I’m sure you’ve already come across many discussions about ‘What is the male gaze?’ on other blogs or are already familiar with the concept of the male gaze, so I’ll get straight to the point here. This blog will primarily focus on the pros and cons of the male gaze.
You might be wondering—does the male gaze actually have any advantages? Hold on for a moment and hear me out. In fact, although the male gaze originated from the desire for control by those in power politically or socially, over time, it has passively created demand in modern society. Male-oriented works containing elements of the male gaze satisfy the needs of a certain group of people. There will always be those who seek to compensate for their disappointment in reality through virtual works, and these works happen to provide them with solace.
Let me use myself as an example. To be honest, in the past twenty-some years of my life, my interactions with the opposite sex haven’t been very smooth. Some of my female peers laughed at my immature muscles when I was working hard on my fitness. Others, after engaging in enjoyable conversations with me, suddenly asked, ‘Do you know you’re actually really ugly?’ and brushed it off with, ‘It’s just a joke.’ My ex-girlfriend, while I was seriously preparing her birthday gift, was secretly flirting with another guy.
Some might think these are just my one-sided accounts, and maybe the truth is that I did something wrong. I can’t guarantee the objectivity of my stories, nor do I want to stop others from thinking that way. But at least for me, the pain is real. A series of distressing events, combined with an already difficult life, left me deeply affected, to the point where I often find myself grappling with severe anxiety and self-doubt even today.At the same time, I found it hard to trust women anymore, believing that they always approached me with malice, disdain, or an intent to exploit me. I know these thoughts are extreme and incorrect, but the scars from my memories make it hard not to feel this way. During such times, I shifted my emotional reliance onto works that contain elements of the male gaze.
The near-perfect female characters depicted in these virtual works, both in terms of personality and physical appearance, became something I longed for. Their exclusive affection for the male lead made me, as someone immersing myself in the male lead’s perspective, feel a sense of reassurance. Don’t get me wrong—I don’t expect these works to lead to a flood of perfect women throwing themselves at me in real life. But these works did help me regain some confidence in real-life women, even if some might view this coping mechanism as highly distorted.
Having shared my story, you might now understand why I believe the male gaze has some value in its existence. Of course, my argument is not meant to dismiss the issues associated with the male gaze. The reason it has become a serious social topic is that it touches on the mainstream values of unequal socio-political power dynamics between men and women.
The male gaze implants distorted values into people’s minds. Even the mere existence of such works further solidifies male dominance while diminishing the status of women. The male gaze frames the perspective of women being watched by the camera within male gaze-related works as an objective reality, thereby constructing a system of control that serves the interests of those in power.
In any case, in my view, the advantages and disadvantages of the male gaze exist and are not mutually contradictory. However, this doesn’t mean we shouldn’t strive to address its issues. Unfortunately, due to commercial or societal demands, the problem of the male gaze is unlikely to be fully resolved—it will be a long and arduous struggle.
Some solutions have already been proposed, such as countering it by creating a large number of works featuring the female gaze. If it’s difficult to reduce the ‘2’ in the ‘2:1’ ratio to achieve balance, perhaps increasing the ‘1’ to match the ‘2’ is also a viable approach.
In any case, we must never give up the fight, but at the same time, we must never distort the purpose of the struggle. Doing so would only make the battle even harder.
Reference
Wikipedia——Male gaze
