The Male Gaze Theory

The concept of the male gaze theory is one that adheres to how an audience views characters or actors presented in the form of media being viewed.

For Women and Feminists the theory of male gaze can be viewed in three different ways :

1. How men look at women
2. How women look at themselves
3. How women look at other women

The main features of the theory (1975)

1.The representation of women as sexual fantasies and from a heterosexual point of view.
2.Scopophilia- The pleasure involved in looking at other peoples bodies
3.Patriarchal society
4.Objectification of female characters
5.Active male and passive female.
6.Mencontrolling subjects
7.Women as an image
8.Men do the looking and the women are there to be looked at
9.Needs of the male ego

Laura Mulvey created the term male gaze in 1975. She believed that film audiences have to view characters from the perspective of a heterosexual male.

The camera lingers on the curves of the female body and events which occur to women are presented largely in the context of a mans reaction to these events.