A question about male gaze
Mar. 10th, 2013 04:24 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
msagaraLast night, when I was falling asleep at my keyboard and did not want to sleep, I went off to the internet to read about books. (Not my books, though, because that frequently wakes me up in the Bad Way, because - author.)
One of the books was a novel called Stormdancer. It is the first in a series that is set in not-Japan but which makes use of elements of Japanese society in a kind of “this is cool, let’s use this” way. This is a book, according to quotes in reviews, which is firmly anchored in the male gaze.
The protagonist is a woman.
I’ve been thinking about books, written by men, in which women are handled well. Or, to be more specific, in which I think women are handled well. It’s a question I used to be asked while working at the bookstore, and therefore a question I’ve turned over on the inside of my head, time and again.
And this morning, because I am writing and my creative writer brain has slowed, I have returned to this, having spent an evening reading about male gaze.
All of the male authors I’ve recommended or cleared as “writing women well” (Sean Stewart for example) are entirely absent male gaze.
(I once asked Sean Stewart how he handled his women, because he was one of the few male authors whose viewpoint felt so natural to me I would have believed he was a woman if I hadn’t met him, and he said “It’s not magic; I just write about them as if they’re…people.” One of the ways he achieved this, I realize in hindsight, is jettisoning male gaze.)
Male gaze irritates the crap out of me. Most of the women I know who notice their bodies are likely to say “I need to lose weight around my thighs” or “my stomach is so flabby”, so if you really want to write from a female viewpoint, you don’t have your character notice her fabulous perky breasts or creamy skin or etc. Because. Well.
But…
Is there a female gaze that has the same weight, and is irritating or reductionist in the same way? Do male readers feel reduced to uncomfortable margins by female gaze?
I realize that this is a touchy question. I am actually interested in the answer and will accept any answer that is given that does not constitute a personal attack on any other answer that’s given - but I want people to answer without fear of censure.
One of the books was a novel called Stormdancer. It is the first in a series that is set in not-Japan but which makes use of elements of Japanese society in a kind of “this is cool, let’s use this” way. This is a book, according to quotes in reviews, which is firmly anchored in the male gaze.
The protagonist is a woman.
I’ve been thinking about books, written by men, in which women are handled well. Or, to be more specific, in which I think women are handled well. It’s a question I used to be asked while working at the bookstore, and therefore a question I’ve turned over on the inside of my head, time and again.
And this morning, because I am writing and my creative writer brain has slowed, I have returned to this, having spent an evening reading about male gaze.
All of the male authors I’ve recommended or cleared as “writing women well” (Sean Stewart for example) are entirely absent male gaze.
(I once asked Sean Stewart how he handled his women, because he was one of the few male authors whose viewpoint felt so natural to me I would have believed he was a woman if I hadn’t met him, and he said “It’s not magic; I just write about them as if they’re…people.” One of the ways he achieved this, I realize in hindsight, is jettisoning male gaze.)
Male gaze irritates the crap out of me. Most of the women I know who notice their bodies are likely to say “I need to lose weight around my thighs” or “my stomach is so flabby”, so if you really want to write from a female viewpoint, you don’t have your character notice her fabulous perky breasts or creamy skin or etc. Because. Well.
But…
Is there a female gaze that has the same weight, and is irritating or reductionist in the same way? Do male readers feel reduced to uncomfortable margins by female gaze?
I realize that this is a touchy question. I am actually interested in the answer and will accept any answer that is given that does not constitute a personal attack on any other answer that’s given - but I want people to answer without fear of censure.
