Subverting the Male Gaze

Have you ever awaited confirmation of your beauty from a guy? Because your friends and family are liars or you never encountered a mirror before?

Then you know the fascination and false confidence boost that comes from the male gaze.

Go to any art museum and gaze at all the women, usually nude or lacking some clothes, painted or sculpted by a majority of men into delightful objects for you.

While I love a good art museum, as evidenced by my wedding pictures taken outside of one of my favorites, this informs and shapes your eye, sense of beauty and culture.

This is beauty, all these images surrounding you politely scream, and anything falling outside of the mold, most of humanity, isn't.

I began to question my own views discerning beauty represented via self portraits from a One Who Dresses post.

Jaime Beck, from Ann Street Studio, started a project of taking self portraits minus the clothes, make up and hair styling to focus on an image that wasn't selling anything. They are intriguing to look at since I assumed this would look like a typical photo.

The first image I saw and others look like rich oil paintings so the content of the picture is the second thing I noticed. She is not completely nude but seems unconcerned with covering all the required parts, nipples and pubic area, that dictate a photo be shareable via social media.

This photo along with the other on her website I unquestionably consider art because I've seen female nudes adorning art gallery walls. This photo would blend in seamlessly.

But the more I considered the image another small difference became apparent that would make it stand out among the other works. It was the photographer and by extension who they were performing for.

As a self portrait by a photographer the image looks organic, not posed or contorted, and I can see the thought behind it plainly. This has informed my differing opinions between typical centerfold photos shot by mostly men to the Ann Street Studio photos where the partial nude is shot like the art form that it is.

The male gaze and the power dynamic present are the main reason for the stark contrast between these two types of photos. Ann Street Studio, I assume, doesn't care if men like her photos or if they will find her desirable in them. Some might and others might find it too subtle. It is an intimate shot but not intrusive.

You can clearly see her curves and folds of skin that would be undesirable in another type of shoot, edited out in post. Women are manipulated and urged to look aggressive and untamed, pulled taut to see bones poking through skin while flaunting curves in the correct places that contrast sharply with the jutting bones.

Or the other type of photo the male gaze craves is the pretend demure virgin who doesn't know she is desired until they let her in on the secret but can still pose correctly according to the light and her angles.

I'm not sure if I've purposely gone out of my way to subvert or cater to the male gaze. I have tried to avoid its pervasive presence my whole life. I choose photos to share based on whether I like them or not.

Most of my full body or half body shots are for showing off outfits even though they will be showing off my body hiding or displayed underneath. I'm more interested in the female gaze since my writing and other creative pursuits cover more themes catering to women versus men even though some are universal.

I don't think we need more writing, photos and other creative work catering to men by men so I'm not concerned with being exclusive to a male audience. Sorry to the two dudes reading this! I still like you!

I've been drawn into taking pictures that could be considered catering to the male gaze but for myself. I don't think there is anything wrong with turning your body into art. I would personally choose not to sell photos of myself. I don't need to, full time job security, and don't desire others drooling over my image. 

I expect men won't find self portraits taken by women divorced from the usual tropes of the male gaze to be as sexy as they are used to. Making sure shots are flattering or showing off what seems the most desirable is not usually important when catering to a different audience. Let the subversion continue.

Like other conventionally attractive women, the male gaze follows me everywhere I go. I used to shrink into myself, wishing I could disappear, when catching people staring at me, like they held the power. Now I know it is the opposite.

Usually people who stare are too nervous to say anything so I would rather be stared at then sputtered to. I'm also reminded of the one time a prolonged male gaze was the cause of an accident on a bicycle with the guy in question taking a tumble after sneaking a peak over his shoulder of me walking across campus. Hopefully he learned his lesson about how keeping your eyes on the road matters. Was I worth the nasty spill?

I found this great quote in an article after posting from a Refinery 29 article: 30 Female Photographers Sound Off On Fashion's Gender Imbalance. A great article to read in full to see the wide variety and perspective of female photographers and how they capture their subjects.

"A female’s gaze is normally softer and more enveloping and not as objectifying. It can grant access to places where a male sometimes would not be allowed, it has the potential to show a deeper degree of intimacy with the subject, and it has its unique feminine strength."

- Samantha Casolari