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The representation of women, in both past and present times, through discussions of “The Gaze”. Conclude by discussing if this argument is still relevant in modern day society. Use visual examples

The representation of any chosen social identity using theories of “The Gaze” as applied to a visual format of your choice (for example a move, video, advert etc.)

The Male Gaze Theory

Having applied psychoanalysis with utmost skillfulness, Laura Mulvey has attempted to provide an explanation of the dynamisms that has conditioned the ‘Male Gaze’ to be the way it is. In her essay, ‘Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema’, Mulvey has explained gaze as the act of deriving pleasure out of looking something in a particular way which is deeply rooted in male ego with a predatory undertone to it (Hein, 2006). The aim herein is to analyse the conception of gaze as presented by Mulvey. The flow of discussion in this essay shall be focussing on the relevance of the male gaze and the image of women emanating from it, in the past, and in present times as well.

Mulvey’s work reflects Freudian conception of sexuality explained in terms of voyeurism. She utilizes that logic and attempts to provide a comprehension of the objectification of the corporeal existence of women in the entertainment media. The image of a woman that finds an expression in popular media is but a product of the fantasies and imaginations of man, woven to suit his desirability, and his ego. Mulvey opines that to a man, the feeling of sexual stimulation on seeing a woman in a sensuous way, is a source of immense self-gratification and self-aggrandisement (Mulvey, 2017). Each time a man experiences that, his conviction of his own superiority over a woman, who is nothing more than an entity lacking the male element gets reinstated. This is the basic premise on which the portrayal of female characters in the films happen, as per her theorization. Resultantly, the man assumes the role of the entity bearing the look, and the woman, the object to be gazed at for the sake of evoking sexuality (Mulvey & Backman 2016).

The imageries of eroticism to which a woman is associated with has been arrived at by depriving them of the agency and liberty of self-determination. This overt sexualiazation of women in filmography is two-fold, she is made to reconcile herself to the fact that she is on one hand supposed to be a temptress to the male counterparts of the film she is acting, and on the other hand a magnet to attract the fancifulness of her audience (Finkel & Hirsch 2015). The ideal image of a beautiful woman has been shaped by patriarchy in such a way that she seeks validation in being a sex symbol readily and has accepted the fact with resignation. The yardstick for measuring the degree of attractiveness of a woman has been fixated at the amount of skin she exposes, both of which are as determined by patriarchal control mechanism directly proportional to each other. Hence, adjudging a woman’s beauty and attractiveness is contingent on the intensity with it awakens sexual feelings in a man’s body (Amthor, 2015).

Relevance in Past and Present Times

 Mulvey opines on this aspect that such a construct has been necessitated to maintain the dominance of men over women. Reduction of the intricacies of feminity to sexualizing capabilities is a subtle, refined, layered and surreptitious method of perpetrating the superiority of a man over womanhood in general, under the pretext of making them feel empowered and having attained the epitome of liberation. The inherent domineering spirit is thus very skillfully enshrouded, and the status quo of the social perception that women are men minus their masculinity remains intact (Oliver, 2017).

 In this regard, with particular reference to the relationship between masculinity and feminity being dependent upon the inferiority of the latter vis-à-vis the former, two quotations of former President of the United States of America must be mentioned. His views on the worth of men is quite relevant on this issue as conveyed by the speeches. In one of his speeches he had expressed very blatantly, and rather patronizingly at the same time, that for men who did not put up a bearded look, he had just one word, and that was women (George, 2015). This has a direct connection with Mulvey’s conception of a woman being equivalent to a castrated man, devoid of the phallus. Both the views validate the popularly held logic that a woman is what a man would be devoid of some masculine attributes. Another quote by President Lincoln, which the feminists would in today’s context regard as something thoroughly sexist is, that a man should be judged by the prowess of his beard and by the beautiful woman within the fold of his arm, not on the basis of the amount of ego or benevolence he nurtures in his heart (Vandermassen, 2015). This reinforces the version of masculinity which essentializes the role of man with an authoritative underpinning over a woman. Now the question is to deliberate upon the validity of Mulvey’s Gaze Theory.

Woman’s sexuality has been since time immemorial a subject matter of obsession among the men folks, which they have maneouvered over the due course of time in various ways. Sometimes by controlling their sexuality by imposition of codes of morality, while on the other hand by bestowing the women with the liberty to expose themselves within a framework that would not overpower the male sexuality and the male dominance in society.

Talking of the portrayal of women characters in the films centered upon James Bond from the bygone era, the cutting edge to the establishment of the machismo and alpha male personality of the prime protagonist would not have been possible without applying Lincoln’s logic of a man’s worth being contingent upon the beautiful woman in his company. The sensation that the liaisons of James Bond with the innumerable women at different locations is as important a factor in contributing to the fame of the film series as the caliber with which he nabbed the miscreants from a cloud of mystery (Collins, 2017).

