The Male Gaze and 'We Can't Stop'

Suzanna's post about the male gaze made me think of one thing relating the the male gaze, Miley Cyrus and the apparent male gaze and the sexualization of girls and other things in the music video.  In the video, Miley is continually seen as half-naked, and trying to be 'sexy'--this was also the case at the VMA's as well, as she was seen a nude outfit that showed a lot of skin, and the different camera angles that gave the public a glimpse of her body and how she presented herself as a 'sexual object.' In both cases, the camera angles and the words to the song related to the taming of women, and the lack of control that women have as beings, as well as the 'craziness' that women display.

Music video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrUvu1mlWco

VMAs:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZrHTUD7AVM

Miss Representation

I watched the film Miss Representation and found it to be extremely interesting. It focused on the image that women are portrayed in and how they are represented throughout the media and this impact on girls all over. One part that stuck out to me was when the film discussed the portrayal of girls in cartoons. Girl cartoon figures are represented in much more of the same way that women are seen in R rated movies. Characters such as Jasmine, Ariel, Tinkerbell, etc. are all wearing revealing outfits. At such a young age this sexy image is being portrayed to girls and teaching them that these outfits are acceptable and ideal for being wanted by a man. Even the body types that these G movies portray make people aware of what the “ideal” body type is. 

Not only are girls basing what they should look life off of what they see in cartoons but throughout the rest of their lives in advertisements and commercials. All of these images of women are photoshoped and adjusted to create the perfect woman. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17j5QzF3kqE this link is a video of a prime example of this ideal that has been created and is literally impossible for girls to achieve and be able to look like. It is videos like this that should be shown and shared so that girls understand that the images in advertisements and the media are fictional and to hold these to such a high standard is a bit ridiculous. Women are being miss represented in the media. Women are not being taken seriously in our society and are thought of as the lower race. The worst part about it all is that women everywhere are accepting this as their reality and their destiny. The majority of women play right into the hands of this image and this ideal of the perfect woman. When girls are young they have such high expectations for themselves and what they want to be when they grow up, but the media destroys these goals and replaces them with insecurities. 

No Chick Flick Moments

What kind of critic would I be if I didn't analyze my favorite TV show?

I have always been a little weary of calling myself a feminist. This is because I have always previously understood a feminist to be an angry bitch who complained about everything being oppressive towards women, and I didn't want to be known or associated as such. However, after really looking into what a feminist really does and what feminist analysis is I would say that I have changed my outlook on being a feminist.

Being a feminist and using feminist critique means that my purpose is to inquire, examine, analyze and critique the structures and strategies of oppression based on gender and/or sexuality. After realizing how versatile feminist analysis is I realized it could be used as a lens on any text, and for me the text that came to mind is Supernatural.

Supernatural is drama television series that follows two brothers battling supernatural beings that plague the world. The two main characters are the older brother, Dean Winchester (Jensen Ackles), and the younger brother, Sam Winchester (Jared Padalecki). Dean and Sam have different personalities and values that complement each other to reach their goal; save the world. In the beginning of the show the audience learns that Dean is the impulsive, bad ass brother and Sam is the cautious, reluctant hero. We also learn when Dean and Sam were young, their mother is killed by the "yellow-eyed demon." After their loss the two brothers and their father get tied up in the business of hunting, trying to seek revenge for their mother.

In the Pilot episode Sam is in college studying to be a lawyer and Dean is a hunter. Dean and Sam have not spoken to each other in years but after their father goes missing, Dean enlists Sam's help to find him. The two travel to the last place their father was and discover that it is being haunted by a ghost. In the midst of their hunting Sam and Dean get into an argument about "the family business" (aka hunting). Sam tells Dean that he does not want to be a hunter or go back to the horrible life of being one. Dean does not understand how Sam can just stand by knowing that there are supernatural beings out there hurting people. Sam then points out that whatever creature killed their mother--a task that their father dedicated his life to--will not bring her back. This upsets Dean and they almost get into a fist fight when they are interrupted by the ghost jumping off the bridge. Later the brothers are in a cheap motel room and Sam apologizes for what he said about their parents. Dean holds up his hand in protest and says, "No chick flick moments." Sam nods and says, "Alright. Jerk." Dean responds, "Bitch."

