Introduction
-outline aims of essay and layout
- introduce the concept of the female gaze (as oppose to male gaze) in contemporary patriarchal visual culture and define.
-questions to address :
True freedom lies with men?
Women have been presented in this way for hundreds of years, so is this why we deem them as more asthetically beautifull than men?
In a society where 'men dominate overwhelmingly in the production of nearly all popular genres' ( 'the female gaze, p.3), it seems that contemporary visual culture is dominated heavily by a male gaze, while the female gaze seems almost inexistent. This can be supported to some extent simply by the lack of theory relating to an active female gaze.
Concept of the pin up and the ‘New Woman’
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Adah Issacs Menken & Lydia Thompson (both pin ups who fought to exert control over their own images)
Para 1 :
Initially, I want to investigate the possibility of a female gaze being present in contemporary visual culture, where men are objectified rather than women. An interesting example of this is erotic magazine 'Filament', self proclaimed through the tagline as 'The thinking women's crumpet'. This magazine is not only aimed at women but is also produced by women. Also, unlike other publications of this nature Filament includes articles and discussions non sex related in an attempt to replicate the way that some mens pornographic magazines do.
At first glance, this cover for the magazine features a far more sexually subdued image in comparison to say the cover of a mens pornographic magazine which usually features a lot more nudity. In addition to this, I think that the models body type is significant. He is not a typical adonis with rippling muscles. Mens magazines tend to use models with accentuated physical characteristics, while Filament don't always choose this option. Looking through back catalogues of covers, it is clear that the body type of the model varies enormously. However there is still certainly a huge amount of objectification of the male form. Firstly the models face is not shown, making it even less personal and more about his body. I think that this could be interpreted in more than one way; that the photographer is trying to objectify the male body as much as possible, focussing on his body rather than having a personal connection between him and the viewer. Alternatively, this could be a way of maintaining the gender power relationship; while the man isn't allowed to connect directly with the viewer in the same submissive and doe-eyed way that men's pornography does, he remains in control of the situation. This may seem peculiar that a woman-run magazine would want to portray a man in this way, but it could be that women like the idea of the man asserting an element of control. > Back this up with relevant quote!
Ultimately this image is extremely voyeuristic as oppose to a women essentially presenting herself for a mans visual consumption as in the case of a men's magazine. I think that this suggests that women prefer this more subtle, less aggressive way of seeing. > Back this up with relevant quote!
Another interesting characteristic is the choice of setting for the model. The composition is set in a casual domicile environment. This along with the active gesture of the models arm gesturing fondly outside of the main composition implies that there is more than one person in the room. I think that due to his casual nudity it would be fair to say that the setting implies that there is only one other person present, potentially a wife or girlfriend. It think that the props within the composition are extremely relevant in terms of what they are suggesting to the viewer; the wine glass not only suggests that this is a relatively sophisticated man and also suggests an indication of class and ultimately wealth. I think that this introduces the theory that women fantasize about the ideal of a loving husband and that acting suggestively and submissively is simply a way of attracting attention and a route to getting what they really want. > Back this up with relevant quote!
My final observation relating to this cover is the design decisions made in relation to type and layout. The image fills the entire cover with very little supporting type or other information. The use of dramatic ligatures in the title font makes it extremely flamboyant and the colour palette is fairly muted with an element of intensity enforced by the large areas of darker colours. The cover is essentially very artistic and romanticized rather than loud, bright and eye catching like mens magazines of this nature tend to be.
This evidences suggests a strong and independant female gaze succesfully, however the size and scale of the women's pornography industry by comparison to the men's could create the argument that this gaze is somewhat insignificant. It is by comparsion a niche market. > %statistic to back this?
The diffence in the way that women choose to present men for womens visual comsuption in comparison to the way in which men objectify women for magazines aimed at men of the same theme means that men 'men remain in control of desire and the activity of looking'.
This difference in the way that women choose to present men for women's visual consumption in comparison to the way that men choose to completely objectify women in the equivilent industry suggests that men are asserting their 'control of desire and the activity of looking' (the female gaze, p.46, ros Coward). I think that this suggests a fear of loosing control of the power gender relationship between men and women. > Berger ?
Para 2 – Discussing an image that tries but fails to portray/deliver a female gaze:
This second image depicts a front cover of a women's' fashion and lifestyle magazine 'Glamour'. Again the target audience is women, and the gaze presumably female. The reason I chose this particular cover is because it features pop star singer Rihana as the featured celebrity. I think that this provokes an interesting discussion when put into context alongside her very public private life; this magazine was published not long after her boyfriend Chris Brown was convicted of hitting his Rihana. This cover features Rhianna allegedly opening up to the readers about what happened now that she is 'Stronger and wiser'. This ultimately indicates that Rihana is standing up for herself against her oppressor and essentially giving him the metaphorical finger. However this image of Rihana complies to the ultimate men's ideal of a woman. Her outfit is tight fitting and extremely revealing in favor of her undeniable feminine assets. The way in which her head is tilted and her facial expression are quite coy and flirtatious rather than giving off any impression of power and control. This could be argued that this is almost entirely male gaze and is actually completely patriarchal.
Women, much more so than men, are constantly reminded of how they appear to each other and the opposite sex by the constant visual reminders in the media (Berger quote ? ). These images act like mirrors for women. How women see them
Points to raise and discuss :
-Women appear.... "Men act, women appear"
-How a woman sees herself and reflects herself conotes her success in life
-Presenting herself - aware that she is presenting herself.
-Magazine run by men?
-Media acting as a mirror -(Berger)
-The more that people behave/present themselves in this way, the more it becomes the norm?
-Women act up to male ideals self regulate... because they think that
- this is how they will get attention - get what the ultimately want - ironically, security ?
-If 'men and women get their dominant definitions of themselves through popular culture' (the female gaze', p.2). then this could explain the masses apparent facinsation for objectification and consumption of the female body, but less of the males, allowing men to stay in control. ^
Key Terminology :
-Self regulating, automatic, onminpresent gaze - panopticism
- Narsasitic identification - identifying with the character....
Para 3 – Image that successfully depiects a female gaze?
Cindy Sherman?
Annie Sprinkle?
Conclusion
-True freedom lies with men?
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