Male Sex Scripts & Male Gaze- Sex&Media Final

Male Script & Male Gaze

One’s society is influenced by and reflects in our media. The question becomes does the media influence our society or is the media just a reflection of what our society is already? We believe that the media has an influential power over our society, but it is also a reflection of what already exists in our society is. This is an endless cycle that perpetuates.

Throughout history our society has always been a patriarchal society, where males dominate over women. The media reflects this society ideology and at the same time encourages it. According to Kimmel (2009), “The media reflects existing gender differences and gender inequalities, constructs those very gender differences, and reproduces gender inequality by making those differences seem ‘natural’ and not socially produced in the first place (p.290)”. This ideology of males dominate over women is seen over and over again in the media. We see this by the display of sexual scripts and the male gaze.

As people interact with media, they learn what is appropriate in society. They also learn what is appropriate for their gender according to their sexual scripts. According to Markle (2008), “The concept of ‘sexual scripts’ refers to the idea that sexuality is learned from culturally produced messages that define what sex is and explain how to recognize sexual situations and how to behave in such situations” (p.46). Males behave differently according to the script they were raised and enforced by the surrounding society’s media. According to Markle (2008), “The typical sexual script for men includes the active pursuit of sexual partners, peer validation of sexual activity, inability to control sexuality once aroused, and sex undertaken solely for the sake of pleasure (Frith and Kitzinger 2001, p.214).” (p.47)

Sexual scripts can teach men how to act, behave, and live in patriarchal society. Males learn their sexual scripts through the male gaze. According to Mulvey, “The determining male gaze projects its phantasy on to the female form which is styled accordingly. In their traditional exhibitionist role women are simultaneously looked at and displayed, with their appearance coded for strong visual and erotic impact so that they can be said to connote to-be-looked-at-ness”. As quoted by Monk-Turner, according to Mulvey, “Gazing has been defined by patriarchal society as a male activity while being looked at is the domain of females (p.202)”. In television and films today characters have different point of view (POV) in which they tell the story to the audience which sets the mood and gaze. The audience identifies with the main character by viewing the same “gaze”.

By framing the point of view for the audience identifies with the characters gaze. The male gaze when viewed in media demonstrates how a male views an object, person, or thing. According to Richard Barsam (2007), “The dominant neutral POV gives us the facts and background that are the context in which the character live” (p.184). The point of view helps us understand the characters more in depth by allowing us to view things through their eyes. Barsam explains how camera angles can enhance the meaning through the point of view. High-angle shots are created to make the implication that the one looking down has superiority while low-angle shots are made to imply that one is weak and defenseless (Barsam, 2007, p. 171). These angles not only support the point of view but they also reinforce the male gaze.

Male scripts are important to discuss because it perpetuates the male gaze, influences our society norms, and it is reinforced by the media. Males and females are raised according to the scripts that one is given by society and media.

These five images above displayed through the male gaze reinforce and promotes the male script in our society.
1- Vogue- Labrone James
This magazine cover displays to men how males are supposed to look and what their goal should be to become male. The male gaze portrays a masculine active male who is dominating a passive pettiet woman who is less threatening. The male is in an active pose and the female is in passive pose. Which, this magazine cover is reinforcing these sexual scripts where the male is active and dominates over the passive female.



2- Sky Vodka
In this ad a man is standing over a female, which the viewer is experiencing the male gaze because it is the view of the man. The viewer can identify as the man because he has no face. The woman is positioned under the man in a valuable way. She is directly below his crotch stuck between his legs. From this ad males can learn their sexual script through the male gaze because the male is dominant and in control of the female.


3- Condom ad
Media’s condom ad is reinforcing the message of male domination. The ad says “The tough part isn’t getting her to say yes. It’s getting her to stop saying yes.” This is perpetuating the male script because it is reinforcing this ideology that males need to have sex with women and it is the male’s job to convince women to have sex with them. This ad is teaching males to engage in heterosexual intercourse and they need to pursuit women. Also in this ad the male is on top of the woman, which is showing that males are dominant over females, when it comes to sexuality. When males view this ad they can learn their sexual scripts of convincing women to have sex with them and being dominant over females.

4- WB clip- 3 some Gossip Girl 1:14 min.
The angles in this film display who the viewer is supposed to identify with. As we see in this clip the camera focuses on the male then focuses on the two females. As the camera focuses on the male, the viewer is identifying with him. The male is encouraging the threesome by smiling and proceeding. As the camera focuses on the two females, the viewer is experiencing the male gaze because the viewer is identifying with him. The camera angles allow viewers to experience what the male character is seeing. As viewer watches this clip they are learning male’s sexual script through the male gaze. Through the male gaze, the males can learn that it is exactable to engage in a threesome with two females.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiprYiui_3c


5- Scandal Hits Florida’s UCF College Campus by Paul F. Davis
The last artifact that we found was an article in The College Press titled “Scandal Hits Florida’s UCF College Campus”. The article discusses that 15 members of Beta Theta Pie fraternity at UCF, raped an intoxicated female student. The female was passed out then she woke up to find 15 guys naked around her, telling her to perform oral and vaginal sex with them. This article is a real life situation and these 15 men are being charged with rape. The question we have to point out is why are these men being charged for this behavior? As we see over and over again in the media it is okay for men to be dominant and have control over women. The media teaches men their sexual scripts through the male gazes, which men learn their roles in society and act on the behaviors they have learned.
http://www.thecollegepress.com/content/view/3594/ ]

















6- Circle of reinforcement.
This is how the artifacts become connected. Media often reflects society by creating and supporting an ideology. Media and our society impacts individuals and their male gaze by making the audience view media/images through a male gaze. Typically a male gaze is used in media because of our patriarchy society. Once the male gaze is viewed by individuals their beliefs form about the male script based on the male gaze and media’s influences. These four terms can be connected in a circle that demonstrates how they affect one another. The terms are interchangeable in the circle because they are nonlinear. The four terms don’t have to connect in a straight line and be linear.

