Social Pyramid: Man/Women/Black Women

According to Laura Mulvey, the male gaze in the media occurs when mediums such as the Internet, television, radio, film, and art places the audience in the perspective of a heterosexual male. We see this in pop culture today and has incorporated with it, a universal vision of women. This vision focuses more on a woman’s physical appearance and views them as objects to be won. With programs such as the Bachelor and Rock of Love presenting a variety women competing for the attention of one man, often using their sexuality. Additionally magazine ads display a half naked female body to sell a beverage or cosmetic supplies, television commercials also highlight a woman's curves to attract viewers. It maybe nearly impossible to objectify women without incorporating her submissiveness through her sexuality, yet by looking back into history we can understand why these views toward women came to be. However before the media became the technological mass medium it is today, Berger traces medias earliest roots down to art, specifically nude European oil paintings of women as early the 13^th and 14^th centuries, and explains how artists in that time period portrayed these women.

In John Berger’s “Ways Of Seeing”, Berger explores how our society has evolved its social views of women. Berger states that the social presence of a woman is different in kind from that of a man. Saying that men’s presence is dependent to the promise of “power” which he personifies. And that the promise of power can be represented in various characteristics be it “moral, physical, temperamental, economic, social or sexual.” (Berger 45) This notion insinuates that mans presence centers around his potential to provide for a woman.

However, women are viewed entirely differently. A woman is taught from infancy to “watch herself”(Berger 46), or more correctly the image of herself according to a man, this social protocol is directly related to the protection of men over women throughout history. A woman comes to consider the “surveyor” and the “surveyed” as two elements that I identify her as a woman. Berger writes that “The surveyor of a woman in herself is male [and the] surveyed is female. Thus her presence is manifest in comparing her true self to the ideal image of herself in a mans eye. A mans eye is attracted to a woman’s raw sexuality, her scent, voice, choice of clothing, and physical beauty. A woman is therefore so intrinsic to please the man in appearance and therefore one may simply reason that “men act and women appear”(Berger 47)

The earliest paintings depicted Adam and Eve posing in there moment “shame”, after they had eaten the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, and realized their nakedness. Their Shame isn’t too much in relation to the nakedness of one another, but their nakedness to the audience viewing. As the theme of painting women became more secular the insinuation of a woman being aware of her nakedness to a spectator, usually thought to be male, became more dominant in the art world. The painting of women in nakedness began the evolution of societies view of women in a “male gaze”. Berger states “she is not naked as she is. [Instead] she is naked as the [male] spectator sees her. Artists then began painting as the spectator choosing subject (women) that cater to his own sexuality, making nakedness of the woman as an expression of her submission to the owners feelings and demands.

The oppositional gaze on the other hand not only brings out the importance gender, but also of race. Bell Hooks, in her essay The Oppositional Gaze: Black female spectators, speaks about the confrontational resistance to challenge authority, by gazing back at a spectator in opposition, by looking back, it is a sign of defiance, this defiance is seen in turn as empowering oneself with knowledge of the present to better serve the future(Hooks 131). The authority according to Hooks is the film industry and their negative views toward black females. The oppositional gaze is a critical view developed by black female spectators towards Hollywood and its representation of black woman not only as racially subordinate to white people but also additionally subordinate according to gender thus making the black women the lowest form of subordination.

Black men certainly had easier then black women when it came to social status because “their role as spectators, black men could enter an imaginative space of phallocentric power that mediates racial factor. This gendered relation to looking made the experience of the black male spectator radically different from that of the black female spectator” (Hooks 118). It was exceptionally difficult for black females to identify with the black characters in the film because they were either portrayed as playing a white character, servants to white people or not portrayed at all. It was not until the Amos 'n Andy radio show that the depiction of African American women as overbearing, assertive, and emasculating characters became prevalently associated with the name Sapphire. Black women could “Identify with Sapphire in her frustrations and woes” and “as a symbol of the angry art of themselves white folks and black men could not even begin to understand”(Hooks 120)

Throughout our lives, we are deeply influenced by our surroundings, we gather knowledge, learn by observing, we then filter people behaviors and principles and integrate them into our own way of thinking as socially normal. As children, we have little objectivity in the way we understand our society. In its place, our thoughts on what is normal are malleable thus what children see are the physical and social standards, that we have placed as human beings, toward not only women but black women. From these norms children learn how to think about the world around them. As children we are fed the proverbial notions of surveyor vs. surveyed, breadwinner vs. homemaker, women vs. men, black vs. white. Even though society can mold and shape our ideas it is essential that one must come to an understanding to how these notions came to be by looking back into history, finding the problem, and fixing it so that these “backward” notions will no longer hold superior thought as de jure or de facto.

