In Western Literature, the male gaze has become a staple in speaker perspective through poetry in which women have been objectified by the poet for the benefit of art. Since men have been the primary gatekeepers for who gets published and whose story gets told, only one side of the gaze is provided. However, this is changing within the context of women poets from America in the 21st century. By being given the agency to share their stories and their perspectives, they are proving that women do not need to be objectified for art, in fact the art is now becoming one with the speaker. There has been much debate and scholarship on the effect of the male gaze since Laura Mulvey coined the term the male gaze; and some critics believe that the concept of the male gaze is so concrete that it’s impossible to actively and accurately resist the male gaze. Taking that into consideration, Zoe will take multiple female poets and use their poetry in case examples of how resistance is occurring in each. Using foundational theory and historical context of the development of the male gaze in the written world she will prove how the handful of poems successfully subvert the male gaze. Zoe will then consider the patterns of resistance and subversion by the female poets and look towards the future, contemplating an era in Western Literature where the male gaze will become completely obsolete.
