The Male Gaze

Laura Mulvey

What is the ‘Male Gaze’?

The Male gaze is a term discussed by Laura Mulvey in her essay, "Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema" (1975). It is used to describe when the audience is put into the perspective of a (heterosexual) man. Female characters are sexualized, and the camera may zero in on female body parts considered sexual.

Mulvey incorporates the Freudian idea of phallocentrism into "Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema". Using Freud's thoughts, Mulvey insists on the idea that the images, characters, plots and stories, and dialogues in films are inadvertently built on the ideals of patriarchies, both within and beyond sexual contexts. She also incorporates the works of thinkers like Jacques Lacan and meditates on the works of directors Josef von Sternberg and Alfred Hitchcock.

Traditionally

• Men play active roles which drive the narrative.

• Women play passive roles and are seen as erotic objects, which slow the narrative.

• Men outnumber women.

• Female roles are sideline.

• Lead roles for women scarce.

Stereotypes used in media to represent women:

• Bimbo

• Female’s physical attraction, such as figure.

• Easy

• Housewife

• Mother

• Intelligent yet willing to settle down.

• Two distinct modes of the male gaze of this era: voyeuristic (an obsessive observer of sordid or sensational subjects) & fetishistic (excessive attention or attraction to something)

• Films presented images of women that were produced simply for the grafitation of male viewers.

• Various studies in the 1970’s found men to be the dominant characters and decision makers in film and TV production.

HOWEVER!

• CHANGES IN SOCIETY CHANGES IN WOMEN’S ROLES CHANGES IN MEDIA REPRESENTATION.

• WHY? :

To show the audience a change. The audience would like to relate to the media content and if the women in real life are changing so should the women portrayed through media.

Some things never change…Or take a while

Women are still represented in today's media as:

• A female may get a masculine role but is usually presented in fitted clothes for the male audience to seek pleasure from.

• Barely will you see female action stars that are not attractive.

What is ‘Misogyny’:

Hatred of women.

The contempt or hatred of women and girls.

References:

• Wikipedia

• www.aber.ac.uk

• www.kracauer-lectures.de/en/sommer-2014/laura-mulvey/

RESEARCH BY: MISHA IRFAN(AS-F) AND NAOMI HAVELIWALA(AS-F)