The Male Gaze in Women

 Popular culture constantly demonstrates women as sex objects and what is believed that men would want to see. The male gaze is exactly that; it is the tendency of presenting women in the media as objects that are only there for the visual pleasure of the men and are only portrayed through the male's point of view of what a woman should be. Berger states that the picture and paintings of naked women "is made to appeal to his sexuality. It has nothing to do with her sexuality." (pg.55)

In today's media we are constantly told that sex sells. For example if you see a beer commercial or advertisement it's usually a man on a hot day sweating and thirsty and luckily for him a half naked woman comes to his rescue to serve him a beer. Therefore the idea is the woman is being made into a commodity as a way to sell the beer. It gives off the idea that if you buy this beer you might just get the woman as well. Some products even go as far to not just insinuate the idea but suggest that this is exactly what will happen if you purchase their product such as Axe Body Spray. My issue with this is that in all advertising and market classes you're always told that women are the largest target audience because they tend to be larger percentage in the consumer market. With this being known, why do we still sell sex to women? Berger suggests that we do this because of the mirror effect, the idea that we are viewed by men and not by ourselves. "Men look at women. Women watch themselves being looked at. This Determines not only most relations between men and women but also the relation of women to themselves. The surveyor of woman in herself is male; the surveyed female. Thus she turns herself into an object - and most particularly an object of vision; a sight." (pg.47) As much as I would like to deny this, it's true. I don't just say this from a personal point of view but also based on friends and families and comments that I hear from women around me. Purchasing a bathing suit is a perfect example. Women always stress over this every summer, having the ideal beach body or buying the perfect bathing suit. Realistically we only obsess over this because the images that are being sold to us are these beautiful women with ridiculously well built bodies. The message her is that if we buy this bathing suit we can look like her.

As much as I hate to admit this but you would be less incline to buy a two piece bathing suit that is on an overweight woman. I decided to put this concept to a test. I asked 10 female friends that if they saw a plus size model wearing a cute bathing suit would they purchase it. Majority of them responded that they don't even look at the bathing suit if its on a plus size model, so I proceeded to ask why? The first answer was because I'm not plus size. I then asked but what if the bathing suit came in all sizes, it just happens to be a plus size model demonstrating the bathing suit? The popular answer was silence. There was no real way to explain why they wouldn't look at it. One girl though did say "I guess it's because I want to look pretty and if the model looks pretty with the bathing suit then I feel that I will look pretty also if I buy this bathing suit." That's exactly what Berger is telling us. Women also view themselves the way that the photographer/painter/director is viewing the model and wants the world to view her.

The Opposition Gaze is a rebellious, confrontational way of viewing and looking it challenges the authorities. Bell Hook talks about the lack of representation of black women and how the male gaze hardly relates to black women. Media only tends to be the views of white male and females excludes all other ethnicities from television, advertising and film. This has been both negative and positive. Negative because it lacks the voice and image of the black woman but positive because it has helped women to make their own assessment of women and choose not to identify with the portrayals that media demonstrates. "Looking at films with an oppositional gaze, black women were able to critically assess the cinema's construction of white womanhood as object of phallocentric gaze and choose not to identify with either the victim or the perpetrator." (pg.122)

Take a Good Look!

           When attempting to understand the differing roles between men and women in society, and how the two genders interact with each other over the course of their daily lives, one must take the time to interpret the unspoken understandings that are handed down to us by our fathers. Mass media has, in effect, been brainwashing children the world over for decades now, influencing them to think one thing or another is cool, or acceptable. The roles that different genders play in these various forms of media have evolved over the years, but women have always struggled to find equality through these outlets. Female heroes have always been few and far between.  

            Simple interactions between men and women, when portrayed by mass media outlets, become exponentially more concrete, become, in a way, undeniable proof and a constant reminder of the times that we live in and the roles each gender plays in our society. The simplest interaction, the way we look at each other, when reflected back to us by media outlets like the television and the cinema, or magazines and their advertisements, becomes magnified and exaggerated. Boys are taught to look at and look for girls in certain ways, and girls are taught to be accepting of this “gaze.” Furthermore, girls are brought up thinking that their chances for overall success in life are increased if they know how to really draw this gaze, and summon the right amount of attention. It all just ends in a society filled with very confused children, and jaded adults.