Societal Perspective

 In today’s generation, the same amount of objectification is intact in the popular culture. The example of the rap songs can be cited. The lyrics in very crude and sometimes in rather uncouth terms express admiration for a woman’s beauty with particular emphasis on how she walks, how she dances and how much she shakes her body to impress the lad. From the perspective of sonority, the compositions essentially reeks of the boisterousness becoming of a man (Mayne, 2016). Things have changed in the way the objectification of women is perpetrated, but there has been no change in the principle per se, and from this it can de deduced that Mulvey’s Gaze Theory relevance pertains to both the past generations and to the present generations in equal proportions, and this might as well shall continue in future times as well.

In the previous section, the discussion had solely focused on the connection between the portrayal of women in the entertainment media and the male gaze corresponding to it. In this section the relevance of Mulvey’s Gaze theory shall be analyzed from the societal perspective, with due emphasis on how the male gaze has the potential to control each and every action of women in their daily lives. In this regard, elaborating upon Fatima Mernissi’s distinction between the conception of female sexuality in the Western World and of that in the Islamic world is quite pertinent (Duncan, 2015).

 According to her understanding, the Western world considers a woman who exposes herself to the male gaze is the epitome of an empowered woman. Underneath is an image of French actress, Brigitte Bardot, making her appearance for the first time at the Cannes Film Festival, in the year 1953. When the controversy over banning the hijab, niqab, burqa and the burkini in France had occupied the political centre stage, her image was cited as an argument to support the decision by the Sarkozy Government. Besides upholding the deep rooted principle of French Secularism, a legacy of the French Revolution, she was also cited as an epitome of a Free Woman in a Free Society which discourages subjugation of women (Carr, 2018).

On the other hand, in the Islamic world, the female sexuality is considered to have immense potential to doom the morality of a man. Mernissi writes that in Islam, women are enclothed in loose-fitted garments to hide every aspect of their beauty from the male gaze. Contrary to the Western conception, a woman is subjected to control on the basis of the belief that if her aura is left unbridled, it can bring forth chaos to mankind. The image depicts an afghan woman cladded in a blue hued burqa, while she has stepped beyond the realm of her household, as enforced by the dictats of the Taliban Regime according to their perverted version of militant Islam (Carr, 2018).

Thus it becomes very clear that the control, or the lack of control that women are subjected to by the societal forces emanates from the premise that a woman’s body is sexual, irrespective of the fact that she is a human being first and should exercise the right to determine what she is. Consequently, in the process of deciding for the women as per the requirements of the men folk, somehow what a woman has to say for herself goes ignored, and that is something which has been happening throughout the generations with no hope of any change.

References

Amthor, J. (2015). The Male Gaze versus Female Self-Determination in Ekphrastic Poetry.

Carr, A. J. (2018). Viewing Pleasure and Being a Showgirl: How Do I Look?. Routledge.

Collins, L. (2017). Mulvey, patriarchy and gender: expression and disruption in visual art. New Review of Film and Television Studies, 15(4), 415-420.

Duncan, J. (2015). Beyond the veil: Graphic representation of Islamic women. In The Compass (Vol. 1, No. 2, p. 4).

Finkel, M., & Hirsch, M. (2015). Thelma & Louise: Reclaiming Mulvey’s Male Gaze. Feminist Theory.

George, M. W. (2015). Television’s Male Gaze. The Middle Ages on Television: Critical Essays, 141.

Hein, C. (2006). Laura Mulvey, Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema.

Mayne, J. (2016). Feminisms: Diversity, Difference and Multiplicity in Contemporary Film Cultures, edited by Laura Mulvey and Anna Backman Rogers Political Animals: The New Feminist Cinema by Sophie Mayer.

Mulvey, L. (2017). From a faculty seminar with Laura Mulvey: reflections on visual pleasure: Vanderbilt University, November 10, 2016, Compiled and Edited by Lara Casey. New Review of Film and Television Studies, 15(4), 385-387.

Mulvey, L., & Backman Rogers, A. (2016). Feminsms: Diversity, Difference and Multiplicity in Contemporary Film Cultures. Amsterdam University Press.

Oliver, K. (2017). The male gaze is more relevant, and more dangerous, than ever. New Review of Film and Television Studies, 15(4), 451-455.

Redirect Notice. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&edata-src=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwix6_jp5bTdAhWLPY8KHYGNArAQjRx6BAgBEAU&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gettyimages.ca%2Fdetail%2Fnews-photo%2Fcannes-film-festival-1953-french-actress-brigitte-bardot-news-photo%2F592973800&psig=AOvVaw1N5N2BIn_9fAqJW_4jYewz&ust=1536818664978248

Redirect Notice. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&edata-src=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwiGl9Xq4rTdAhVLvI8KHUFWAQIQjRx6BAgBEAU&url=https%3A%2F%2Fpetchary.wordpress.com%2Fbook-review%2Fburqa-clad-afghan-woman-w-001%2F&psig=AOvVaw0kos-7WhYtv4NXRDk_0Do3&ust=1536817846155691

Vandermassen, G. (2015). Woman as Erotic Object: A Darwinian Inquiry into the Male Gaze. Retrieved December, 9.

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