Today in our society we see perpetuating cycle where society influences the media, the media teaches sexual scripts through the male gaze. This perpetuating cycle is nonlinear because society, media, sexual scripts and male gazes can all influence and reflect one another. For example, look at our five media artifacts. The Vogue magazine cover with Labrone James is teaching males sexual scripts where the male is active and dominates over the passive female. Males can also learn their sexual scripts from the media with the male gaze, like the threesome scene from Gossip Girl. As males learn their sexual scripts from the male gaze, they are learning that males are dominate and are in control of sex. As males learn this kind of behavior, they act on this kind of behavior like rapping a female from UCF. This is an example of perpetuating cycle of a patriarchy.

This perpetuating cycle of a patriarchy is nonlinear, which means one thing can influence or reflect one another. Let’s use another example starting with society. The 15 members of Beta Theta Pi fraternity at UCF raped an intoxicated female student. Which, this create the ideology that males are males are dominate and are in control of sex, which then it influences the media. The media produces ads like the condom ad and Sky Vodka ad, which both are setting up male’s sexual scripts and male gazes. Society, media, sexual scripts and male gazes can all influence and reflect one another.

Reference
Barsam, R. (2007). Looking at Movies: An Introduction to Film (2nd ed.). New York: W. W.
Norton & Co.

Davis, P. (2009). Scandal Hits Florida’s UCF College Campus. The College Press from
http://www.thecollegepress.com/content/view/3594/

Kimmel, M. (2009). The Gendered Society (4th ed.). New York: Oxford University Press.

Monk-Turner, E. (2008). Who is gazing at whom? A look at how sex is used in magazine
advertisements. Journal of Gender Studies, volume 17:3 (p.201-209).

Mulvey, L. (1975). Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema. From:
https://wiki.brown.edu/confluence/display/MarkTribe/Visual+Pleasure+and+Narrative+Cinema

Images:
Vogue: http://media.photobucket.com/image/sexuality%20in%20vogue%2020media/Spreaditdotorg3/lebron_vogue-gisel.jpg

Sky Vodka:
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_iM3TPA0DIEuvi4pgTrai3xJydYLMUBfc_G_leggAcYkHPKAm0Vgg1VCxCvoD3rwZEwhaIj2_AkrgrdQMeqmSBCLcqnjFP7WMKpAw69W1GFTGJYW7yAllnC6E5qMBN9tXD_IUP6dKYxA/s400/skyy.jpg


Condom ad:
http://adoholik.com/pics/ksad2_large.jpg

Gossip Girl: Threesome on youtube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiprYiui_3c

Responce to Becca's Masuculinity Sexualized blog

http://raltman.blogspot.com/
Responding to Becca’s Masculinity Sexualized

The construction of masculinity is defined not only in Becca’s blog but it is reinforces, according to Becca, by media and its images. The cultivation theory would explain how television/media repeats our culture’s stereotypes/myths/ideologies. The female gaze is then discussed to support the Vogue cover with Lebron James. I do agree that James is being objectified on the cover but the text around the image indicates why he is posed on the cover. The issue is addressing how to obtain a great body and how to diet. Becca does state that this is a female targeted magazine and that James does not really fit the cover; but when the media thinks about masculine words like body strength the idea falls towards masculinity. These types of words fall towards masculinity because of male scripts and what males are associated with.

Adding one female to a dominating male photo does reinsure the heterosexual masculinity. By adding the female in the Twilight cast also demonstrates the power men have over women. How men always “outweigh” women in media or in the work force (specially viewed in media as a myth). Even though the woman is added into the photography to reinsure of the heterosexual nature of the photo the woman is also there to display a balance physically in the picture. She divides the males in the photo.

I disagree with Becca’s response to the pictures of 50 Cent, Zac Efron and Justin Timberlake. She said, “All three of these men are not showing any emotions on their faces…” In the 50 Cent image he is compensating his tough facial expressions with a reinforcing gun to symbolize that his is tough/strong “a man”. The Zac Efron image depict him as being innocent/ non-threatening as he plays with a ring on his finger and is gazing down. Efron is mysterious in this poise and I believe the way he is looking down is supposed to be inviting to the female eye because he is not “taking us on” in a dominant manner. In GQ Justin Timberlake is expressing a blank direct gaze out toward the viewer; almost making direct eye contact referring to a “bring it on” look. Becca did not look deeper into these last three images. She should have studied them more to understand how other viewers might understand the media images instead of lumping the three images together.

Overall I do agree with Becca’s blog about masculinity and how it is portrayed in media. The reinforcement of masculinity is strong in our culture. The ideology is often not questioned by others and the social norm of masculinity may take many years to change or develop. With media’s strong reinforcement of what is normal for masculinity one may never think of other possibilities of depicting masculinity.