            Berger sums it up well, stating, “According to usage and conventions which are at last being questioned but have by no means been overcome, the social presence of a woman is different in kind than that of a man” (Berger, 45). He goes on to relate that a man’s presence is directly related to the “promise of power which he embodies.” Men must pretend to be powerful, to have influence, in order to make an impact in today’s culture. Women, on the other hand, are defined by a much more complicated process. They are scrutinized, tortured by ridiculous standards and expectations, not to mention whatever the latest degrading fashion is.

            The best response to this longstanding tradition of set interaction between the genders is a defiant stare. An “oppositional gaze,” per say.   According to Bell Hooks, this rebellious response has brought black culture to the point where it is today. Stereotypical portrayals of black men and women in the media have faded over time, even though the battle is far from won. Women, however, should collectively appreciate and emulate the struggle and achievements of black Americans in terms of their portrayal in mass media.

            Women are the subject of constant attention in our society, but is the attention they receive something that any of them truly want? Is it the right kind of attention, and if not, what can they do to change the way the world perceives them? At the forefront of the battle to work to change these long standing notions are the various media outlets which the majority of the world is connected to in this day and age. Portrayal of women, and their interactions with men, must be analyzed, scrutinized and worked on. Television is rearing a generation of children every decade, and much care must be put into what these children should consider normal and acceptable. The sort of change that is necessary for complete equality won’t happen overnight, but the first step is to recognize the need for it.

The Male Gaze

Tara Plath: FNewsMagazine

In “Ways of Seeing” John Berger explains that men and women have different types of social being. A man’s appearance shows their dominance through the amount of power they have. Women, on the other hand, show their appearance to display what can and what cannot be done to them. For example a man shows power through physical strength, or economical status. The more money he has, the more power he has. Meanwhile a woman is raised up from childhood to look good for the ‘man’, so she can be appreciated by him. Berger states “Men look at women. Women watch themselves being looked at. This determines not only most relations between men and women but also the relation of women to themselves. The surveyor of women in herself is male: the surveyed, female. Thus she turns herself into an object – and most particularly an object of vision: a sight.” (Berger p. 47) This shows that women are nothing more than a ‘spectacle.’

A gaze describes the act of looking; it’s how the audience views the object being presented. The male gaze is how men look at women and taking ownership of what they see. Laura Mulve describes in Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema that film audiences view the plot and characters from the heterosexual male perspective. So this is all shown through a patriarchic viewpoint. She states “in their tradition exhibitionist role women are simultaneously looked at and displayed, with their appearance coded for strong visual and erotic impact so that they can be said to connate to-be-looked-at-ness.” (Mulve p. 837) Here she explains that women are displayed as objects of sexual desire, which is transformed into exhibitionism.

The male gaze is dominant in popular culture because it satisfies this great pleasure we all get from looking at people. The pleasure we get from seeing people as objects is described as ‘scopophilia’ according to Mulve. We get a sense of power from being able to do this. In today’s Rap music videos women are displayed as objects. For example Make it Rain remix by Fat Joe music video shows money being thrown on women. Women are also wearing very sexually appealing clothes as the camera lingers on the curves of the female body.

The oppositional gaze, as described by Bell Hooks, challenges the authority of the spectator in order to give oneself agency or the permission to look. Specifically Hooks encourages black women not to accept stereotypical representations in film, but rather actively critique them. Historically, the male gaze posits the white male as the spectator; people of color are not permitted to be spectators especially when the object of the gaze is a white woman. Hooks states "Not only will I stare, I want my look to change reality." (p. 116) Here she challenges the male gaze's power to construct the mainstream reality and consciousness.

There are many cases where the oppositional gaze is present in society. Hooks talks about Spike Lee’s film Crooklyn. Crooklyn, as noted by Hooks, was criticized by white mainstream media for not having a plot however that was clearly not the case. In watching the film, the audience sees the story of a black family living in Brooklyn and the tragedy they experience when the mother becomes ill with cancer. The storyline, as hooks explains, is not of interest to critics and they therefore dismissed the film.

In contemporary society, media has definitely impacted everyone’s views on certain aspects on life. Women will still try to look pretty and men will admire them. The gazes are still present and will remain present until we evolve from this patriarchal society.

