The Male Gaze

 I had no idea that the male gaze exists. It never occurred to me at all. Reading Mulvey's article and watching her explain her essay years later highlighted an issue that I never really knew about. Mulvey's description of the male gaze makes sense to me. Looking back on the movies I watch I do interpret them from the stand point of the male gaze. Women are constantly seen as the three categories Belle taught us: the virgin, the sex object, and the mother. Even in movies that I used to believe were meant for showing women's strengths, I noticed that the women are still portrayed in these three categories. Mulvey had a great quote she said in the video we watched which was "going from the attentive view to the critical view." I really think that knowing the male gaze and identifying the way I perceive movies will change. Switching into the critical view and seeing less of what society has drilled into our brains will help.
Belle's presentation was great. I never thought about the whole porn vs art idea. It was super interesting to see the changes throughout history. Art is a huge influence on culture and society. Artists can show so much in their pieces that can effect the people who see it. The power artists have in what they paint and how they portray the subjects in their paintings can effect how society sees women, which I believe can be a huge part of why women are seen as objects.
I loved the TED talk we watched. Heldman nailed it. Her statement of being a sex object is not empowering was great. I didn't really think about how much I care about my hair, or my outfit, if I'm skinny enough etc. It has always been such a girl thing. It's such a big part of our daily lives. A big part of that came from society telling us to be self-conscious about those things. Something we need to change. She talked about the media being an influence on girls and women. Everyday we are exposed to ads that are usually made from the view of the male gaze. I think her solution to the problem of thinking more about what we can do rather than what we look like is a good start to changing society's views. Women are constantly competing with each other. I think that Heldman's point about seeing this a a problem instead of seeing other women as the problem is a good way to start to fix this issue.
Overall the male gaze wasn't really something I thought about until now. It really does effect everything in the media. Seeing these things really makes a difference in my life and makes me more aware and critical of what I see in the media and just daily life.