OUGD501: The Gaze and the Media

‘According to usage and conventions which are at last being questioned but have by no means been overcome - men act and women appear. Men look at women. Women watch themselves being looked at’ 

(Berger 1972)

What he’s not saying is that women are vain, he says women internalise the habit of looking at them selves from the way other women are painted in the media. They see them selves they see images around them.

Hans Memling - ‘Vanity’ (1485)

The mirror shows a impossible image of her face, by planting a mirror in her hand he blames her, it’s okay for us to look at her if she’s displaying herself. He painted it because he wanted to look at her body. 

The Mirror is used a device to justify looking at her naked. 

The use of the mirror is used in contemporary advertising and fashion. She’s preoccupied, so it’s okay for us to gaze onto her, legs apart and the camera is focused on the lower part. Voyeuristic.

‘Birth of venus’ 1863 Alexandre Cabanel

Women in this image is partially covering her eyes, either just waking or falling asleep. Left as a viewer to view her body interrupted, the male gaze. Invited by the artist to gaze upon the figure. The figure of the women is also inviting, hand covering eyes.

Sophie Dahl for Opium

Similar effect used in advertising, it was deemed to overtly sexual. It didn’t pass advertising standards. When it was published they just turned it on it’s side. It’s the same shot, but the emphasis is changed, it’s now directed on the face rather then the body.

Titian’s Venus of Urbino, 1583

The look of the woman's face is peptise, a flirty invitation, a feeling of spying, the curtain behind gives the feeling of a private space. 

The positioning of the hand covers her self modestly, could be seen as a sexual gesture.

Manet Olympia ‘1863’ 

Slight difference in the woman's gaze, lifted head, addressing the viewer. A challenge to the viewers gaze. Challenges the view of a body as a object. Her hand stops you from viewing her body, different tone to Titians venus.

Olympia transforms a dignified goddess into the simple nakedness of humanity. Olympia does not belong to the world of mythology - Olympia stood “as the first nude to represent modern reality” because she is a prostitute rather than a goddess figure 

Shocked Modern society - Olympia is adorned with the trappings of success - jewels / bracelets etc, not the degraded prostitute of popular myth - Courtesan
Cat is symbol of individual femininity and independence. Olympia ignores the flowers presented to her, probably as a gift to her from an admirer.

Manet - Bar at the foils Bergeres 1882

Made to be a self portrait, skewed perspective, can see her back. put in the position of he painter. The view behind her is the paris society that she isn’t part of. Disaffected. 

Highlights the superficiality of paris nightlife. 

Same pose, reflection divided into thirds, camera is put into the position of the painter in Manet’s. 

The camera captures the act, the camera reminds us that the photograph isn’t a window but is constructed. 

The camera in contemporary media has been put to use as an extension of the male gaze at women on the streets

The figure of the women is normalised into the street yet been semi naked. Normalisation of the display of a womens body. The sunglasses cancel out the return of the gaze, we can look at her but we can have the feeling of not been looked at.

Wonder-bra

Normalisation of the womans body in the street. No return of the gaze, allowed to survey the body. 

The profusion of images which characterises contemporary society could be seen as an obsessive distancing of women… a form of voyeurism

The problem with objectification like this on such a scale is that it creates a detachment from women been real women and being considered objects. The models been not seen as real people. 

The male body is also objectified, sleeping pose, can look at the body uninterrupted. 

Genderads.com

Can men be objectified as women? If so, in what frequency is objectification present in ads? The Ads: Consider the number of ads presented in this male trope as compared to other examples of female objectification. It is interesting that when I first began the Web site many years ago, the number of ads in this exhibit were small. Today, there are nearly 60 such ads.

The increase isn’t as bad as how much women are objectified, the objectification of men does not balance out.

The male nude is challenging the gaze by looking back, if they are, they are shown as a machine, ideals of the male body image.

Marilyn: William travillas dress. 

Looks at the way bodes are shot in close ups, to make the bodies look particle to remove us from the character for fantasies. They’re not the drivers of the story, reactive and passive to the male characters. 

Cinemas are darkened room where we are invited for our fantasies. People can look at people on screen without been judged. Sexually charged environment.

Mulvey notes that Freud had referred to (infantile) scopophilia - the pleasure involved in looking at other people’s bodies as (particularly, erotic) objects. In the darkness of the cinema auditorium it is notable that one may look without being seen either by those on screen by other members of the audience. Mulvey argues that various features of cinema viewing conditions facilitate for the viewer both the voyeuristic process of objectification of female characters and also the narcissistic process of identification with an ‘ideal ego’ seen on the screen.

