Blog Entry #1 GQ and the male gaze

When coming across this ad in GQ the other day (I NEVER read GQ or any magazines for that matter, but I was on the search for something juicy to criticize), I couldn't help but be disgustingly reminded of the male gaze and the quote from Ways of Seeing pg 47, "Men act and women appear. Men look at women. Women watch themselves being looked at." Which further led me to delve deeper into women objectification and the male gaze, particularly when picking apart this ad.

This photo made me feel uncomfortable for a number reasons, the first being that the female model (Kate Upton) looks as if shes been thrown in the dirt by this man who is aggressively standing over her and seems to be angrily ripping his shirt off. She appears submissive, her legs slightly opening, her body is arranged for the man standing over her. He is active, she is passive (look familiar?!) Another thing to point out is that she is looking over her shoulder staring back at the spectator, her expression rather barren, while the man is only focused on her. She is responding to the spectator as an object being acted upon.

The male gaze is very apparent here. The females sexual passion is minimized, as she becomes just a hot blonde in a tiny bathing suit laying in the dirt and waiting to be sexually dominated.