Laura Mulvey Theory of male

gaze

Visual pleasure and narrative cinema

Laura Mulvey – Male Gaze Theory

What is male gaze?

• A gaze is the way that people and audiences are seen.

For a feminist there are three ways:

• How men see women

• How women see themselves

• How other women see each other

Laura Mulvey – Male Gaze Theory

Laura Mulvey – Male Gaze Theory

Mulvey first used the term ‘male gaze’ in 1975. She believes that in film and cinema the audience are to see a character from the prospective of a male heterosexual.

Features of male gaze

A common feature of male gaze is having the camera linger around a woman’s curves thus making the events which occur present in a way for the male reaction.

However, male gaze is not always a positive way to look at women. It can portray a female as an object and only allow them to see what’s really meant if seen through a male identity.

Laura Mulvey – Male Gaze Theory

Male Gaze in MusicThe song ‘She’s so lovely’ by Scouting for Girls shows male gaze in the lyrics and the video.

‘I love the way she fills her clothes. She looks just the girls in vogue.’ This is a perspective of how men see women and also a hint at the expectation.

Several times throughout the video the camera focuses on the females torso and legs, again aspects of male gaze.