MIRROR CONFLICTS

Women viewers have, over the last decade, expressed growing displeasure over their depiction as subjects whose well-being depends on how men see them. Moreover, there has been a growing recogition that living to please the mirror is not always the healthiest way of life. The Kellogg's depiction of a woman who takes great personal satisfaction in her figure has led to charges that advertising has contributed to an epidemic of anorexia and bulemia among young women. Accordingly, advertisers have begun to self-consciously address the role of the mirror in advertising. In ads for Lilyette undergarments, conversations with the self are written to call attention both to the mirror and the absent male spectator as oppressive forces.

I find this ad for Lilyette Bras interesting because it both does and doesn't deal with the male gaze. The text could be called a sort of falsified meta-communication in that it takes the reader on a journey that purports to be one thing, then turns out to be something completely different (though not so different, really).

"And here we stand. Finally alone together. Clothes hit the floor and we stare at each other. Here comes that vulnerable feeling. Forcing me to ask the same old scary questions. 'Am I still pretty? Am I still sexy?' Silence. Followed by a disapproving look. And then it hits me. Maybe I'm the one who's unforgiving. And not the mirror."

The text, initially seems to be a sort of dialogue between a woman and herself as a prospective (and new?) male lover looks over her body. This ad twists the notion of the male gaze and gives us an ideal example of much that Berger addresses. Women learn to look at themselves, not through females eyes, but through the eyes of the male. Women learn to see themselves being seen, and this shapes their actions, feelings, and desires. The play on this is obvious in the ad. A woman judges herself in the mirror--but the internal dialogue suggests she is judging herself through the eyes of a male observer.

The ad goes farther than this, however. Not only does it suggest that this woman sees herself through the eyes of a male, it suggests that in looking at herself through his eyes, she is harder on herself than the actual male eyes would be. In other words, the male gaze enacted by women is more unforgiving than the male gaze of men. I don't know exactly what this means in terms of advertisers' intentions. I guess I'm saying that this brings up the question of what advertisers' actually think about when they're creating stuff like this. They don't think about Berger, they probably don't even think about the male gaze. But obviously on some level there is an understanding that women look at themselves through the eyes of men. AND, that this is something widely understood among women and can be used to sell a product. But that brings up another question for me... How is the scene in this ad selling the product? Is it simply a case of authenticity and hailing? Is this ad's selling point simply that Lilyette understands what it is that every woman goes through when she looks in the mirror? In an advertising era where the attempt at authenticity seems key, perhaps that is this ad's only selling point.

Of course, I've said nothing about the way that this ad actually glorifies the male gaze of women. This ad does not in any way address the deep personal alienation that can occur when women actually see themselves as men see them - when women watch themselves being watched. Instead, this ad glorifies that reality, and turns the ambivalence into an existential shrug. The woman pictured in the ad is gorgeous and looks perfect in lingerie. She has the power to judge herself harshly because in the end she knows (and we know by looking at her) that she doesn't have to be harsh - she's beautiful anyway. It's almost a challenge - do you have the power and beauty to see yourself as a man would?

Jennifer Colman, edited by bob goldman