The Gaze

According to Laura Mulvey, the male gaze refers to looking as a source of pleasure for men (Mulvey 835). Within media and film men are the lookers while women are the source of “looking”. In doing so the woman becomes objectified. She is viewed as an object whose prime source is to be looked at. There is power within the gaze, the man is dominate because he is allowed to look while the woman is a result of that gaze which makes her subordinate.  Therefore women must always ne away of their gestures, voice, expressions, clothing, taste and etc.

Women are the source of the gaze, therefore their actions, gestures, language, and among other aspects of their selves are viewed and judged.  According to Berger, the action of a woman indicates how she would like to be treated. “ If a woman throws a glass son the floor, this is an example of how she treats her own emotion of anger and so of how she would wish it to be treated by others. If a man makes a good joke this is an example of his anger.” (Berger 47).  Berger goes as far as to state that women posses both the surveyor and the surveyed within her and that the surveyor of the woman in herself is a male (Berger 47).

The Male gaze is a pervasive force in popular culture. Art, and film are two important aspects of popular culture. Throughout these different sub cultures of popular culture the male gaze is present. The ideology of the male gaze is present within Renaissance artwork of nudity. Within these paints, the female subject is aware of being seen by a spectator (Berger 49). “She is not naked as she is. She is naked as the spectator sees her.” (Berger 50). Mulvey reflects on the male gaze within cinema.  There is a sexual imbalance in which a male is active and the female is passive. This imbalance is present within cinema. The male character looks upon the woman’s body, which is styled and presented accordingly. Women are displayed as sexual objects and in certain scenes the involve pin-up girls and strip- tease which is apparent in many films during the 40’ and 50’s, these women are set up to be looked at by the males within the films and the males within the audience. Mulvey also reflects an important aspect within the relationship between male and female characters. The female character is there to make the male character act. His love or fear for her are all driving forces within his actions to save her or have her. She is of no importance to herself (Mulvey 837).

Bell Hook coins the phrase oppositional gaze refers the gaze of a blacks. As Hooks explains the gaze of a black person does not align with the typical male gaze between a white man and a white woman. Blacks deem the ideology of “gaze” differently. This difference stems from slavery.  As slaves you were not allowed to look at your master or any white man. “Gaze” is viewed as a dominant right, which is not based on gender but by color. Black men, although men were also deemed subordinate with their female counterparts. The gaze is viewed as a privilege, the power of a spectator. (Hooks 117) In terms of television and film, blacks could no relate to what they saw. The “gaze” was not the gaze of blacks whether male or female. “ To stare at the television, or mainstream movies, to engage its images, was to engage its negation of black representation.” (Hooks 117). As a result independent black cinema was created.

The black gaze of a man is viewed as a danger to the white woman. Black men have been lynched for looking at white women. By looking at the white woman the black man puts her safety in jeopardy. He “rapes” her white womanhood. In terms of the black women, it is as if they do not have a gaze nor are they subjects of any gaze. “Black women spectators shut out the image, looked the other way, and accorded cinema no importance of their lives.” ( Hooks 120). The misrepresentations of black were presented in early shows such as “Amos n Andy”.

Prior to these readings I was aware to a certain extent of the male gaze but I was not aware of it dominating control. In a world different by patriarchy is it damaging to know that something as simply as our gazes are also driven by patriarchy. The power of the gaze is evident in today’s society.  Upon reading Berger’s reading, I am aware that even today women subconsciously tend to these ideals. As a black female, who is a film major I resonate with the work of Bell Hooks the most. The importance of the difference between the black gaze and white gaze is critical especially in film theory. The representations of blacks within cinema lack certain truths. Due to the ill representation of blacks independent films such as Julie Dash’s “Daughters of the Dust” is greatly appreciated for its authenticity.

Even in the present day not much has changed in the mainstream media. It is still sexual driven. The male gaze is still deemed essential. That is apparent within the magazines (even women magazines), cinema, commercials and so forth. As a woman I have to understand that my sole purpose is not to live as one that is being surveyed.  I have to live life as the woman I want to be. Women are given more liberties in this present day but there is a strong sense of patriarchy within this world and as a woman you must pave your own way. 

Are Gazes Changing?

