Catherine Lutz and Jane Collins, in their essay The Photograph as an Intersection of Gazes: The Example of National Geographic explore the dangers involved at these intersections through the photography of National Geographic.  The gaze most relevant to this discussion is that of the "institutional, magazines gaze (evident in cropping, picture choice, captioning, etc)".  It is at this intersection where the magazine or scientific journal  presents evidence of the other in its portrait photographs that is statistically incorrect according to its own catalog.  Lutz and Collins reviewed 400 plus National Geographic  portrait photos of the" other "for their essay. They found that in 24% of these photos the subject of the gaze is smiling, yet during the course of its 100 year history, portrait cover photos of the" other" have presented the other as smiling in 38% of these photos.  This is an indication of fuzzy math but makes the" other" appealing to the editors gaze.

  The Kayapo of Brazil have taken a different  view of the western gaze and have used it to gain political and economic power within the Brazilan goverment.  Beth Conklin, in her research work: body paint, feather, and vcrs: aesthetics and authenticity in Amazonian activism observed how the Kayapo have utilized the western gaze to their advantage. The Kayapo after numerous encounters with westerns saw the discomforting gaze placed upon them because of their native dress and body paint.  In order to deflect this gaze they adopted western styles of dress for public consumption. When the government engaged in efforts to take native lands, the Kayapo began protesting in their native dress. This became the tool the Kayapo used to gain political and economic power, it also gave them control of the gaze.