The
male gaze is the way in which
the visual arts and literature depict the world and women from a masculine
point of view, presenting women as objects of male pleasure. The phrase male
gaze was coined by feminist film critic Laura Mulvey in 1975.
- How men look at women
- How men look at themselves
- How men look at other women
Laura Mulvey is a British feminist film theorist. She studied at St Hilda's College, Oxford, And is currently professor of film and media studies at Birkbeck, University of London. For many years previous
she worked at the British Film Institute before taking up her
current position.
The concept of
‘Gaze’ is the way in which an audience views the way the people are presented.
It can be in three ways;
The features of the
Male Gaze, the way the camera lingers on the curves of the woman’s body, and
events which occur to women are presented largely in the context of the male’s
reaction to these events. This means that the woman has to experience the
narrative secondarily, by indication of the male.
Often a female
character has no real importance, but it’s the way in which she makes the male
character feel or act which is the important part. This means that the female’s
part only exists in relation to the male.
Mulvey states that
female characters only have two purposes when in a narrative;
- As an erotic object for the character within the narrative view
- An erotic object for the spectators within the cinema to view
The male gaze
theory is about gender, the male stereotypes are;
Traditional
masculine male man – who will often be shown as being muscly, strong, brave,
heterosexual, working in manual jobs such as building, plumbing, national
services, etc. they are usually tall, dominate over woman, and aggressive. Dwayne Johnson in the film San Andres is a good
example of a ‘masculine male’ character. He has a big build and is a ‘hero’. He
helps his family and the people around him in life threatening situations.
New man –
often shown as being less masculine but still heterosexual, a very peaceful
person who will look after the family, does some cooking and cleaning,
etc.
Gay man –
often shown as being very feminine, weak, working in jobs such as fashion or
hairdressing, etc.
Woman also has
stereotypes, those being;
· The
traditional feminine woman – often shown as a girly girl, likes pink, wears
dresses, does feminine jobs such as working in fashion, hairdressing, or stays
at hoke with the children, needs a man to cope. This character is weak and
often needs rescuing.
· Sexy woman –
very flirty character who is often in revelling clothing. This character is
more powerful than traditional woman, she will use men to get what she wants,
usually doesn’t have loyalty to other women.
· Lesbian
woman – often shown as dressing masculine clothing, doing masculine roles. Not all characters
will fit into these stereotypes and there may be character which are mixtures.
