Reversing the Gaze: Gaines and the Claim for Alternative Pleasures

In her article “Women and Representation: Can We Enjoy Alternative Pleasure?”, Jane Gaines raises some interesting questions about “women’s pleasure as counter-pleasure” and whether we can reclaim narrative pleasure for ourselves as women if we accept Mulvey’s premise that narrative pleasure is usually equated with male pleasure. While Gaines addresses the various forms in which alternative pleasures can be explored and enjoyed – from lesbian readings that nourish a female gaze to the radical potential of counter-cinema aesthetics – she seems to almost entirely sidestep the possibility of a cinema that could appeal to the heterosexual female spectator in reversing the gaze onto male subjects. Though Gaines emphasizes the enormous potential that lesbian studies possess for alternative readings of texts that essentially annul or at the very least minimize male perspectives and gazes.

Nevertheless, contrary to her reference to Mary Ann Doane and the impossibility of female spectatorship, I would argue that heterosexual female pleasure and the female gaze are factors that are thankfully becoming more and more prominent in media representations, and could potentially aid the constitution of an ‘alternative’ pleasure basing itself upon the reversal of the gaze. For instance, (and much as it pains me to bring this in as an example) the popular Twilight film series utilizes the conventional attractiveness of its male protagonists to appeal to its wide female audience base; this is pushed even further in terms of all the scenes in which some male nudity figures prominently. Similarly, it is difficult to conceive of a scene like the sex scene between Geena Davis and Brad Pitt in Thelma and Louise as being composed without reference to the female gaze, especially in terms of the long, lingering shot on Pitt’s upper body before their copulation. More recently, the independent film Afternoon Delight centers on the issue of heterosexual female pleasure through its focus on its protagonist, who finds the sexual pleasure in her relationship with her husband dwindling. The film explores different notions of female subjectivity and women’s ability to reclaim pleasure through the protagonist’s growing friendship with a young prostitute. Written and directed by a woman, Afternoon Delight approaches the issue of female sexuality with a frankness and authenticity that problematizes notions of the male gaze being inseparable from narrative pleasure. Despite all this, it has to be noted that this gaze does still remain a minority within media representations, and that in general it is far from prolific. But narrative pleasure does not necessarily have to be constituted as male pleasure, and female subjectivity and images constructed for a female gaze are not only far from impossible, but already in (admittedly limited) circulation.

Essentially, I do not believe that reclaiming narrative pleasure for ourselves as women is out of our grasps, though it poses a significant challenge. While alternative pleasures offer approaches that may satisfactorily oppose constructions that privilege the male gaze, mainstream media representations are not necessarily alienated by the female gaze. Hopefully in years to come this exploration of female pleasure will assume greater prominence as we continue to strive for its unlimited expression in the media.