WHAT IS MALE GAZE?
In a nutshell, the Male Gaze theory states that women in the media are viewed through the eyes of a heterosexual man, and that these women are portrayed as passive objects of male desire. Audiences are forced to see women through the eyes of a heterosexual male, regardless of whether they are heterosexual women or homosexual men.
Examples of male gaze in film industry:
- When considering this theory, Michael Bay’s Transformers franchise stands out. All of the women Bay casts in this franchise are sexualized in some way, and it has no relevance to the plot, or, as Mulvey would put it, it is done solely to please the heterosexual male, resulting in a film with touches of irrelevant objectification and misogyny.Megan Fox plays Sam Witwicky’s (Shia LaBeouf) love interest, and who can forget the memorable scene in which Fox is dressed in a tight, low-cut top and bends over a car engine? This degrading scene is followed by a number of other camera angles and shots that are clearly only included in the film for sexual gratification aimed at heterosexual men.
2.Also movies like Frozen (2013) and Suffragette (2015) do Mulvey justice in highlighting women’s independence and empowerment, breaking away from the Male Gaze, decades later we still see the same broken record playing, with films like The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) and Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) revealing women in extremely sexual and somewhat unnecessary manners.
In music industry:
Billie Eilish discusses attraction and the differences in sexualization for men and women in a new interview.
In a new interview with Variety, Billie Eilish discussed the intense scrutiny women face regarding their bodies, sexuality, and experiences as women.
The musician spoke openly about her preference for baggy clothing and her desire to avoid sexualization while maintaining some level of protection and control over her body. “I wasn’t trying to persuade people not to sexualize me. But I didn’t want people to be able to see my body in any way. I wasn’t strong or self-assured enough to show it. I would have been devastated if anyone had said anything if I had shown it at the time.
ittle revealing, and everyone is like, “Oh, but you didn’t want people to sexualize you?” F**k you! I am literally a being who is sexual at times.
Eilish continues, addressing the obvious double standard at work, saying, “No one ever says anything about men’s bodies.” It’s fine if you’re muscular. If you aren’t, that’s fine. It’s fine if you’re as thin as a wire. It’s great if you’re chubby! Everyone is content. For what purpose? Because girls are pleasant. They don’t mind because we see people for who they are!
REFERENCES:
- The Male Gaze: How women are viewed by men and why that’s a problem https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comic-the-mental-load-emma-french-blogger-sexism-the-male-gaze-a8599411.html
2. UNMASKING THE GAZE: SOME THOUGHTS ON NEW
FEMINIST FILM THEORY AND HISTORY- https://ddd.uab.cat/pub/lectora/20139470n7/20139470n7p5.pdf
3. Algorithms of oppr Algorithms of oppression: Safiy ession: Safiya Umoja Noble a Umoja Noble’s power s powerful
exploration of search engines’ underlying hegemony and their
racist, sexist practices.https://digitalcommons.du.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1031&context=theliminal#:~:text=Algorithms%20of%20Oppression%20is%20an,of%20our%20times%E2%80%9D%20(p.
4. Breaking free from the male gaze https://www.westminster.ac.uk/about-us/our-university/outreach-for-schools-and-colleges/extended-project-qualification-epq-support/breaking-free-from-the-male-gaze
5.The Gaze As Theoretical Touchstone: The Intersection of Film Studies, Feminist Theory, and Postcolonial Theory –https://www.jstor.org/stable/40004635
I’ve seen examples of male gels in various industries in your blog. I agree with you . I would also like to express my own opinion that male gaze not only affects each industry differently. On top of TikTok, which is now popular in social media, some male users even use gift rewards to make female users behave accordingly. This sounds really crazy! Male condensation against women is a prejudiced and invisible violence …..
I agree with what you mentioned that women in the media are viewed through the eyes of heterosexual men. In my opinion, if someone evaluates themselves with a male gaze, they will evaluate them with a female gaze. If someone dares to objectify themselves, they dare to objectify themselves. Those who show no concern for male gaze and criticism towards women are mostly men from poor backgrounds and unattractive appearances, whose shortcomings are more than the loopholes on the spoon. Before, I didn’t say that I wanted to show my cultivation, but if the other person doesn’t respect me, he doesn’t deserve my respect.