The male gaze is deeply ingrained within our society. Rosalind Coward’s essay, “The Look,” is a testament to this. Coward discusses the “preoccupation with the visual image,” and how images are predominantly controlled by men within society. (1) Film, television, and advertising are male-dominated industries, with Coward suggesting that the entire profession of photography caters to male ideals and professionalism, with the camera being an extension of the male gaze. (2)
With the transition to online galleries and the increased need for the photographic digitization of art, are online art spaces dominated by the male gaze? To answer this question, we must first look at the demographics of the arts community. In 2016, just over 50% of visual artists were female. (3) However, in 2015, just over 40% of women were museum directors, up from 30% in 2005; however, most of these directors were from smaller museums with lower budgets, and therefore, less reach and representation. (4) In brick and mortar galleries, this disparity in leadership creates a massive gender gap in the arts. This can be seen in many ways. For example, in the US, from 2007-2014, at some of the most prominent art galleries, including the Guggenheim and MoMA, only 30% of solo exhibitions were from female artists. (5) Similarly, in 2013, only 30% of artists represented by commercial galleries were female. (6) Even more recently, in 2019, on average, female visual artists make less than their male counterparts, around USD 0.77 for every dollar a male artist makes. (7)
With COVID and online art galleries, it would seem that the male professional domination finds more ways to make an appearance. In addition to having more male directors, fields like photography and web development, two critical jobs in hosting a successful online exhibition, are both male-dominated. For example, in 2017, 51% of all US photographers were female; however, 29% and 17% of ambassadors were women in Nikon and Canon’s ambassador programs, respectively. (8) Similarly, in photojournalism in 2015, 22% of males were employed by large companies compared to 7% of females, with 5% of men earning $80,000 or above compared to only 1.5% of women. (9) This shows that female photographers’ work is underrepresented on a large scale and that most professional photography work is taken up by men.
Suppose Coward is correct, and the camera is an extension of the male gaze. In that case, this creates a more significant opportunity for online exhibits to be a product of said gaze, especially in more prominent galleries. With most directors and photographers being men, there is a more substantial chance that the male gaze extends into the curation of an online exhibit. The director’s perspective and ideas for curation create the basis for the exhibit. With more male directors, there is a greater chance of having male perspectives being represented online. Additionally, when works of art are photographed or filmed for these online exhibits, Coward’s idea returns, with the camera, and the perspective of the user behind it, being inescapable. This creates a double-male lens on an exhibit, and that is if it is the work of a female artist.
Furthermore, the platforms in which we view these exhibits can also be inherently male spaces. In 2020, roughly 70% of web developers were men. (10) This again implies that their perspective takes the foreground and adds another layer of lack of representation. In this case, the entire experience of an online gallery is, theoretically, male-dominated, from the representation of artists to how we consume the media. There is no part of the process that is not tinged by the male gaze and inherently male production standards. While this has historically been the case in brick and mortar galleries, the additional layers of the camera and the web platform itself exacerbate the issues at hand.
However, awareness of these issues is critical for change in the arts community. The first step is to be aware that the work we are viewing on online platforms is skewed towards the male gaze. As bell hooks says in her essay “The Oppositional Gaze: Black Female Spectators,” we have the power to subvert the power dynamics imposed on us by choosing to look “critically” or “oppositional,” or by opting to not look at all. (11) Expressing discontent and demanding more from art galleries, both online and in-person, is critical for change.
On a final note, I would like to point out that this argument does not neglect intersectionality. In Canada in 2016, BIPOC artists made $0.72 on the dollar compared to white artists, with Indigenous artists making even less, at $0.68 compared to white artists. (12) This is an egregious statistic and needs immediate reform. Art, as a form or representation, is powerful in the sense that it is highly accessible. The arts community should have a responsibility to lift up these marginalized voices, and now, in the time of COVID, at home with the world at our fingertips, is a perfect time. With art more accessible than ever before, galleries should have a social responsibility to represent diverse perspectives, from the artists they represent to their curatorial staff, photographers, and web developers. Diversity exists within the arts community and should be represented proportionally, both now and in the future, as we return to the physical gallery space.
Endnotes
(1) Rosalind Coward, "The Look," in Reading Images, rev. ed., ed. Julia Thomas (New York, New York: PALGRAVE, 2001), 33
(2) Coward, Reading Images, 33.
(3) Kelly Hill, "A Statistical Profile of Artists in Canada in 2016 (With Summary Information About Cultural Workers)," Hill Strategies, last modified November 27, 2019, https://hillstrategies.com/resource/statistical-profile-of-artists-in-canada-in-2016/ (accessed August 20, 2021).
(4) Maura Reilly, "Taking the Measure of Sexism: Facts, Figures and Fixes," ARTnews, May 26, 2015, https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/taking-the-measure-of-sexism-facts-figures-and-fixes-4111/ (accessed August 20, 2021).
(5) Reilly, "Taking the Measure of Sexism: Facts, Figures and Fixes."
(6) Reilly.
(7) United States, National Endowment for the Arts, Artists and Other Cultural Workers: A Statistical Portrait (Washington, D.C.: The Office of Research and Analysis, [2019]), https://www.arts.gov/sites/default/files/Artists_and_Other_Cultural_Workers.pdf (accessed August 20, 2021).
(8) Alex Cooke, "Is Photography Overrun by White Males?," Fstoppers, January 11, 2017, https://fstoppers.com/originals/photography-overrun-white-males-160839 (accessed August 20, 2021).
(9) Rachel Lowry, "New Study Shows Gender Inequality in Photojournalism Is Real," Time, September 25, 2015, https://time.com/4049405/gender-photojournalism-study/ (accessed August 20, 2021).
(10) "Web Developer Demographics and Statistics in the US," Zippia, April 30, 2021, https://www.zippia.com/web-developer-jobs/demographics/ (accessed August 20, 2021).
(11) Julia Thomas, "Summaries and Notes," in Reading Images, rev. ed., ed. Julia Thomas (New York, New York: PALGRAVE, 2001), 221.
(12) Hill, "A Statistical Profile of Artists in Canada in 2016 (With Summary Information About Cultural Workers)."