been attempted to be out of control. The media would always tell us what to believe. Whether it is to tell us what is fashionably acceptable, or to tell us what looks are good for us, the media sets the standard for both men and women alike of what is supposedly right for them. That being said, each gender looks at the opposite gender through a specific gaze. Men tend to view women through their gaze where as women are the ones being objectified through the gaze.

            The male gaze, according the Mulvery, is the “ability to take erotic pleasure in looking at and/or turning someone, mainly women, into objects (835). And with Mulvery, one would have to agree because throughout the media, men tend to turn women into their own objects. It is a pervasive form of vision in popular culture because, and especially in today’s day, everyone is media friendly and keeps up with popular culture. Everyone knows what is going on in everyone else’s personal life, which sets the standard for mankind as a whole of what is supposedly right and wrong. Women are depicted with as sexual beings for men and everyone see’s it because it is constantly being shown.

            As for the oppositional gaze, according to Bell, is “to look a certain way in order to resist” (116). This gaze was specifically developed because of the lack of African American women in the media or in the gaze. Hook talks about how to go against the gaze by actually looking the other way. To take charge of the situation and to dominant oneself as opposed to the one being dominated.

            Understanding these structures hasn’t really changed my belief on the media. It hasn’t opened my eyes to what is actually going on because I have known this for quite some time on my own already. In my view, I look at all women in the same light. They are all similar, whether they tend to have sex appeal or not. I’ve always known that the only reason women are always half naked in a majority of campaigns because that company wants to sell their item off their sexy because their main consumer would be the male.

            My own identity hasn’t changed because yes, we all look at beauty and everyone’s beauty is different, but I do not look through my gaze in any specific way. These structures from the media don’t really open my eyes to a new world. Even though the gaze is based on a sort of dominance against women, I do and don’t see it. Because not everyone women lets the male take over the dominance and not every male takes that dominance against the woman. My own identity makes me look as a young white male. I am the male that gazes at women.