Today's Special: Nacho Baby

As Spring approaches and the weather gets warmer, it’s open season for catcalls, whistles, and reminders that our bodies are for public consumption—which is symptomatic of the male gaze. The concept of the male gaze is supported by almost every constructed image of a woman that I’ve seen since childhood. Advertising, video games, TV, movies, every shot of a woman Michael Bay has ever composed: it often views women as nothing but eye candy. The objectification of women has had pervasive psychological costs for everyone: girls internalize this and learn our appearance is social currency; boys get messages that emotional intimacy with women, or even appreciation of women as human beings rather than sex objects, can be subject to mockery; and we ALL become desensitized to it. A good way to fight against stereotyping and prejudice through the male gaze is to spot it and make a mental picture for yourself about what role women have in society.