Public pictures
Date: 2017-04-13 03:30 am (UTC)http://kitty.party.yopoint.in/?post.rhiannon
nasti porn clips stewardesses porn super models porn gallery free pussy rubbing lesnian porn porn free no credit cards
Matured purlieus
Date: 2017-04-13 11:20 pm (UTC)http://bbw.date.erolove.in/?gain.vanessa
free christian singles dating single russian women online advice for relationships examples of save the date cards dating and chat sites
Grown up placement
Date: 2017-04-13 11:23 pm (UTC)http://arab.aunties.porndairy.in/?post.nayeli
songul sonny shame rome mullah
Open matured galleries
Date: 2017-04-14 02:20 am (UTC)http://arab.egypt.adultnet.in/?post.alayna
ashcroft member punjabi greeks members
Loose matured galleries
Date: 2017-04-15 07:55 pm (UTC)http://sissyblog.twiclub.in/?diagram.aliza
erotic navel erotic traveler erotic figurines erotic video games erotic ghost story
New spot
Date: 2017-04-15 09:34 pm (UTC)shop shorts online heraklion car rental a gay man
http://sissyblog.twiclub.in/?read.danna
man fuck fat man women in need of men mens suits online south africa leather dominatrix outfit free fucking teen movies shoes of boys hair for extensions lesbian bondage
My unfamiliar website
Date: 2017-04-17 01:41 am (UTC)http://vanessa.blog.porndairy.in/?profile.robin
bi sexual woman casual sex cardiff popular dating site in india free online dating sites no registration care package for soldiers
Full-grown galleries
Date: 2017-04-17 12:01 pm (UTC)online dress stores definition of literary arts search all hotels
http://feminisation.xblog.in/?post.tamara
german tv movies chastity for husband dictionary hindi & english girls gymnastics clothing strapon cock cage butt plug belt literature in college poverty and wealth in america
Pictures from social networks
Date: 2017-04-20 05:10 am (UTC)womens bodysuit top greece for holidays a man raped
http://sissytales.porndairy.in/?page.kaitlin
just skirts japan equality fem dom bdsm sex lingeries wireless bra pictures for art my free songs download waterproof panties
My unfamiliar website
Date: 2017-04-23 02:41 am (UTC)http://arab.sexy.girls.twiclub.in/?post-emma
laki single fotos brazilian interscholastic
My new website
Date: 2017-04-24 04:16 am (UTC)http://euro.dating.hotblog.top/?gain.aria
best us dating sites sugar daddy sites that are free for sugar babise wedding invitations cheap swunger places jobs for bangalore
Free galleries
Date: 2017-04-25 11:46 am (UTC)tattoos lotus flower custom butt plugs video porons
http://sissies.purplesphere.in/?blog.madyson
feeporn video no country for old men theme hormone treatment for men pocket pussy childrens tutus auction western cape sissy 18 mom porn manga
Mature galleries
Date: 2017-04-26 03:00 am (UTC)http://analplug.tobuy.in/?leaf.jazlyn
erotic shop erotic jigsaw puzzle erotic horror movie romance erotic x rated movies
Grown up placement
Date: 2017-05-03 08:29 am (UTC)http://men.sexblog.pw/?info_zakary
zachary quinto gay gay christian dating gay men kissing gay adoption statistics new york gay
Communal pictures
Date: 2017-05-03 02:41 pm (UTC)http://teenbbw.yopoint.in/?post.victoria
victorian erotic art erotic books free free erotic ebooks ebook erotic male erotic photography
Unshackle galleries
Date: 2017-05-04 09:55 pm (UTC)http://porn.smurf.erolove.in/?entry-esmeralda
60 and 70 porn movies 70 s sitcom porn super model body porn halo hentia porn milf porn vid sites
Pictures from collective networks
Date: 2017-05-06 09:47 am (UTC)android developer how to mobile android phones best free music download app for android 2015 live wallpapers hd 3dpopular mobile games for android
http://android.adult.games.yopoint.in/?gain.paula
play market free download how to create a app for android baixar aplicativos para baixar jogos movies free on android app games to download
Pictures from venereal networks
Date: 2017-05-08 08:11 pm (UTC)http://cars.photos.twiclub.in/?post.patricia
porn japanese massage videos homeless girl sex porn sex older porn nikki gil porn picks free porn dideos
Loose full-grown galleries
Date: 2017-05-09 02:12 pm (UTC)http://futanari.replyme.pw/?private-esmeralda
transexual dating ladyboy transvestite sex free pornagrafic vidios free shemail movie
Pictures from social networks
Date: 2017-05-11 03:14 am (UTC)http://kitty.cam.purplesphere.in/?entry-taniya
alternitave porn porn models wallpaper old granpa porn xxx porn vids in spanish fre celeb porn
Experimental Project
Date: 2017-05-11 06:01 pm (UTC)http://porn.smurf.erolove.in/?entry.violet
free third world porn vids girl porn pictures tammy strausser porn cleveland all porn mobile girls your porn
Grown up placement
Date: 2017-05-13 02:15 am (UTC)http://sissyblog.twiclub.in/?register.diamond
erotic ghost erotic movies online erotic survivor erotic love letter sexy videos for free
Renewed site
Date: 2017-05-13 02:41 pm (UTC)http://amateur.selfies.purplesphere.in/?diagram.makenzie
erotic sculpture erotic hotel massage free pornography videos nude sex sex
Full-grown galleries
Date: 2017-05-16 09:34 am (UTC)http://teenbbw.yopoint.in/?profile.ashlynn
erotic baby erotic romance stories erotic romance novel erotic e books online sex
Unshackle galleries
Date: 2017-05-17 02:55 am (UTC)http://mew.photos.telrock.org/?entry-beatriz
free handjob cumshot porn my free 5 mini porn realtaboo porn fakes porn registry of infected porn stars