Laura Mulvey - The Male Gaze

 What is the Male Gaze Theory?

Mulvey argued that the most popular movies are filmed in a way to satisfy male scopophilia (Simmons, 2016). The theorist uses psychoanalytic theory as a "political weapon, demonstrating the way the unconscious of patriarchal society has structured film form" (Mulvey, 1975). Mulvey theorises that most mainstream cinema is run by a patriarchal society, heterosexual males produce the films for a heterosexual male audience. During the time in which the film industry was monopolised by male directors, writers and cinematographers Mulvey noticed that women in film and many other media products were often a subject of sexualisation and objectification. Mulvey states that "In a world ordered by sexual imbalance, pleasure in looking has been split between active/male and passive/female. The determining male gaze projects its fantasy onto the female figure who is style accordingly in their traditional exhibitionist role, women and simultaneously looked at and displayed, with their appearance coded for strong visual and erotic impact so that they can be said to connote to-be-looked-at-ness" (Mulvey, 1975). The males watching the production are active, they gain pleasure from being able to look at the females as in real life it would be deemed as creepy and disrespectful. Mulvey argues that film allows us to succumb to the id, we are able to stare at something without being judged for it, it is a pleasure of cinema, we are able to see things which in real life we would be judged for. The females watching the production are passive, they do not gain pleasure from watching the females however, they are able to suggest that the women in film are the ideal females creating a standard of beauty which they try live up to.

The male gaze looks at women in three different inner connected ways, the first is the way in which the camera looks, the use of slow panning across the body and close-ups of erotic parts of the body sexualises women, the second is the audience that watches the women on screen, they derive pleasure from being able to look, the third is how the characters look at each other within the production, the male characters mimic the act of looking done by the audience to create a shared scopophilic pleasure (Mahaffrey, 2020). 

Is the Theory Still True 50 Years Later?

To an extent there still remains some truth to this theory even almost 50 years later. Although there are many more women in content and film production, the male gaze is still engrained in cinema culture, the idea of sexuality is so normalised by society that when it is on screen we don't notice the oppression or we choose to ignore it. Although there are many strong female roles in movies nowadays it still remains that females are a lot more sexualised than males, for example Captain Marvel is a strong female character however, she still must wear make-up to meet the ideal standards for a woman in film, her hair is flawless in every shot, she also has very little on screen time compared to her male counterparts. Wonder woman is another strong female hero which makes it sad to see she is wearing very little clothing, her makeup is flawless no matter whether she is hurt or not, her hair is unaffected by combat. This shows how directors hold more worth on women in film looking pretty and perfect rather than actually being an inspiration to little girls. Unfortunately the male gaze still lingers in our society however, we can see change; the female gaze is something theorised lately, it doesn't focus on sexualising the male figure, instead it focuses on the perspective of women. A good example is in the film "Birds of Prey", in this film we see Harley Quinn as her own person, she isn't sexualised like she is in "Suicide Squad", she isn't just the Jokers girl, she is in fact her won person that is strong enough to fight her own battles. We see everything from her perspective rather than from the perspective of a heterosexual male. We understand her emotions and thoughts rather than just objectifying her. The film was directed by a female, therefore we are able to see things from a less objectifying eye. Overall, I believe change is on its way however, we still have a long road ahead until the male gaze is abolished. The male gaze holds a lot of power in film and can sometimes go unnoticed however, in modern day, everyone is able to critique anything online, more people have a voice than ever before which they can use to inspire change, this is why I believe the male gaze is slowly becoming less prominent in cinematic culture.

Definition of Psychoanalytical Terms

Scopophilia - Sexual pleasure derived from watching others when engaged in sexual activity.

Voyeurism - Gaining sexual pleasure watching others when they are naked or involved in sexual activity.

Patriarchy - A system of society or government in which men hold the power and women are largely excluded from it.

References 

Simmons, A., 2016. What does the 'male gaze' mean, and what about female gaze? (Online)
Available at : https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-does-the-male-gaze-mean-and-what-about-a-female-gaze-52486#:~:text=Mulvey%20argued%20that%20most%20popular,women%20for%20a%20male%20viewer.

Sampson, R. 2015. Laura Mulvey: The Male Gaze Theory (Online)

Available at : https://www.filminquiry.com/film-theory-basics-laura-mulvey-male-gaze-theory/

Mulvey, L., 1975. Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema, Screen, Volume 16, Issue 3, Pages 6-18. (Book)

Mahaffey, J., 2020. The Gaze: How Men and Women Look (Online)

Available at : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_prL3FeYy34