Staff Writer: Julia Xia
Throughout media in movies, TV shows, music, and more, there are certain scenes that are specifically made to cater to either a male or female audience. Whether it’s the outfits that specific actors are put in, or the dialogue that’s been written to appeal more to each respective gender. But what exactly is the male and female gaze and why is it important to acknowledge them?
Before we discuss why the male gaze can be harmful, not only to the opposite sex but to men themselves, we have to understand what exactly the male gaze is. To put it bluntly, the term defines how men sexualize and objectify women. The phrase ‘male gaze’ originally came from filmmaker and academic Laura Mulvey in the 1970’s. In her essay, she discusses how women in the media continue to be used as props; their only characteristics being their love for the male lead and their looks. The portrayal was directed to the male audience, therefore the term ‘male gaze’ was created.
Now that we know about the male gaze, how can it be harmful? Since the term objectifies women, it leads to them feeling self-conscious, knowing that everywhere they go and whatever they do is constantly sexualized by the opposite gender. Now, the male gaze isn’t just objectifying them through media, it’s also in real life, whether it’s walking down the street and getting cat-called and being told to “smile more” or having a “nice body” remark thrown at you. But, since it’s been around for years it’s been normalized in society, young girls are taught to be more ladylike, by wearing traditionally femine clothes, to act more mature, etc.
Throughout entertainment, history movies, books, and plays have mainly been catered to the male audience and written by men. Because of this, we rarely see movies that are made for women. The female gaze is a relatively new concept and is still being explored, but it’s essentially how women see women in their own eyes. Much like the male gaze, except instead of being seen for their looks, women are now looked up for their personalities, the interactions they have, and more. Created by feminists in response to the male gaze, the concept of the female gaze introduces more diverse views in entertainment.
Ultimately, the reason why the female gaze is important is because it depicts women in a better light. Instead of them falling into one-dimensional roles such as the ‘girly girl’ or ‘tomboy’, the female gaze provides women with real personalities and character development. Since we are heavily influenced by our consumption of what we watch or read, it’s a progressive start to have shows with female leads that are just as important as their male counterparts, because then people learn to see both genders equally.
At the end of the day we shouldn’t use social media and other forms of entertainment to shape the way we see people. It’s not as if every man will see things through the male gaze and every woman will see things through the female gaze. We all see things through our own perspective and don’t fall into one category but it’s definitely important to address both gazes and the way they impact people.
