By Enea Luciano

2. Laura Mulvey (born 15 August 1941) is a British feminist film theorist. She
was educated at St Hilda's College, Oxford. She is currently professor of
film and media studies at Birkbeck, University of London.
The concept was first developed by feminist film
critic Laura Mulvey in her 1975 essay entitled
"Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema”. Mulvey
posits that the gender power asymmetry is a
controlling force in cinema and constructed for the
pleasure of the male viewer, which is deeply
rooted in patriarchal ideologies and discourses.

3. The woman is usually
displayed on two different
levels: as an erotic object
for both the characters
within the film and for the
spectator who is watching
the film.
The theory suggests woman
can more often than not only
watch a film from a secondary
perspective and only view
themselves from a mans
perspective
Often a female character has
no real importance herself, it
is how she makes the male
feel or act that is the
importance
The male gaze occurs when
the camera puts the audience
into the perspective of a
heterosexual man. It may
linger over the curves of a
woman's body, for instance. It
will only be the male gaze if a
slow motion effect is used,
deliberate camera movements
and cut-aways.
Mulvey argues that, in
mainstream cinema, the
male gaze typically takes
precedence over the female
gaze, reflecting an
underlying power
asymmetry.
The man emerges as the
dominant power within
the created film fantasy.
The woman is passive to
the active gaze from the
man. This adds an
element of "patriarchal"
order, and it is often seen
in "illusionistic narrative
film”.
The male gaze therefore
removes the female from her
identity, diminishing them to
be an object to be praised
for by the appearance not
personality.

4. For feminists it can be
thought of in 3 ways:
How men look at women…
How women look at themselves…
How women look at other women…

5. How Men look at
Women
Men focus on the sexual features of a
women and see her as an object. Men
focus on the curves and other parts
of their bodies and do not always
value them as a valid role. They see
women as sexual objects. Women are
seen to be irrelevant to the story
line and are only there to please the
male audience visually.

6. How Women look at
themselves
Women are made to feel negative about themselves
when viewing other women, they pick faults with
their own appearances and gives them low self
esteem. Women look at themselves as a comparison
and feel inferior to the women in media products.
They do not take in to consideration post
production and compare themselves to an unrealistic
role model. Many younger girls copy these
unrealistic images and try to portray themselves as
that also.

7. How Women look at
other Women
Women look at other women to shape their
own identities. They take elements of
what they like from women they see to
try and construct an identity they deem
fit and desirable for society. Women
look at other women and compare
themselves to them to create an ideal
version of themselves. This usually
happens on social media, magazines,
films, music videos etc.

9. Examples of the male gaze in
music videos/lyrics“I love the way she
fills her clothes.
She looks just like
them girls in vogue.”
“You wanna hug me
Hey, hey, hey
What rhymes with hug
me?”
“You the hottest
bitch in this
place”
Pussycat dolls- When I grow up
(man is staring at them)

10. Criticisms of Mulvey and the
Gaze theory is that some
women enjoy being ‘looked’ at
and they want to be seen as
sexual objects, they feel
liberated and dominant. The
gaze can also be directed
toward members of the same
gender for several reasons, not
all of which are sexual but
audiences may view these
women as liberating and as
role models.

11. • Women want to be desired and seen as sexual.
• Not all men view women as objects.
• It does not take in to consideration the view of a gay men or
women only heterosexual men limiting the argument.
• The theory is dated as women use their sexuality to gain
power
• Media texts contradict the theory as women use their bodies
to be noticed and purposely consumed e.g. Rihanna - Pour It
Up or Katy Perry- California Gurls