In the latest display of the postmodern folly, we find ourselves talking about an article on a major news outlet lamenting the return of the so-called “male gaze.” Like a tedious rerun no one asked for, here comes another feminist narrative declaring war on basic human biology and society’s very foundation: men and women, you know, finding each other attractive. This “shocking” revelation comes from Madeline Holcombe on CNN, who seems to think that the natural attraction between the sexes, which has operated unhindered since the dawn of time, is some kind of retrograde conspiratorial comeback.
Holcombe’s piece seems torn straight from the digital pages of an AI-generated “feminism 101” script. It recounts her cultural upbringing in the ’90s and the supposed plot twist she faced upon realizing that—brace yourself—heterosexuality is still a thing. It’s curious how someone so ostensibly astute needed television and film to reveal such groundbreaking truths as women can be doctors. One wonders how humanity managed to make any progress at all before such media enlightenment.
The article shifts its lament towards a new societal trend: the revival of supposedly outdated notions of womanhood. Holcombe attributes this regressive cultural step to various socio-political triggers, but misses the more glaring example of reality asserting itself. No amount of media spin can overturn biological and societal truths, but that doesn’t seem to stop the usual suspects from trying. Here we are again, trying to shame the “male gaze,” as if it were an unnatural aberration rather than a plain fact of human interaction.
Holcombe, and others like her, writhe at the notion of men and women being drawn to each other. It’s easier, apparently, to blame men for exercising natural preferences than to have an honest discussion about personal agency. When a woman chooses to participate in activities that call attention to this gaze, it’s somehow the fault of men, never mind the choices made by the women involved. Despite protesting against objectification, these narratives ironically strip women of agency, treating them as helpless against the tide of male attention.
Perhaps most amusing is the implication that a grand collective agreement was reached to reject these concepts. Really—did anyone receive that memo? The world is more diverse in opinion than the echo chambers seem to realize. The truth is, the ideological veneer may crack, but reality does not. The so-called return of traditional values is less a resurgence than the stubborn persistence of normalcy. The attempt to cancel these ideas is nothing but an exercise in futility, as tenacious as denying gravity. It’s past time to retire the tired narratives and acknowledge the simple truths woven into the very fabric of human existence.