When looking at this episode through a feminist critical lens one notices the oppression of men. Dean and Sam are portrayed in the typical male role. They are muscular, manly men who do not show their emotions that would be seen as a weakness or feminine. When they get into an argument and then later try to talk about it they push it aside as if nothing happened. Their behavior supports the ideologies of what our society constructs a man to be like. Chick flick moments are not allowed and if you act weak then you're a bitch. The implications of this is that the brothers never get to release the tension of their emotions behind losing their mother and this teaches men what how they should behave even though it can be harmful physically and mentally. 

Why so sensitive?

Today in class we discussed Queer Analysis. Andre brought up a point that really got me thinking. If more people were educated about homosexuality, just as we our educated on heterosexuality would more Americans be less sensitive about the topic? Would they be more open to the idea? Would they still think it is a choice?

I feel as if today many people think of homosexuality as the "cool thing to vote on", when in actuality it is a topic that seems to get pushed under the rug. Many Americans think that we live in a post segregated society where all types of people are welcome, but this is indeed false. Today's society is full of great ideas and concepts on equality, but none of these concepts are ever acted on or talked about amongst the average American culture. If more Americans were educated at a young Age on minority topics such as homosexuality and immigration, more and more people would be able to make educated decisions on there stance and there would be less segregation or homophobia.

Many people today think that homosexuality is just a choice, it is not. A person is a person no matter who they like or how they act. If more people were educated on the facts, this would be less and less of an issue in America or in the world. In schools today children are constantly preached to about slavery and civil rights, but one very important civil right that is left out is homosexuality. So my question to you is... If more people were educated on homosexuality, like they are on civil rights and segregation, would we as Americans be more accepting of homosexuality and all it can offer society?

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?

Guess: Stuck In The Past!

The past is something that is held on by the media but also stubbornly enough women in advertisement portray infantilization —the idea of never wanting to leave girlhood. This aspect of the media shocked me because I had not realized how our society is afraid of getting old. In advertisements this need to stay young forever is seen in various forms. One of the ways that this is seen is in sexualized childish poses that many models exhibit. For Example, the Guess model seen in the picture above is bitting her finger, something a little girl would do. Not only that, but there are many advertisements that show little girls with older women exactly dressed. On the other hand little girls are hyper sexualized to seem older. It is as if our society is confused about what values it wants to portray.

            Another example of this confusion is reflected through the clothing company Guess. One of the creators of Guess, Paul Marciano, has expressed that he loves a time when women knew their place, and were not touched by the women’s rights movement. I would call Paul Marciano the typical “Macho.” He portrays a sense of entitlement toward women; by saying we are merely for decoration purposes.  Last I checked there is so much more to being women in our generation. Paul Marciano has aided the perpetuation of traditional views that dehumanize women and even objectifying us. Through all the hard work women leaders have done to get us to this point, it’s men like him with narrowed views that set us back in the progress. 
*Information retrieved from The Gender Codes documentary by Sut Jhally. 

Foxy Megan

This is a perfect example of "The Male Gaze" theory that we discussed today in class. The more I thought about, the more I realized that this idea is so common throughout all types of media. Not only are these women being objectified, but I could not think of a single example where the girl was not either naked or in some type of sexy outfit.

            What is "the gaze" exactly?  -- describes the act of looking; began as the study of the objectification of women in visual texts. The issues involved when discussing "the gaze" include the following:

• the objectification of women-- seen as objects
• the commonality of female nudity -- display implies subordination
• internalization of the gaze, changes women's perceptions of themselves and makes them think of themselves as objects
• shift to objectification as a source of pleasure (for both the looker and the looked-at)
• men as the dominant group have been the looker (the subjects; women the objects)

         The point about the source of pleasure for both the looker and the looked-at made me come to the realization that not only do the examples show women in nudity, but that they are getting pleasure out of being looked at and objectified. The idea of women putting on a performance for men makes the situation that much more dramatic.

        In Arnie's Media Aesthetics class, we learned that the camera angle determines how the audience is going to interpret that particular frame. For this example with Megan Fox, I wonder how this theory would alter if the camera was simply more wide angled and included more in the frame instead of just her midsection. Would the audience members still feel as if they are taking on the role of the looker?