The Male Gaze in 2020

Question

Has "The Male Gaze," an expression coined by Laura Mulvey in her essay "Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema," become completely obsolete in today's media? Why or why not?

Answer 1

"The Male Gaze," as astutely elucidated by cultural critic Laura Mulvey in her seminal work, "Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema," continues to permeate contemporary media landscapes. Though the term has been broadened and nuanced to encompass a multiplicity of power structures and gaze configurations beyond a heterosexual male vantage, its essence remains intact: patriarchal ideologies shape the way media is both produced and consumed, often privileging a male perspective and reducing female characters to mere objects of sexualization and fetishization.

Despite some progress in recent years towards a more diverse representation of perspectives and a move towards gender-balanced storytelling, the systemic problem of unequal representation and imbalanced power dynamics in media production and consumption persist, making the concept of "The Male Gaze" all the more relevant and worthy of ongoing critical examination.

Consider the following:

1. The unabated objectification of women's bodies in music videos and advertisements. Despite advancements in some areas, the commodification of women's bodies continues to be a ubiquitous feature of these media, with women being depicted as passive objects of desire, their bodies sexualized and leered at through the lens of the male gaze.
2. The lamentable lack of women in creative and leadership positions within the media industry. Although there is a growing representation of women on screen, behind-the-scenes women continue to be underrepresented in key creative and leadership roles, perpetuating a male-centric status quo in media production.
3. The reductive portrayal of women in action and superhero films. Though the representation of women in these genres has increased, female characters are still frequently sexualized and objectified, with costumes and poses designed to cater to the male gaze. Moreover, these characters are often framed as love interests or secondary to male heroes rather than being given equal agency and complexity.
4. The hypersexualization of female characters in video games. The video game industry has faced criticism for its problematic representation of women, with female characters frequently sexualized and objectified to appeal to the male gaze. This is evident in the design of female characters with unrealistic proportions and clothing and in the way they are portrayed within game narratives.

So, in conclusion, the concept of "The Male Gaze" continues to hold great relevance in today's media culture, despite some progress in certain areas. The unequal representation of women and perpetuation of male-centric stories and perspectives remain a persistent and insidious problem within the media industry, warranting ongoing critical engagement and analysis.

I hope this helps!

Best,

Erik L.

Answer 2

That phrase is not completely obsolete, but we now discuss about a multitude of gazes, rather than one uniform "male gaze" and "female gaze."

Answer 3

The Male Gaze has certainly been subverted in many films and TV series since Mulvey published her essay in 1975, but I believe it would be short-sighted to say that the phrase has since become completely obsolete. For every movie and tv show that has strong, exciting, complex female characters, I would estimate there are still 50 movies and shows that still treat women as sex objects and have them do little more than stand around looking pretty. There is probably an entire book waiting to be written on how "Game of Thrones," for instance, both subverted *and* perpetuated the male gaze with its many, many storylines and character arcs. (There is certainly no shortage of think pieces on the internet where critics and viewers debate if GoT has empowered women or set them back several generations, or even both.) In short, I would say I don't believe the male gaze has disappeared, and it will probably continue to be around as long as people make movies, but I do think there is plenty of content today to at least create an equilibrium.