This project aims to explore, through research and photography, the impact of the male gaze on women’s self-perception within patriarchal social structures, with a particular focus on Asian societies. In patriarchal societies, male-dominated industries (e.g., advertising, film, and fashion) disseminate unequal values, making the male gaze dominant. This male gaze is not only a way of viewing, but also a symbol of power that profoundly affects women’s self-perception and identity. Therefore, this project shows Asian women’s bodies and the pressures and influences they endure through a female perspective.
During the photographic process, I documented various marks on the models’ bodies, who, like me, are Asian women of Generation Z who have experienced plastic surgery and excessive weight loss to change their appearance. These behaviors left visible marks on their bodies, reflecting their pursuit of societal standards of beauty. I also captured the models’ real reactions to their unsatisfactory parts and enhanced the visual effects with props to vividly demonstrate their conflicts with their self-image.
In all the works, I deliberately do not show the models’ faces. This idea is inspired by feminist artist Lorna Simpson’s Guarded Conditions, which reveals the objectification and neglect of black women in society by showing their backs. My work similarly breaks away from the face-centered portrayal of women in traditional photography by hiding the face and emphasizing the importance of the body as a socio-cultural symbol.
I do not directly photograph the parts of the body that usually represent women in feminist works, such as breasts, because I believe that women’s identity should not be defined only through these specific parts. Nor should they be swayed by external judgments or definitions, but rather by their own experiences and choices. This exploration of self-knowledge and self-definition is the central theme I hope to present in this project.