Alice Tsimekis

Representation of Women and the Male Gaze.

 

In feminist theory, the male gaze is the act of depicting women and the world, in the visual arts and in literature, from a masculine, heterosexual perspective that presents and represents women as sexual objects for the pleasure of the heterosexual male viewer. The concept was first developed by feminist film critic [1]Laura Mulvey in her 1975 essay entitled ‘Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema’. 

In my project I want to explore the different tropes and labels given to women in film, literature, music, and art. The archetypes and superficial one-dimensional representations of women, often simplifying characters into nothing but a label she is just a ‘gold digger’ or a ‘housewife’. Or as a tool to tell a story such as being a helpless ‘damsel in distress’ for the often-male hero to come along and save her. As Budd Boetticher has put it ‘what counts is what the heroine provokes, or rather what she represents. She is the one, or rather the love or fear she inspires in the hero, or else the concern he feels for her, who makes him act the way he does. In herself the woman has not slightest importance.’  Women are judged by how they can carry a story instead of becoming fully developed multi-faceted characters.  A woman performs within this narrative, the gaze of the spectator and that of the male characters and the viewers and audience to the film. Marylin Monroe and Robert Mitcham in a publicity shot from ‘River of no Return (1954), a Film where Marylin plays a show girl ‘As the spectator identifies with the main male protagonist, he projects his look on to that of his like, his screen surrogate, so that the power of the male protagonist as he controls events coincides with the power 0f the erotic look, both giving a satisfying sense of omnipotence, (Mulvey)[2]                                          

 

 

 

Whilst we are seeing shifts with stronger female leads shown in cinema this is often still female empowerment filtered through the male gaze. With the oversexualized female superheroes such as cat woman or wonder woman beauty and enticement becomes the shape of female superpower. Gaye Tuchman (1978) developed the concept of Symbolic Annihilation. This refers to whilst men are represented in full range of social and occupational roles women have a narrower range of social roles. This also filters into the characters women are presented in. Tuchman also argued that women’s achievements were often not reported or trivialised and often seen as less Important than things like their looks. Which also links back to the characterisation of female superhero's who are often cast by famous Hollywood's actresses who meet the western beauty standards and provides a unreachable fantasy or what a woman could be instead of the reality.

 

These beauty standards also stem from the constructs of a patriarchal society. Such as the very current controversial topic that is surrounding young women in the media is body image. There is an increasing pressure on young girls today to look a certain way, be a certain weight and copy the perfection they see on the cover of magazines and online. This pressure to look and behave a certain way I think is pushed onto us from a young age. In ‘The Mouse that Roared’ Henry Giroux argued that women were represented in a narrow, restricted, and distorted range of roles. This can be particularly especially in cases such as the female characters in Disney films as they are shown to young children and already ingrains these stereotypes into them at such a young age. This is supporting evidence for Giroux as these characters are typically sexualised yet delicate princesses who need to be rescued by a stronger male character. Examples who reinforce these female stereotypes include: Snow White who cleans the house of the male dwarves and is eventually rescued by a male prince because she is pretty, Beaty and the beast where Belle endures an abusive and violent beast in order to redeem him and Ariel who gives up her voice in order to win over a prince with her body.

 

 

According to Tuchman, Women are often represented in roles linked to gender stereotypes such as those related to motherhood and housework. This spans across lots of different media outlets from adverts on the television to films.  According to Ferguson, the majority of female characters in the mass media “holds and uses private power as wives, mothers, partners” (Ferguson, 1990).  He suggests there is a secret power that can be used to women’s advantage if they are just perceived as innocent housewives. This is a different yet controversial representation of women in which I also want to explore in my work, it can be traced in the early beginning of the Hollywood era. Film Noir is a term which is used to describe Hollywood crime dramas in 40’s and 50’s which included cynical attitudes and sexual motivations from its characters. During these eras, the concept of femme fatale flourished. The archetypal femme fatale of film noir uses her sexual attractiveness and merciless manipulation to trick men to achieve power, money, or independence, or all of them at the same time (filmnoirstudies, 2008).  This idea that femineity can be portrayed as being deceiving and dangerous is very interesting to me. 

 

 

 This idea of the male gaze whilst being constantly projected through the media and film also is very present in real life. As Gerald Mast, a film scholar, affirmed, ‘there are fewer cultural products more influential in contempory life than films.’ Thus, these ideologies also shape our everyday perception of women. We are influenced by the environment around us and if that environment is telling women that their femininity is not their own but instead something that is for male consumption. This leads to the question of how much of our identity is constructed or real, and how much of it is a product of the society we were brought up in. How does being force fed heteronormative narratives, taught us to present ourselves in a way that is both desirable and acceptable which could also be considered not being authentic to our true selves. Or as the author of ‘women don’t owe you pretty’, Florence Given summarises ‘How much of my femininity is who I really am and how much is a product of patriarchal brainwashing to exist for male consumption.’ In the eyes of society, the more ‘feminine’ we are the more ‘desirable’ we are and having desirability as a woman gives us the privilege of being acknowledged and visible. This over time has taken away the empowering nature of femininity and instead seen to be a performance to cater for an audience instead of oneself. Being labelled as ‘high maintenance’ or ‘vain’ when showing an interest in makeup or clothes or girly things. On the other hand, being labelled ‘dirty’ or seen as not looking after yourself if a woman refuses to shave or do her hair. 

 

 

One artist I believe refused to compromise her femininity to be seen as powerful is Tamara De Lempicka, instead reclaiming both and demonstrating they can coincide and exist together. Her femineity becomes her power.

A high-born and well-educated, and fitted well into the society that she depicted embodying the 1920’s. Alongside her self- evident artistic skill she is noted for her assertive feminine confidence finding power in hers and others femininity. Refusing to let ingrained sexism hold her back and from embracing the opportunities that the inter-war years offered her in affluent parts of western Europe.

 

 Her Most famous self- portrait Auto portrait (Tamara in the Green Bugatti) 1929 depicts her sitting in control of a car staring directly at the viewer behind narrowed eyes.

One interpretation of her self-portrait is that the car is a symbol of women’s emancipation. The machine is namely in the power of its mistress, who can impose her will upon it. Representing a woman in apposition of power. De Lempicka takes it completely for granted to seize upon a symbol of strength.

The relationship between our heroine and not only the car, but also men, and women too. As she takes up this then ‘masculine’ role as being in control. She shifts in and out of androgyny, masculine, and feminine styles. The car acts as a symbol, a vehicle into the future or a better place where women artist is respected and recognised by major galleries and in the high society of the 1920’s in which she is depicted to have complete control over. In this portrait women are not objectified but instead portrayed as being in control of the object as she subtly changes the narrative. 

 

Mulvey, L. (1989).Visual and other pleasures. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.

 

Filmnoirstudies.com, (2008).Film Noir’s Progressive Portrayal of Women – A Film Noir Studies Essay.  

 

Ferguson, M. (1990). Images of power and the feminist fallacy.Critical Studies in Mass Communication, 7(3), pp.215-230.

 

Mast, G. (n.d.).How to watch movies intellegently. 

 

‘The Mouse that Roared’ Henry Giroux

 

[1] ‘Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema’ Laura Mulvey 1975

[2] Laura Mulvey ‘Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema’ 1975