Francesca, 11/6

In discussing Michel Foucault’s concept of “the gaze”, the applicability of this idea called another essay to mind. Nancy Henley’s work, The Sexual Politics of Interpersonal Behavior, asserted that nonverbal communication was an effective means of establishing dominance. By studying the duration of eye contact, indications of submission or dominance can be inferred. For instance, glancing in the direction of one you seek the approval may insinuate validation of one’s own behavior. Yet, when a glance becomes a stare this can signify aggression and the assertion of dominance. In addition, the aversion from another’s gaze also indicates subordination to a dominant counterpart. By means of this aversion, we recognize a struggle for control in peer interaction. Although Henley relates this struggle primarily to a male and female dynamic, its applicability corroborates Foucault’s concept. As the gaze functions within the panopticon, an unverifiable yet omnipresent power, the feeling of surveillance maintains a dominant and submissive dynamic. In other words, when one feels as though they are being constantly watched, their actions will submit to the repressive viewer. Moreover, it is evident that women often fall subjugate within a panopticon due to the male gaze. Women will make eye contact with men in order to appropriate their own behavior yet avert their gaze when the duration of such contact evolves into a stare. These actions demonstrate the obvious surveillance women feel they are under within the context of peer interaction. Thus, men claim dominance in such interactions by holding a greater ratio of looking while speaking to looking while listening, as women hold the converse. This is known as visual dominance. Within this panopticon, visual dominance signifies who is under surveillance and thus subordinated. In conclusion, Henley’s essay conveys Foucault’s idea effectively in the context of gender relations.