She declares that in patriarchal society ‘pleasure in looking has been split between active/male and passive/female’ (Mulvey 1992, 27). 

Cindy sherman

Untitled Film Still # 6

1977-79

Her work challenges the gaze, body in a reclining position. More of a focus on the face. Particually clothed, holding a mirror. Not looking at the mirror, holding it to the bed. Doesn’t allow for the same narrative as the male gaze.

Appears staged. Refusal of the viewer, looking on her feels awkward.

Sarah Lucas ‘Eating a Banana’   1990

Humourous, referring the phallic contestations, return to the male gaze, aggressive challenge. 

Fried egg portraits. 

‘flat chested’ connotations. 

No way we’re allowed to look at her without feeling challenged.

Brought forward the argument getting rid of page three. The sun it’s self is available in parliament, but she can’t wear a shirt against it. A certain irony when it’s inpprioate to wear that shirt when you can get page 3 anywhere.

Green MP Caroline Lucas has been told to cover up a T-shirt displaying the slogan "No More Page Three" in large lettering during a Commons debate.

She wore the white T-shirt at the start of a debate on media sexism.

Chairman of the session, Labour's Jimmy Hood, interrupted her and told her to "put her jacket back on" and comply with Westminster's dress code.

Ms Lucas picked up a copy of The Sun and waved Page Three, but said she would comply with the ruling.

She added: "It does strike me as a certain irony that this T-shirt is regarded as an inappropriate thing to be wearing in this House, whereas apparently it is appropriate for this kind of newspaper to be available to buy in eight different outlets on the Palace of Westminster estate."

During the debate, the MP for Brighton Pavilion argued The Sun newspaper's Page Three, which features topless models, should be consigned to the "rubbish bin where it belongs".

Campaign to represent women on British currency. Would be removing women from history if she was replaced by winston churchill.

She received up to 50 threats a day via Twitter including threats to rape and murder.

Although she reported the abuse police lost evidence and she was forced to delete her account

Unregulated space in social media.


"I'd say it's a constant undercurrent, when women write about feminist issues or are exposed in a lot of media for speaking out about sexism they tend to get a barrage of abuse and threats," she said. (www.bbc.co.uk)

Disturbing that there are voices that are vicious attempting to silence women’s voices.

Andy murals tennis win ‘no win in 77 years’ ignores women tennis win.

Social networking used to perpetuate the male/gaze of the media.

Body is broken into fragments, could be any female. Plays on teenagers body consciousness, potentially carrying those perceptions into adult life.

By photographing you own what you photograph, it’s more then a passive observing. 

The act of photographing is more than passive observing. Like sexual voyeurism, it is a way of at least tacitly, often explicitly, encouraging what is going on to keep on happening'

Our need for images drives a economic force, paparazzi steal shots of people for finical gain, the publication of these shoat creates a market for passive consumption (magazines and newspapers) - We contribute to perpetuating the cycle by buying the magazines. 

The Truman Show (1988) dir Peter Weir 

Discovers his world is part of a stage event, a reality tv show. A fantasy extension of the big brother idea. finally discovers his whole world is a sham and setup.

Creates a market for voyeuristic pleasure, our desire to see the mask of celebrities unmasked.

Reality Television (big brother, etc)

•  Appears to offer us the position as the all-seeing eye- the power of the gaze
• Allows us a voyeuristic passive consumption of a type of reality
•  Editing means that there is no reality
• Contestants are aware of their representation (either as TV professionals or as people who have watched the show)

• Male and females to gaze upon.
• Chair is designed for maximum exposure
• Voyeurism becomes everyday

Original idea was that all would be exposed but ten years on we accept that the programme is edited.

Fantasy that they cannot see us but they are constantly picturing themselves, in mirrors etc and speculating about how the public wil percieve them (they are professionally aware of this)

They know the premise of the show and the viewing figures.

• Ultimate passive viewing experience.
• The carrying around the image of themselves been looked at, to be envied.  
• Peeping tom, through the keyhole. 

Looking is not indifferent. There can never be any question of 'just looking'.

Victor Burgin (1982)

What challenges can we make to the gaze.

John Berger (1972) Ways of Seeing, Chapter3

Victor Burgin (1982) Thinking Photography

Rosalind Coward (1984) The Look

Laura Mulvey (1973) Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema

Griselda Pollock (1982) Old Mistresses

Susan Sontag On Photography (1977)