“Looks Maketh the Man”: The Female Gaze and the Construction of Masculinity

The paper examines the influence of the “female gaze” on the construction of masculinity. It attempts to show masculine identity cannot be interpreted separate from the image of men projected by, or perceived to be projected by, women. Using examples from literature, popular culture, and gender theory, the paper argues that men's identities are closely tied to their perceptions of what they think women expect of them. The paper suggests that one way of overcoming the power struggle inherent in gender stereotyping is to rethink the gender-based role of language itself. Julia Kristeva's and M. M. Bakhtin's linguistic theories are used as pointers toward a deconstruction of gender difference and the unbalanced powers that result.