The Male Gaze Theory

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Published in 1989, 'Visual and Other Pleasures' was a collection of essays on the theory that reflects on feminist film theory written by Laura Mulvey. The 'Male Gaze' theory is a term that was coined by Mulvey in the late 60's/ early 70's which is the way film is used to out the audience into the perspective of hetrosexual males. The concept rebels against the the 50's 'housewife' ideal in which a woman was to be attractive and sexualised by her man.

The theory consists of how women and men are portrayed in media and the repercussions it has on our society. Typically women in film and music videos are portrayed as:

• Passive
• Weak/ vunerable
• Submissive
• The 'damsil in distress' role
• Plan characters that have no role
• An object to further the plot of the male protagonist
• Hot/beautiful

Whereas men typically are portrayed as:

• Strong
• Charismatic
• Leader
• Intelligent
• Handsome - not as a 'pretty' figure, but as a ruggedly handsome character.

However if women are portrayed as strong it often falls under these stereotypes:

• Butch
• Demanding/ Bossy
• Sluttish/ Promiscuous
• Their fighting is fetishized
• Manipulative

In doing this there is an unrealistic portrayal of women that can impact the way we seem women in everyday life. Everything from the way they appear or how they are treated can affect can cause a negative affect on women viewers who believe that is the way they should be. In a video by the Representation project it shows the way women have been portrayed in media and the effect is has.

Mulvey also discuss the roles women have in media stating that there are only two roles in narrative they hold. They are:

1. An erotic object to the male characters 
2. An erotic object to the male audience 

This refers back to the 'visual pleasure' mentioned in Mulvey's essay. This is similar to Scopophilla which literally means 'the love of watching'. Women often are portrayed as objects of pleasure. The way they are filmed emphasise. Things such as the curves of a women are accentuated using certain camera angles, deliberate cuts and slo motion to recreate the way 'the male gaze'.

In a post by the New York Academy, gender inequality in film is a highlighted issue. It presents statistics showing the role of women in films and in the film industry. Though it may be for film, the idea also expands to music videos.

(Images from nyfa.edu)

The full infographic can be found here.

There are a lot of examples of the 'male gaze' in music videos. To demonstrate the 'male gaze' effect I chose 'Blurred Lines' by Robin Thicke as an example due to its highly critiqued music video and negative response.

The 'male gaze' features throughout the entirety of the video with shots and compositions that emphasise it. For example at the right beginning there is a shot with Robin Thicke with his arm pressed across another woman.



This is image conveys Robin Thicke as dominant and confident whereas the woman because she is underneath him it suggests that she is passive.

The 'male gaze' is often shown by Robin Thicke who is shown looking in appropriately looking at the female cast.

The video also feature the women being sexualised through the use of camera work. There are many examples of this in the video however it is shown mostly through close ups and the deliberate cuts-aways.

Criticism of the Male Gaze:

There are also criticisms to the 'Male Gaze' theory that state that:

• Some women enjoy being looked at it this way.
• Some women like to dress in the way that they are portrayed in music videos and have freedom to wear whatever they wish.
• The 'Male Gaze' also works for the other gender
• The gaze is not always sexualised