Photos and the female gaze

Imagery is used by so many to communicate, express, and sometimes even expose people's reality. Looking through the reading for this week's lecture, I was surprised to learn about all of the female photographers who had used their job to make statements about society. I specifically remember Annie Leibovitz and her picture of Yoko Ono and John Lennon. Lennon was completely naked in the photo and hugging Ono while Ono was completely clothed. I think it shows that women can be in control, in relationships and in their daily life. Lennon is also hugging and kissing Ono in the picture although Ono isn't doing either back. In the typical relationship the girl is supposed to be affectionate and cuddly but in this photo it's shown to be the opposite. It's taken by a woman and shows a woman being in charge, which empowers other women to believe that they can be the "man" in a typical relationship. 

One of the things mentioned in our lecture was the "female gaze". The female gaze is seen in photographs and videos by women who instead of looking at the camera in a certain way that sexualizes them for the pleasure of men, they stare straight on, almost to say "what do you want?". Leo's photos were a great example of this and showed how empowerment doesn't necessarily have to be woman not showing off their bodies. In many of her photos it appeared as though the model wasn't wearing any clothes, only a blanket to cover themselves. I think the vulnerability of only having a blanket mixed with the gaze the model gives the camera can be shown to be extremely empowering to women. It shows that in no matter the setting, woman are confident and in control of themselves. I think it's interesting to compare these photos to the rolling stone cover of Ono and Lennon. Although the women in each picture are doing different things, they both are the ones in power and in control. 

This lecture also opened my eyes to how something as simple as photos can have a huge impact on my life and the lives of everyone else (especially teenagers). It's a sad truth that most teenagers don't look at different galleries and exhibits by photographers who tell stories with their photos. Instead, what we mostly look at is fashion photography. As Mr.Oxton pointed out, sadly most of these photos still show the male gaze and many women in sexual clothing and tons of photoshop done to change the way they look. Many teenagers, girls and boys, want to look like these models even though that's not even what they normally look like, this distortion leads to so many insecurities that teenagers feel everyday. Just yesterday, I heard someone talking about how much they wished they looked like this swimsuit model, in reality I'm sure the swimsuit model doesn't completely look like that either. I think the only way to fix this problem is for more companies to start campaigns showing women in different body types and in different positions. Instead of seeing models give seductive looks in every picture, the female gaze is seen. Instead of having a model with a "perfect body" have a model with stretch marks or love handles, something realistic that average people have. This problem is obviously extremely complex and large, but if something isn't trying to be done about it, it's just going to grow.