Female gaze
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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| + | [[Image:Olympia (1863) by Édouard Manet.jpg|thumb|left|200px|''[[Olympia (Manet) |Olympia]]'' (detail) by [[Édouard Manet]] was a [[succès de scandale]] when it was first exhibited at the [[Paris Salon of 1865]], depicting a [[courtesan]] [[gaze|gazing]] at her viewer.]] | ||
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| + | "Men dream of women. Women dream of themselves being dreamt of. Men look at women. Women watch themselves being looked at. [...] Women constantly meet glances which act like [[mirrors]] reminding them of how they look or how they should look." --[[John Berger]], [[Women watch themselves being looked at|[...]]] | ||
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| + | [[Image:Venus (Titian).jpg|thumb|right|200px|[[Venus of Urbino|Venus of Urbino]] ([[1538]]; detail) by [[Titian]]. The frankness of Venus' expression is often noted; she stares straight at the viewer, unconcerned with her nudity.]] | ||
| + | [[Image:Mona_Lisa.jpeg|thumb|right|200px|''[[Mona Lisa]]'' gazing at her spectators]] | ||
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| - | [[Male gaze]] in relation to [[feminist theory]] presents asymmetrical gaze as a means of exhibiting an unequal power relationship; that is, the male imposes an unwanted gaze upon the female. While some argue that women who fit the ideal of female beauty enjoy this gaze, many second-wave feminists would argue whether these women are actually willing, noting that they may be merely seeking to conform to the [[hegemonic]] norms constructed to the benefit of male interests that further underline the power of the male gaze. (see also [[exhibitionism]]) | + | [[Male gaze]] in relation to [[feminist theory]] presents asymmetrical [[gaze]] as a means of exhibiting an unequal power relationship; that is, the male imposes an unwanted gaze upon the female. While some argue that women who fit the ideal of female beauty enjoy this gaze, many second-wave feminists would argue whether these women are actually willing, noting that they may be merely seeking to conform to the [[hegemonic]] norms constructed to the benefit of male interests that further underline the power of the male gaze. (see also [[exhibitionism]]) |
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| + | [[Anneke Smelik]] (1999) has pointed out that "the account of 'the male gaze' as a structuring logic in Western visual culture became controversial in the early 1980s, as it made no room for the female spectator nor for a female gaze. Yet, women did and do go to the movies. Mulvey was much criticized for omitting the question of female spectatorship. In a later essay (1981/1989), she addressed the vicissitudes of female spectatorship in her analysis of the western ''[[Duel in the Sun]]'' ([[King Vidor]], 1946). | ||
| + | == Greer and the female gaze == | ||
| + | [[Germaine Greer]] explains that her book ''[[The Beautiful Boy]]'' is intended to defend territory of the marginalised female gaze: "Well, I'd like to reclaim for women the right to appreciate the short-lived beauty of boys, real boys, not simpering 30-year-olds with shaved chests." | ||
| - | The question of whether a ''[[female gaze]]'' exists to a meaningful extent in contrast to the male one arises naturally in considering the male gaze. Mulvey, the originator of the phrase "male gaze", argues that "''the male figure cannot bear the burden of sexual objectification. Man is reluctant to gaze...''". [[Nalini Paul]] describes ''[[Wide Sargasso Sea]]'', where the character Antoinette views Rochester and places a [[garland]] upon him to appear as a [[hero]], and "''Rochester does not feel comfortable with having this role enforced upon him; thus he rejects it by removing the garland and crushing the flowers''." | ||
| - | In the perspective of male gaze as merely possessing a gaze, the position of a female possessing the gaze is then the female assuming the male gaze. [[Eva-Maria Jacobsson]] supports this by describing a "female gaze" as "a mere cross identification with [[masculinity]]". | ||
| - | However, disregarding the viewpoint of gendered possession of gaze as proposed by Mulvey above, there is evidence to support a view of a female gaze — at least as an objectification of men — in texts such as advertisements and [[teen magazine]]s. | ||
| - | The gaze can also be directed toward members of the same gender for several reasons, not all of which are sexual, such as in comparison of [[body image]] or in [[clothing]]. | ||
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"Men dream of women. Women dream of themselves being dreamt of. Men look at women. Women watch themselves being looked at. [...] Women constantly meet glances which act like mirrors reminding them of how they look or how they should look." --John Berger, [...] |
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Male gaze in relation to feminist theory presents asymmetrical gaze as a means of exhibiting an unequal power relationship; that is, the male imposes an unwanted gaze upon the female. While some argue that women who fit the ideal of female beauty enjoy this gaze, many second-wave feminists would argue whether these women are actually willing, noting that they may be merely seeking to conform to the hegemonic norms constructed to the benefit of male interests that further underline the power of the male gaze. (see also exhibitionism)
Anneke Smelik (1999) has pointed out that "the account of 'the male gaze' as a structuring logic in Western visual culture became controversial in the early 1980s, as it made no room for the female spectator nor for a female gaze. Yet, women did and do go to the movies. Mulvey was much criticized for omitting the question of female spectatorship. In a later essay (1981/1989), she addressed the vicissitudes of female spectatorship in her analysis of the western Duel in the Sun (King Vidor, 1946).
Greer and the female gaze
Germaine Greer explains that her book The Beautiful Boy is intended to defend territory of the marginalised female gaze: "Well, I'd like to reclaim for women the right to appreciate the short-lived beauty of boys, real boys, not simpering 30-year-olds with shaved chests."