There are many ways to define a "Gaze." One can Gaze at a picture, one can Gaze at an object, and one can Gaze at another person. Each gaze is similar, but different at the same time. It is similar in that Gaze usually means to stare or to look at, but when one someone stares at an object it is because one is observing it. The same goes with the Picture. The Gaze starts to become different when one gazes at a person. The Gaze then becomes something more. There is power in looking (Hooks 115). The Gaze now becomes more that just a simple stare or observation, it becomes a tool. Power is inside as well as outside (Hooks 116) How this power is used is now not only internally, but it transfers externally as well.
In Traditional European paintings, women are often depicted naked and are the ones who are being looked at, and the men are the ones who are looking at the women. Her body is arranged in the way it is, to display it to the man looking at the picture (Berger 55). She is offering up her femininity as the surveyed (Berger 55). This is where the Gaze starts to become more than just a simple observation. It starts to become power. This picture is made to appeal to his sexuality (Berger 55) and therefore the male becomes the "Spectator" and starts to gain power. This however, is unusual to me because it is a simple picture that the male is looking at. how did the male gaze gain power? It is clear that the spectator-owner will in fantasy oust the other man, or else Identify with him (Berger 56). This is turn is what is giving the male gaze power internally.
This type of "power" has been and still is around today's society. We are living in a world ordered by sexual imbalance, pleasure in looking has been split between active/male and passive/female (Mulvey 837). What does this sight of the other man mean to us, how does it, at that instant of total disclosure, affect our desire? (Berger 58). Now many women may have different opinions on what the sight of the other man means to all of women out there especially when it comes to cinema. "every narration places the spectator in a position of agency; and race, class and sexual relations influence the way in which this subject hood is filled by the spectator." (Hooks 117). In this case the Spectator can be whomever, and this for Bell Hooks is what the Oppositional Gaze is from my understanding.
The oppositional Gaze is something where the Spectator is not the typical male but can be of any Gender race or class. The oppositional gaze also is seen as going against and fighting the "power" of the male gaze. This power was gained and specifically as geared towards the African American community through the cinema. It was the oppositional black gaze that responded to these looking relations by developing independent black cinema (Hooks 117). This was a breaking ground for them and gives chance that the whole Male Gaze will just become an ordinary gaze. It is now seen in media where the Males are now starting to become the passive/male and the women are becoming the active/females.
An example for this would be Twilight, or True blood. I Personally don't watch True Blood, but from what I've heard it is becoming the opposite. The men seem to become the subject of the film or picture. As I understand the Gaze has been and Still is a male dominant structure, but with this example that I have stated it seems to be changing. The media is still predominantly filled with the Passive/females, and active/males in magazines, but i sense that there will be a change in the Gaze. Personally I have felt the "external power" of a male. It is intimidating, and I do not feel like males have a right in looking at me whenever they feel like it just to feel superior to me. In my perspective it is nice to see that there is starting to become some type of balance between this Gaze.

As seen in the pictures both genders are using each other as objects, possibly one more so than the other, but both none the less.






Cosmopolitan Image Credit GQ Image Credit

Gaze Craze

The male gaze in advertising is largely directed towards the way females are portrayed towards heterosexual men. The hips, legs, breasts, eyes, mouth and such of a woman or girl are magnets to the male pupil. Females are seen as sexual objects and not as a “woman” for what she’s worth in society as a “working brain”. The man is not looking at her because she is on the cover of the magazine for her achievements in life, but because she renders a fantasy for him that only the female can complete. Popular culture keeps reiterating the same concept for how the man sees an ideal woman, even though times have changed, for men cannot give up their vision for what they think traditional society should be. The simplest of portraits can prompt a hidden message from the male gaze.


In our Women and Media class, we discussed how woman feel objectified no matter what the situation is when she’s approached with a “cat call” from a man. A male student questioned this logic and it seemed as if he could not completely grasp at the idea to why it’s always appalling for us and never flattering. As a young girl who’s been through situations and observed others as well, a man screaming at a girl at any age from across the street or wherever she may be does not make a girl feel as if she’s worth more than what she’s seen from the man’s gaze. It triggers fear and discomfort that the man most likely does not realize. When a man stares at an advertising of a woman showing off all her assets, he does not feel guilt towards the thoughts and desires he has for her because she can be seen as a fictional character and not a “real person”.

Laura Mulvey in her essay Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema, mentions as one of her opening statements, “The paradox of phallocentrism in all its manifestations is that it depends on the image of the castrated woman to give order and meaning to its world” (833). Men are seen as “all high and mighty” in society being able to achieve their goals without the hassle of cultural traditions holding them back, yet the woman holds power over his desires and pleasures and may even define who he is. The idea of a “trophy wife” to a hard-working man is distributed from the media from mediums such as television shows and magazine publishing. She is basically a slave to his needs and does not represent a hard-working woman who is successful through her studies, intuitions or experiences. Females are cast as second class citizens because of the pressures to stay contained and conform to the guidelines traditional society.

