The female gaze is a feminist film theoretical term representing the gaze of the female viewer . It is a response to feminist film theorist Laura Mulvey’s term “the male gaze”, which represents not only the gaze of a heterosexual male viewer but also the gaze of the male character and the male creator of the film.
What is the female gaze in art?
The “female gaze” is a term used in recent years to describe art that subverts the ubiquitous male perspective . Like many buzzwords, it is often misapplied – but not so in the case of Portrait of a Lady on Fire, which is unmistakably made from a female vantage point and with a feminist sensibility.
What is the difference between male and female gaze?
The action of the male gaze reduces a woman to her body , stripping her of other attributes like how skilled, talented, or funny she is. ... The female gaze is from a woman’s point of view; in movies and other media the audience is required to observe from the perspective of a woman.
What is the gaze theory?
In Lacanian psychoanalytic theory, the gaze is the anxious state of mind that comes with the self-awareness that one can be seen and looked at . The psychological effect upon the person subjected to the gaze is a loss of autonomy upon becoming aware that they are a visible object.
Who invented the term female gaze?
1. A term coined by feminists in response to the claims made by Mulvey that the conventions established in classical Hollywood films required all spectators, regardless of their sex, to identify with the male protagonist and to adopt the controlling male gaze around which such films were held to be structured.
What is female gaze example?
Movies such as Rebecca and Stella Dallas are examples of such films in which the traditional narrative is told through the female protagonist. This genre of film has evolved into modern day “chick flicks” such as 27 Dresses and The Devil Wears Prada.
What does Scopophilia mean?
SCOPOPHILIA: Literally, the love of looking . The term refers to the predominantly male gaze of Holloywood cinema, which enjoys objectfying women into mere objects to be looked at (rather than subjects with their own voice and subjectivity).
What is the male gaze Laura Mulvey?
The “male gaze” invokes the sexual politics of the gaze and suggests a sexualised way of looking that empowers men and objectifies women. In the male gaze, woman is visually positioned as an “object” of heterosexual male desire. ... As Mulvey wrote, women are characterised by their “to-be-looked-at-ness” in cinema.
What is the artist gaze?
In many cases, the gaze is what pulls in and grips the viewer . The subject’s eyes are what makes the viewer feel something. ... The way that the artist chooses to capture the gaze can dramatically change how a viewer perceives the work and the person depicted in the portrait.
What does hybrid mean in art?
Judging by the examples of hybrid art forms given by Levinson, one can say that hybrid art forms are basically two or more different art forms coming together to make a new art form.
What does the male gaze do?
Essentially, the male gaze sees the female body as something for the heterosexual male (or patriarchal society as a whole) to watch, conquer, and possess and use to further their goals .
What is the male gaze in art?
In 1975, film critic Laura Mulvey coined the term ‘the male gaze’. It refers to the presentation of women in visual arts and literature from a male, heterosexual perspective where women are depicted as sexual objects for the pleasure of the male viewer . Men have agency; women are passive and dehumanised.
What is feminist theory?
Feminist theory is the extension of feminism into theoretical, fictional, or philosophical discourse . It aims to understand the nature of gender inequality. ... Feminist theory often focuses on analyzing gender inequality.
What is the gaze Lacan?
Gaze in Lacan’s later work refers to the uncanny sense that the object of our eye’s look or glance is somehow looking back at us of its own will . ... As Lacan puts it, the magical floating object “reflects our own nothingness, in the figure of the death’s head” (Lacan, Four Fundamental 92).
How do you use gaze?
gaze, stare, and glare mean to look at with concentration. gaze is used of a long and fixed look . They stood gazing at the sunset. stare is used of an often curious, rude, or absentminded gaze with eyes wide open.
Why is the gaze important?
The data show that gaze can act as an arousal cue and can modulate actions , and can activate brain regions linked to theory of mind and self-related processing.
