Male Gaze Theory

The Male Gaze theory is a feminist theory that was first developed by Laura Mulvey in 1975. This theory occurs when the audience/viewer sees things through the eyes of a heterosexual male – it’s developed to highlight the power imbalance between men and women analysing the way men see women.

The theory is suggested that the audience are forced to view the text from the perspective a heterosexual male – films constantly focus on women’s curves and events that happen to them.

Laura Mulvey stated that the dominant male gaze in mainstream Hollywood films reflects and satisfies the male mind. For example, most filmmakers are male so male characters in the films narrative make women the objective of their gaze (The gaze reflects the male gazes of the camera and the male actors)

In addition, she argues that sexism can also occur in the way the text is presented. People are encouraged to gaze at women in advertising that sexualizes a women’s body even when the women’s body in unrelated to the advertised product.

Mulvey suggests that the audience view the films in two ways voyeuristically and fetishistically. As an audience, you watch films without being watched by the characters they become onlookers on their lives. Therefore, they become voyeurs of the people on the screen.

This is something that we would not use in our music promo as it doesn't fit around the genre of our chosen song.