Male gaze, in Mulvey’s words, is the female figure in a narrative being styled or coded with strong visual and erotic elements to present a “pleasure looking” and displayed for male desire. In general, the woman is sexualised into a sexual object and erotic scene. It promotes a way of looking that gives power to men and treats women as objects. It also allows the male audience to imagine themselves as the male protagonist to enjoy the “pleasure”.
“The woman as object of the combined gaze of spectator and all the male protagonists.”
“She is isolated, glamorous, on display, sexualised.”
Mulvey, L.
On the other hand, the male gaze can also be the male protagonist dominating the narrative; they can control the events, but the female character is just a male protagonist supporting figure and can’t affect the narrative.
“They were often rendered childlike or in need of men’s protection, or else consigned to the home as their only legitimate domain.”
Ross, K.
In simple terms, the male gaze is the male figure is always dominant (active), and the female figure is usually weak or characterless and only acts as the male figure’s property (passive).
Let’s get back to the subject.
What is the ‘Male Gaze’ problem in Nijigen?
Nijigen (2次元) refers to Anime, Manga, Game, Novel, etc.
- Objectifying underage female characters
In Nijigen, it is horribly common to objectify underage female characters, such as wearing inadequate clothes, showing them almost naked, magnifying their feminine body features (breasts, hips, etc.) and more.
The light novel series Classroom of the Elite (also with adapted manga and anime series) is an outstanding and well-written series with group drama, battle of wits, suspense and psychological horror themes set in a private elite high school. However, their illustrations and anime often objectify the female characters, which are only high school girls, such as wearing too short skirts or too little and highlighting their breasts.
- The “Harem” genre
Harem genre in Nijigen emphasises a main character surrounded by multiple potential romantic or sexual partners. Harem not only refers to a male character surrounded by female characters but also conversely (1 female with many males) or surrounded by the same genders. However, the mainstream Harem in Nijigen tends to the male gaze, a male protagonist with various female characters surrounding him with a love interest. The female characters are usually portrayed as powerless and fragile or can’t live or stand alone without the male protagonist.
Example: The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Love You
It is a manga series (also with adapted anime series) where the male protagonist, Rentaro, is destined to have 100 soulmates due to the mistakes made by the God of Love. Rentaro needs to return his feelings to all his soulmates, or else he will face severe unfortunate or death.
The story revolves around how Rentaro meets and falls in love with each of his 100 soulmates. All the “girlfriends” are shaped into any kind of male desire, such as junior and senior high school girls, university students, mature-age women, cool, cute, Tsundere, sexy and countless types of females. All of them are loved and obsessed with Rentaro insanely and can’t resist him. There is a very outrageous thing too: Two of the girlfriends are mother-daughter.
This harem genre perfectly reflects the male gaze: the female characters are designed into male desires and supporting figures.
Ultimately, the example of Nijigen’s male gaze problem is basically objectifying and sexualising female characters to satisfy male desires and serve male audiences, which is hugely problematic and pointless. Furthermore, the harem genre of Nijigen is a mainstream genre that always appears in public, especially the story like the male protagonist reincarnates into “another world”, meets many human or non-human female characters, and has ambiguous love interests, instead of building an interesting and meaningful plot.
References
- Mulvey, L. (2006) ‘Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema’ in Media and cultural studies: keyworks. Edited by M.G. Durham and D.M. Kellner. Malden: Blackwell Publishing.
- Loreck, J. (2016) Explainer: what does the ‘male gaze’ mean, and what about a female gaze?. Available at: https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-does-the-male-gaze-mean-and-what-about-a-female-gaze-52486 (Accessed: 30 November 2024).
- Ross, K. (2010) Gendered Media : Women, Men, and Identity Politics. Plymouth: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.
- Classroom of the Elite (2024) Available at: https://x.com/youkosozitsu/status/1728065942230299027/photo/1 (Accessed: 30 November 2024).
- Classroom of the Elite (2023) Available at: https://x.com/youkosozitsu/status/1672156788546740226/photo/1 (Accessed: 30 November 2024).
- Classroom of the Elite (2023) Available at: https://x.com/youkosozitsu/status/1678713243169169408/photo/1 (Accessed: 30 November 2024).
- Classroom of the Elite (2024) Available at: https://x.com/youkosozitsu/status/1749624241572413927/photo/1 (Accessed: 30 November 2024).
- Classroom of the Elite (2024) Available at: https://x.com/youkosozitsu/status/1798626127411618132/photo/1 (Accessed: 30 November 2024).
- ‘Harem (genre)’ (2024) Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harem_(genre) (Accessed: 30 November 2024).
- ‘The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Love You’ (2024) Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_100_Girlfriends_Who_Really,_Really,_Really,_Really,_Really_Love_You (Accessed: 30 November 2024).
- The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Love You (no date) Available at: https://hyakkano.com/ (Accessed: 30 November 2024).
Hello, Jack. the content mentioned in your blog deeply touched me, because I have watched many anime before. Classroom of the Elite mentioned in the blog is also one of the anime that I have watched completely. Therefore, I have to say that in this cartoon, the camera is always focused on the skirt or chest of the female characters. Through the covert display of female features, it is presented to the audience from the male gaze. There are also harem animations mentioned in the blog, which are taking women as objects of observation and objectifying women themselves. What is more noteworthy is that compared with other works, the audiences of anime and manga are more likely to be accepted by minors, so these works may have a subtle impact on the shaping of minors’ values and world outlook. Therefore, the lens Angle of these male gaze in animation and other works should receive more attention and attention in the future. I think your blog shows the audience a very important area and the problems it faces. It is a great blog!
Having bad influences and impacts towards minors because of the inappropriate male gaze sounds like a great point! Nijigen’s works are widespread to all ages, it is really horrible to imagine minors able to get in touch these inappropriate male gaze elements. Thank you Yifei!