The Female Gaze
I take back the disembodied power that the male gaze has over me in public space by taking photos of men that look at my body For other works in the series, I have revisited the same areas and rephotographed the scenes, taking a forensic approach to the criminal potential of the male gaze. In this written work, I expand on socio-political movements like feminism and internalized surveillance of the self, which contribute to my assertion that women have less visual, social power than men in public spaces and how that needs to change by examining art theorists’ writings.
The uneven power dynamic in social space only occurs when one person decides to abuse the unspoken social agreement thatallows us all to glance at one another and feel safe and open. The exploitation of this social agreement coming from a man then becomes an implied physical threat due to women surveying themselves and remembering how men objectify them.
I am a 21-year-old, white, cisgender woman. These experiences are my own. I don’t claim to know anyone else’s experience of public space. I am just showing my own experience and the reactions I receive.
