The Male Gaze

Laura Mulvey came up with the term "The Male Gaze" in 1975, the concept of the gaze is how an audience views the people presented. This can be thought of in 3 ways which are:

• How men look at women


• How women look at themselves


• How women look at other women.

Laura Mulvery also believes that film audiences have to see characters from a heterosexual males point of view.

The features of the "Male Gaze" are that the camera lingers on the curves of the female body. Also, events that happen to a female are viewed from the reaction of the male, this relegates women to the status of objects. The female viewer must experience the narrative secondarily, by indentification with the male.

We were shown the video to "She's so lovely" by Scouting For Girls and then asked to answer the following questions:

• What colour top did he and she wear?


• What number bowling lane was used?


• What colour belt did he and she wear?


• What colour shoes did he and she wear?


• What colout eyes did he and she have?

The females in the class were able to pay more attention because they has a different perspective on the characters than the males, thus proving the point of "the Male Gaze"

The use of the "Male Gaze" is also used in everyday life, some theorists also have noted the sexualizing of the female body even in situations where female sexiness has nothing to do with the product being advertised. For example:

• Lynx adverts


• Special K adverts.

These both show women attractively, the Lynx advert is the best example:

There are some criticisms of Mulvey and the "Gaze" theory. Some women enjoy being stared at thus why they take part in beauty pageants. The "gaze" can also be directed towards members of the same sex for several reasons not all of which are sexual, such as comparison of body image and clothing.

In the 1980's Marjorie Ferguson identified 4 types of facial expressions on the front cover of british women's magazines. These were:

• The Chocolate Box - Half/Full smile; Lips together/slightly parted; Teeth barely visible; full/three-quarters of the face to the camera.
• Invitational - Emphasis on the eyes; Mouth shut with hint of a smile; head to one side or looking back to the camera.
• Super-Smiler - Full face; wide open, toothy smile; Head thrusts forward or chin thrown back; Hair often wind blown.
• Romantic or Sexual - includes male/female "couples"; Dreamy; Heavy lidded eyes; overly sensual/sexual.

The chocolate box is blandly pleasing; uniformity of beauty and devoid of uniqueness.
Invitational is suggestive of mischief or mystery; hint of contact rather than sexual promise.
Super-smiler is aggressive with a "look at me" attitude.
Romantic/sexual is suggesting that the model is possibly or definitely available.


Using these, I feel that the picture I chose for the preliminary magazine task fits the description of the chocolate box because Shanghai has her lips together with a half smile, she also has 3/4 of her face towards the camera which is pleasing to the eye.


In the 1990's Trevor Millum came up with more facial expressions:

• Seductive - similar to cool/level; eyes less wide; expression is less reserved but still self-confident; milder.
• Carefree - Nymph like; Active; Healthy; Vibrant; Outdoor girl; Often smiling/grinning
• Practical - Concentrating; Engaged in business in hand; mouth closed; Eyes directed at object; sometimes a slight frown; hair often tied back or short in style
• Comic - Deliberately ridiculous; exaggerated; acting the fool; pulling faces
• Catalogue - A neutral look as if a dummy, artifical, wax like; features may be in any position - but most likely to be with eyes wide with a smile; looks remain vacant and empty with personality removed.