Keen to delve deeper into the art of fashion photography and to give a meaning to the photos I'm taking, I considered the prospect of challenging the male gaze. Throughout time, art has been created purely for male pleasure, and therefore any female body depicted was done so in a way that the male would enjoy. Now although society has arguably progressed since the days of limited education for women, the male gaze is still something artists are playing to in the 21st century, not only through traditional modes of art such as paintings, but through photography and cinematography also. One only has to look as far as MTV to see that the way women are presented through the media is so as to appeal to the male eye. Photographers such as Terry Richardson and Rankin often use (needless) female nudity in their photographs, and the poses are suggestive to say the least. 
Whilst the idea of the male gaze
is not something that is new, neither is the idea of challenging it, as we see
with the painter Manet. In the photo above, the woman pictured is completely
naked, which is not unusual for paintings of that time. What is, however,
unusual is the direct eye-contact the woman seems to be making with the viewer.
This eye-contact is immediately disconcerting, and places an unwelcome sense of
guilt on the viewer, as they are suddenly ashamed to be caught looking at her
naked. This challenging gaze restores the humanity to the woman, which would be
lost had she been painted naked and looking elsewhere. Manet is directly
challenging the idea of male gaze here, and I intend to do the same through my
photographs.
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