According to the article, What is the Male Gaze, the male gazed is described as ” a way of portraying and looking at women that empowers men while sexualizing and diminishing women”. It also states that “while we are driven to look at and evaluate each other as potential mates, the male gaze twists this natural urge, turning the women into passive items to possess and use as props.” The male gaze is so normalized nowadays that sometimes you don’t realize it when you see it. You look on TV, magazines and social media of women with hourglass figures, perfect skin, large breast, large butts, etc. Seeing these things everywhere can have a mental impact on women. Studies have shown that increasing incidences of depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, eating disorders, and suicide are all related to female objectification. We have begun to combat the negative affects of the male gaze through conversations like the body positivity movement in which other women support other women as well as cementing the idea that all bodies are perfect and beautiful.
https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-the-male-gaze-5118422#mental-health-impacts
Great job! You made a great point on explaining how women can really be viewed by men. I also think that pointing out how normalized the male gaze is in media through un realistic beauty standards and how it is effecting women was good because it is a large issue in our society.
The Male Gaze theory is very interesting. Did you know that the Suicide Squad (2016 version)” was written in the Male Gaze theory? Because Suicide Squad was written in the Male Gaze theory, Margot Robbie, the actor that plays Harley Quinn, wanted the second movie (“Birds of Prey: And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn”) to not be in the Male Gaze theory but rather the female gaze. If you watch Suicide Squad and then the Birds of Prey, you will see the differences in how the movie was shot. I think we should instead just not watch movies that are in the Male Gaze theory. If Hollywood listens to anything it’s money. If they lose money on films in the Male Gaze theory then they will stop production on movies like that.
Even though this topic was briefly discussed in class today, it is still kind of crazy to me that something called the “male gaze” is real because it was the first time I have ever heard of such a thing. But thanks to your explanation and the article you provided I am able to fully understand what the “male gaze” is and how this gaze is used to attract the male audience. After reading your post and the article as well, it made me realize how tv shows cater to the male audience. For example, I like to watch anime in my free time and there are certain instances in which most of the time, the female characters are drawn in erotic ways to draw in a largely male audience. Not only that but there are also several instances in which certain areas (breast, butt, etc.) of the characters are zoomed up in as well. Looking back on this, it had truly made me realize how “normal” it is that women’s bodies are sexualized and oversexualized in the media.
Great post. Like @brightb19 said, I was not even aware of the term before today’s class. The objectification of women in America is so normalized that it has its own name. As a male, it disgusts me to see television clips such as the ‘Mad Men’ clip we watched in class today. When younger boys hear these ‘jokes’ delivered so nonchalantly, it encourages them to pick up similar mannerisms. Unless this behavior is shut down–this, along with many of today’s issues, will continue to cycle through future generations.
Side note, I wish all the body modification and face tune filters / apps were never made! Since I was maybe 15, Snapchat filters of all sorts are available to make my face slimmer and my skin smoother. It is so unrealistic and builds such toxic standards for our youth.