The oppositional gaze brings out the importance of race. Bell Hooks, in her essay The Oppositional Gaze: Black female spectators, speaks about the “power in looking” as a black female spectator critiquing Hollywood’s representation of black women in media. “When thinking about black female spectators, I remember being punished as a child for staring, for those hard intense direct looks children would give grownups, looks that were seen as confrontational, as gestures of resistance, challenges to authority” is how Hooks describes her starting encounter with the “gaze” (115). The restrictions of observing society and reading behind the lines were tainted with the idea of possibly offending individuals.

Hooks says“…watching television was one way to develop critical spectatorship” (117). She was able to look at the screen without being judged for staring and finally was able to realize the discrimination and negation of black representation. Black men were also able to see their portrayal on the screen as “their role as spectators, black men could enter an imaginative space of phallocentric power that mediated racial negation. This gendered relation to looking made the experience of the black male spectator radically different from that of the black female spectator” (118). It was tough for black women to identify with the black characters in the film because they were either portrayed as playing a white character, servants to white people or missing in the film all-together.

Before reading Bell Hook’s essay, I never looked beyond the idea of how men saw women in media. My mind always circled around the thought of a woman’s portrayal as a sexual object. Now it’s come to my attention at how women see other women in media whether it be inspirational or demeaning. The limitations in society for races other than white become a greater challenge when wanting to understand the reasons for certain portrayals. The lack of acknowledgement and integrity of black culture in older films show the struggle of a black female wanting to identify her role in society with the character on the screen. Movies that are made for black women, which have progressed from the shows and films Hooks mentions, still have certain negative connotations on the depiction of black females. I feel as if when productions make movies that are targeted for certain races, the stereotypes that are exemplified in society are the main characterizations for the actors.

MY Gaze.

Want a piece of dat ass? ...HAHAH. no. -Credits: Society Pages

            Languid, passive, erotic, and there "to feed an appetite"; to male voyeurs, these are the characteristics that define the women presented in the media (Berger 55). The male gaze is a sense of ownership and supremacy over women, essentially objects to be looked at and displayed (Mulvey 837). A woman watches herself being watched by a man, she is the object, he is the owner (Berger 46). This relationship imposes a standard whereby women define themselves by the male perspective- to be beautiful or sexy in a woman's mind is what she would assume a male's definition of beautiful and sexy is.

            This form of vision is highlighted through various forms of media throughout time. Subjected to the creator's perspective, women are meant to be erotic exhibits and of no substantial value to the surrounding content. In nude European oil paintings, women are "seen and judged as sights" (Berger 47). Naked for the artist, and specifically the male audience (within the painting itself or the painting's spectators), women are positioned in a manner for a male's gaze to consume and control. Following this notion, films have also represented women in this manner. Her erotic presence often times "work against the development of the story, to freeze the flow of action in moments of erotic contemplation" (Mulvey 837). This sense of objectifying women is also seen throughout the music industry as well. Raps and ballads alike addressing a woman's form such as: Brick House by The Commodores, Super Freak by Rick James, and "you remind me of my jeep, I wanna ride it" from R. Kelly's You Remind Me of Something.

            To be able to survey, gaze, and watch is a sense of empowerment. John Berger, Laura Mulvey, and Bell Hooks all made a point to describe a male's gaze of women as a form of voyeurism, scopophilia, and dominance. In Bell Hook's case, she endeavors into the fellow subcategory of race. The oppositional gaze according to Bell Hook is a rebellious desire to look at those who are repressing them, it's a drive for freedom and inspiration to "change reality" (Hooks 116). In real life situations, that means directly looking at your captor's eyes- in the media, that means critically analyzing and observing representations of yourself. To passively sit and watch is to consume content the creator wrongfully pushes in society. To acknowledge the representations of yourself and differentiate between that and reality, grants power and the ability to track progress, if any.

