Interview with Qian Tao, Professor of Psychology, Jinan University

I contacted Dr. Qian Tao, a psychologist from the Department of Mental Health at Jinan University, as my expert. I wanted to learn more about the impact of the male gaze on the objectification of women in various aspects of psychology, individuality, etc. I prepared the following four questions for the interview.

  1. Social media is flooded with visual products of the male gaze, do you think this is usurping women’s cognitive resources?
  2. Do you think there is an impact on women such as in shaping their individuality? For example, now that the popularity of electronics has led to an increasingly younger age group using social media, does the invisible male gaze in social media affect them in terms of their own individuality, talents and abilities?
  3. How do you think can help women improve their image to reduce their self-objectification?
  4. Do you think there are any effective ways to reduce the impact of the male gaze on women?
Evidence of Expert Interview

I have recorded and translated Professor Qian Tao’s interview responses in the following.

A1: Yes, there is no doubt about it. But I think the greatest appropriation of women’s cognitive resources comes from the reality. When women get to higher education, the influence of the male gaze I think diminishes as well.

A2: I think there are influences, especially on children who are most susceptible. I don’t support children using electronics too early, there is too much cluttered information online and it has a very strong impact on the quality of the children’s individuality. Secondly, I think the most vulnerable group is young women who have just graduated from high school and are entering university.

A3: I think the most important point is to give women the freedom to be themselves. Admittedly, I am sometimes influenced by other people’s vision to choose external images that suit me but are not my cup of tea. In the larger social system, the right to be yourself is difficult and it is hard for you not to be influenced by what other people see. This influence also happens to men. But in comparison, the sexualisation of women leads to the self-objectification, whereas men are not so affected in this respect.

A4: Education. Periodic educational activities or talks on the subject, especially for women at school. In my opinion, this is the most effective way to reduce the impact of male gaze.

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