Male and Female Gaze

Laura Mulvey -  Male and Female Gaze

Male Gaze:

The male gaze is the way in which women are depicted from a masculine viewpoint, this means presenting women as objects of male pleasure.

The mlae gaze is shown throughthe use of costumes, make-up and the camerawork, the camera will often linger on parts of the body.

The male gaze is often used to represent gender in a particular way.

Blurred Lines:

• Hugely controversial when it was released.
• The first shot in the music video is of the artist next to a woman with his name on the screen. This makes him seem to be an imposing figure and makes the artist seem more important.
• Throughout the video the male artists looking at the women as an item of male pleasure.

The male artist are shown as masculine and dominat, meanwhile the women are shown as objects whose only purpose is to be gazed upon.

However there are music videos that challenge the udea of male gaze, while there are also female artists who sexualise themselves as well.

Female Gaze:

The female gaze is seen from the female perspective and often reflects female attitudes. This is either because the creator of the media product is female, or because it is being aimed at a predominantly female audience.
The female gaze works in similar ways to the male gaze and an example of this is 'Call Me Maybe'