American Horror Story

American Horror Story

Moira O'Hara is one of the main characters from the first season of American Horror Story. She is the housekeeper for the family that has recently moved into the Murder House, the Harmons, but she has worked there for many of the families that have lived there before. She is a spirit that haunts the house that has a dual personality and appearance. To women she appears as an elderly woman that has one working eye and wears a sensible uniform. When she appears in this form she is comforting and professional. To men she appears as a beautiful young woman wearing a scantily short skirted uniform with garter stockings. When she appears in this form she is seductive and manipulative. According to Moira, the reason for her dual appearance and personality is that she believes that a woman's intuition gives them insight to the true nature of people whereas men only see what they desire. However, if a man can resist his compulsion to see her as a sexual object then they will see her for who she truly is.

I thought that the character Moira was a good text to understanding the Male Gaze, fantasy, and scopophilia from psychoanalytic analysis. To men Moira is the perfect housekeeper because she fulfills their sexual thoughts and desires while their wife/girlfriend doesn't suspect her as a potential threat (because men don't know that women see Moira as her other self). She dresses in such a way that men seek pleasure in looking at her and observing her work. She fulfills their fantasies by creating visions of what it would be like if the man were to give into his sexual desire. For example in one episode, Moira is with one of the other spirits that haunts the house and is watched over by Mr. Harmon. The two women are sexually pleasing each other and Moira asks Mr. Harmon to join in. He then envisions himself in a threesome with Moira and Elizabeth, but refuses to give into his sexual desire. In another episode Moira is showing a potential male buyer the house and she takes him into the daughter's room. She talks about remodeling the room and says, "I'd paint it a deep, dark red color, clear out all the furniture, and hang a sex swing." She then gives the man a vision of her in the sex swing dressed in a red babydoll. He falls for her charms and is killed a few episodes later for not giving her what she wants (which is finding her remains and taking them from the cursed house).

The text criticizes, yet reenforces the Male Gaze by having Moira only appear as a sexual object to men. She hates men who cheat on their wives and objectify women, so she typically kills her prey after they give into their sexual desires and objectify her. This criticizes the Male Gaze for being geared towards an uneven distribution of power. On the other hand Moira's main drive for objectifying herself to get what she wants. This reenforces the Male Gaze by having a woman believe that in order to get what she wants she has to conform to the patriarchal system and objectify herself. This may seem like she has the power to manipulate a man to do what she wants, but if woman's only power is in her sexual nature and body is it really power?