Why Would a Strong, Opinionated Woman Need a Man to Form her Identity?
"The paradox of phallocentrism in all its manifestations is that it depends on the image of the castrated women to give order and meaning to its world. An idea of woman stands as a linchpin to the system. It is her lack that produces the phallus as a symbolic presence, it is her desire to make good the lack that the phallus signifies," (Mulvy 34). The Girl and the Mororcycle should be a somewhat empowering female film, with Rebecca being a rebelious and opinionated woman for her time, but it is not. It is a movie that rests on phallocentrism where the male is considered the superior being and the female is seen as the inferior being. Rebecca leaves the security of her home and her husband to hit the road to meet up with her lover on the motorcycle he purchased for her. Even the source of freedom she is riding on was given and provided to her by a man. Rebecca rides around Europe with a tight, black unitard on which shows that the movie is centered around what the man wants to see. Phallocentrism, the make gaze, and voyerism are all a part of this movie. When Rebecca is in the hotel restaurant with her boyfriend and friends, Daniel is constantly staring at her, even though it is not socially accepted. This film is not liberating for women. Rebecca is looking for validation from men to form her identity. She is not seen as a unique and strong woman, she is seen as a weak and dominated woman. She is dominated by her lover and even when she thinks she is free, she is not. She is portrayed as a sex symbol with no identity of her own.