The Unsolicited Male Gaze
By Pranami (BFIA’25)
For I would like to start by mentioning that we are doomed to finally have to pay heed to this pervasive epidemic of the “male gaze”. After having spent my fair share of time in the National Capital, the last two years have been nothing short of “magical”. Almost all of my walks back to my PG from college have been accompanied by random strangers staring at my very soul for reasons unknown to me. At this point, I am sure that every girl has experienced this feeling at least once in their life. What stupefies me the most is the fact that it has nothing to do with how one looks, chooses to dress, or just be.
After perusing through various literature available on male gaze as a psychosocial concept, I ascertained that this has been prevalent in the society since times immemorial. The male gaze is a feminist theory suggesting that the narratives and depictions of women in cinema are crafted in a way that objectifies and constrains them, catering to the psychological desires of men and, more broadly, reinforcing a patriarchal society.
This concept is evident in media that condenses women to objects and defines their identities in relation to male characters. In her 1973 essay, “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema”, Laura Mulvey, a feminist film theorist describes the term “Male Gaze” for the first time. The theory originally critiqued commercial films but can also be applied to the analysis of art, literature, and other forms of media. It examines how the distinct perspectives, or looks, are intertwined in cinema to maintain a symbolic order that favors men.
As absolutely as I hate the everduring and sickly blame on everyone and/or everything except the actual agency at fault, be it a circumstance or a person(s), it blatantly exists and is not seen as something that needs a thorough review. The notion that male gaze permits one to boil a woman down to an object of desire and sexual gratification speaks volumes of the entitlement that rests with men. This very idea not only instills in oneself the fear of expression but also strips them off of their very being. I like to believe that it definitely is a systemic issue of the society at large, but I perforce will still sow the seed of what constitutes a society for you.
What can still permeate through a woman’s thick skin after such episodes is self objectification and body dysmorphia, as if male objectification didn’t suffice. It is aching to see that the archetype that we try so hard to fit into, is by and large, shaped by a male’s point of view. This can be attributed to the fact that media representation still heavily lacks women’s representation. Approximately 97% of media outlets are male dominated, and 64% of the journalists are men; which is a biased statistic, given that women comprise nearly half of the global population. There can’t be, in my opinion, an individualistic approach to curb it, because the “benefactors” are not just women alone but their families and loved ones akin. Another consideration is if we should render this plight onto them, for what will follow can curb women of their already obscure quantum of freedom.
As a woman myself, the ramification of being objectified, although abated, is that I have considered it a part of my course, much so like every other woman. No amount of clothing or veil can devoid you of this wonderful experience. This desensitisation not only is an alarming proposition for a society, but it also questions if we choose to define the ethos of our society on the basis of a few putrid fishes in a sea such vast. It’s high time we realise how the minutest of our actions have a multiplier effect onto the society, and how they transpire into what “normal” is for the future generations to follow. But hope is hopeful that the future that will be kinder, and humans will be humane.
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