The Male and Oppositional Gaze

       The male gaze is the objectification of women by means of male pleasure. In this instance, women are dehumanized and devalued until acceptable and “non-threatening” to men, based solely on their looks. As John Berger states in his book, Ways of Seeing,“Women are there to feed an appetite, not to have any of their own,” (Berger, 55). The appetite women are feeding, are those of men, and since women are the objects in this matter, their needs are not met, nor do they matter. In society, and the media as the largest power source, male gaze is highly prevalent. From television, to magazines, to even radio ads, the reality of the male gaze stands boldly in our faces. Prior to the world we know today, the Renaissance era was the first widespread example of such objectification. With paintings of naked women, with submissive looks on their faces, women were there to boast the male ego and libido.  

American Apparel ad.

American Apparel ad for socks.

      When I hear of male gaze, the term that comes to mind which is slightly more modern is “Sex Sells.” In all those ads, it is the female sex that is used to sell products, from body sprays to even food. In popular culture, the male gaze seems to be the only lens to which the media has taken a liking to. The notion that it is acceptable to devalue women is just another point made by Berger where he writes, "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." (Berger 47)”. In pop culture, this is seen everywhere. In clothing stores such as American Apparel, if you scroll through their catalogue, it falters on the edge of being soft porn and something that makes you forget you were even shopping around for clothes.
          The male gaze has  henceforth, been seen as ordinary. So ordinary, that many young females aspire to fill the spot as the primetime “surveyed.” Wanting to be the object of affection and live up to the standards of what society classifies as beautiful. Now a days, you see young girls posting videos of them twerking, or performing sexual acts. The male gaze is also a pervasive form of vision in music and music videos. While many songs in the music culture stick to bashing women, the music videos become a manifestation of all things “manly”: women, money and liquor. In elementary school, there was one program that exemplified all of this, BET: Uncut. On this show, if I was lucky to catch a glimpse without my parental timer going off, it would literally be music videos of half naked women running around, and being  fondled by men like play things. Though this show doesn't exist anymore, there are still videos and songs that get played and even more girls who aspire to be in them. One music video however, does the opposite of all these things. Beyonce's song, "Flawless" which features feminist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, speaks of female empowerment along with advancement. 
                The idea of the oppositional gaze, as posed by bell hooks, is a response to the oppressive gaze/ male gaze. In this effect, the oppositional gaze is one that belongs to that of black woman. Hooks remarks on the lack of self identification of characters in movies, due to the lack of color on screen. “To experience pleasure, Miss Pauline had to imagine herself transformed, turned into a white woman portrayed on the screen” (hooks 121).  In a society, where many people try to pretend that everyone is equal, in Hollywood, the amount of black actors receiving main roles are still scarce. In reality, a lot of these minorities are only receiving roles where the writer and director themselves are of the same background. Producers and directors like Tyler Perry, Shonda Rhimes, Lee Daniels as well as others, are the only people where you’ll find an all black cast. During moments like these when I watch in amazement as to how many black people there are, I also realize, they are the only ones who will hire them. For myself, I’ve realized how true this is. Although, I’m very fond of slave movies, as well as movies about my history and culture, I still feel that’s not enough. I cannot relate to those movies. Instead, I wish to watch a movie with black castmates, that don't focus on slavery, or the stereotypical “Uncle Tom”; just a simply good movie, whatever that may be.
        The oppositional gaze and the male gaze each have a place in the shaping of popular culture. Being a black woman, I’ve realized how strongly I’ve been shaped by both of these factors. From not being able to relate to the white male or his white love interest, to being objectified due to a chromosomal alignment I had no choice in, each have an effect on the person I am today. Due to the power of the media, and the use of social networking amongst other social movements, maybe stigmas of minorities and women could gradually be casted away. Instead of being passed over, due to factors that are clearly out of our control, a step in the right direction can be made and gazing will transition to a more active movement.

Works Cited
1. Berger, John. Ways of Seeing. London: British Broadcasting : Penguin, 1972.2. 
2. hooks, bell. Black Looks: Race and Representation. Boston, MA: South End, 1992.