Fighting the "Male Gaze"

The "Male Gaze" has had hundreds of years to perfect itself so fighting back may take just as much time and effort. As adult women living in today's society we are bombarded with images and messages telling us how we should act, what we should look like and most importantly how we should feel about ourselves if we can't meet these requirements. The messages are embedded in commercials, magazine covers, billboards and even in our own mirrors. When we look at ourselves - most of us don't see who we are - we see all the things we aren't. That's how successful the "Male Gaze" is - now we do the work for them. We don't need a man to tell us that we should wear the "short and low cut red dress" to get attention because we already know.

It's going to be extremely difficult to convince a woman in her 40s, 30s or even 20s that she's a lot more than prize or just something cute to look at. To do so we would have to show her the flaws in everything she's seen and heard up until this point. It is possible to get through but we would have a much better chance if we started at the beginning - with young girls. If from an early age little girls were being told that who they really are and what they have to offer to the world lies on the inside they would be better prepared to fight off the effects of the "Male Gaze".

The Girl Scout ad pictured above does just that. It shows you the image of a young girl and surprise, surprise - the ad doesn't focus at all on her appearance. In fact all we can see is her head peeking over a sign that says "I am your future president". When you see that sign your first reaction is to think "she's smart" and not "she's pretty". The message here is about who this girl is and who she will become. That's the kind of image that young girls should be bombarded with everyday. Instead of...

In this image little girls are being told that they have to compete with each other instead of work together. To make matter worst the tools they need to win this competition are beauty, makeup, hair and big smile. When you look at this image and it's message and compare it to the Girl Scout ad and the message it was trying to convey all you can say is "wow". Both images are current but they come from two completely different worlds.

It is safe to assume that the "Little Miss Perfect Pageant" and the "Male Gaze" aren't going anywhere. But we can support organizations like the Girl Scouts or companies like Nike because they push a strong and positive message to young girls and women alike. We as consumers can make a difference by being more conscious of where we put our money because "Little Miss Perfect" wouldn't be on the air if no one was watching. Instead mothers who have suffered from the effect of the "Male Gaze" try to win through their daughters. They start teaching them early how to dress, smile and pose to get that attention. Fortunately, there are also mothers who encourage their daughters to use their brains and dream big - hopefully one day they will out number the pageant moms.