            The oppositional gaze has developed where spectators being misrepresented in film can choose not to identify with the film's subject (Hooks 122). This means confidently knowing who you are despise the fact that the person on the screen has the same skin color as you, or is of the same gender and age. With such a large variation of characters being represented on screen nowadays, the oppositional gaze is stronger than it used to be back when only white film makers were presenting films that reinforced racist perspectives. From Amos 'n' Andy to Spike Lee's She's Gotta Have It, variation of representation over time is clear. However, it's also slow- Lee's film empowered blacks, but still objectified women. It was sort of a typical white movie dipped in chocolate if you will: a step up for black representation, but still at square one for women.

Spike Lee's She's Gotta Have It- of course she's GOTTA be in a silhouette. -Credits: IMDb

            Understanding the fact that there are different lenses and gazes to look at media with, consequently means realizing the fact that there is no definite meaning to be conveyed by stories, pictures, and films. Everything is subjected to the creator, and then to the surveyor. Having looked at several media forms through the male gaze and oppositional gaze infuriates me. It has made me realize how passively I've been when accepting these images and depictions of some people in society through media. It's difficult when audiences don't have figures in the main stream media that accurately represents oneself- in the end that character will  never represent one accurately since every individual is different. However, being misrepresented is the damaging prospect that can change and wrongfully educate an audience to have these wrong preconceptions. Not actively thinking while consuming media can have dangerous effects where one identifies with the misrepresented character.

            I've always been a skeptic when reading books or watching novels. Identifying myself with females or Asians was never a real dilemma for me because I identified myself with characters of similar personality traits rather than physical traits. To be given this lens to look at the same media as a man, a feminist, and a different race makes me realize how demeaning some categories are represented. In popular movies and music especially. Music we blindly love is songs putting women as sexual objects. Movies we blindly watch have us wanting men to save the day and the women to get out of the way (well, this isn't always true, but I'm sure some people have thought that). Why can't the well built black actors be the scientists in a film instead of the club bouncer? Why can't the Hispanic woman be the heroine instead of the maid? It's stereotypes and gender roles society has to change, in order for the media creators to change.

I'm inviting you in to check out my latest break through with the epidemic virus that's killing everyone. Credits: Random Night Club Ad

Pouring a cup of CHANGE. I want the next action flick with her as the star. Credits: Superstock

The GAZE

What does “gaze” mean? I personally defined the gaze as looking at someone’s eyes. Bell Hooks’ The Oppositional Gaze: Black Female Spectators, reminded me of my childhood. When my mother was talking or teaching something to me, she always said “Hey, look at my eyes.” She was saying that it means I was not paying attention when I was not looking at her eyes. However, just as Hooks argues, I was punished by looking at my mother’s eyes when I was scolded though I thought I did nothing wrong. There is an interesting saying: Eyes are more eloquent than lips. My mother got after me because my eyes express some resistance without any words. The gaze has power to tell everything what we are thinking. As we can tell when someone is pissed through looking into their eyes, our gazes can let people know our feelings.

The oppositional gazes are “gestures of resistance” and “challenges to authority” (Hooks 115). As I mentioned above, eyes tell everything. The gaze is one of ways to express your feelings, and to show your identity. Some use their gazes to show the authority. But some use them to show their will.

As we discussed in the class, the male gaze is different from female one. My understanding of the male gaze is looking women as an object. One of the reasons is physical difference. Since men have more power over women (physically), male can have a straightforward gaze. For example, men feel more comfortable walking on the street than women do. Men might look at women’s body parts, and they even tell women how they like the specific part of body. Therefore, the male gaze shows how males have the power over females. This is still a pervasive of vision in popular culture because of media. I have seen that the camera focuses on females’ body when they first appear on TV shows. They show her foot first, then gradually move up the camera to her face.

However, it is true that women want to be looked at certain way. They buy fashion magazines or watch TV show to learn what the “standard beauty” is in the world today. As John Berger states in his essay Ways of Seeing, “Men look at women. Women watch themselves,” women care more about how the others look at them. But as I mentioned above, women do not want to be told how they look. I feel that women are a little egoistic, but this is how we are. Women care about their looks and try to look better, but men cannot tell them how much they think the women are beautiful.

I was not aware of the power of the gaze until reading these essays. But now, I know that there are some ways to show your authority and dominant status, or resistance and refusal. The male gaze is so different from female one because of the needs. Men see women to amuse their eyes therefore women are seen as an object which is supposed to be looked at. People were saying all they need is equality, since women did not have as much power as men did. However, I personally feel that women want be treated better way than men. This is a difficult issue to solve since there are so many differences among gender. These readings made me think that I should pay attention what I see on TV shows, movies, or advertisement because I was not aware of this kind of topic.

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.