Male Gaze In Media

Katniss Everdeen of The Hunger Games may not be perfect, but one thing she succeeds in doing is breaking many gender stereotypes. Women in media, such as movies, are hyperseaxualized and are not a real representation of real women. Whether it be women still having traditional roles or them having unrealistic body types, women are not properly represented in the media. In four diverse studies on gender and children’s entertainment done by Dr. Stacy L. Smith and Crystal Allene Cook they prove the need for more males in movie and television entertainment aimed at children.

The word Gaze can be defined as:” to look steadily and intently, as with great curiosity, interest, pleasure, or wonder.” When using this definition in a theatrical sense it is imperative to determine who is the one gazing and who is being gazed at. In the instance of David Bowie and Enter Achilles the gaze and subsequent objectification varies due to the performers wished effect. For instance they each use techniques to garner their desired gaze from the audience through the use of clothing and semiotics. Both examples have interesting undertones of sexuality in relation to their objectification from the audience members. Stereotypically, the male gaze has connotations of men staring and objectifying women but the two examples create a way for themselves to be gazed upon as opposed to being the one who gazes.

Renowned feminist film theorist, Laura Mulvey, explores how classic Hollywood cinema is shown through a masculine perspective that fetishisizes women as objects of desire. This perspective is also known as the “male gaze”, which creates a voyeuristic and scopophilic layer to the viewing of film. According to Mulvey, “in their traditional exhibitionist role women are simultaneously looked at and displayed, with their appearance coded for strong visual and erotic impact so that they can be said to connote to-be-looked-at-ness.” One of the staples of classic Hollywood cinema is women consistently being put or made into a visually erotic role for both the male characters on screen, and the audience. This staple is of course found in the

In Miss Representation, many female actresses, news anchors, politicians, directors and producers talk about how females suffer a lot of social, political and economic inequalities in today’s society. There are double standards against women in magazines, on TV, in movies, the news, politics, and the workplace. The media is an influential part of modern culture. When women are portrayed as objects for men to use -- never as the protagonist or president -- and when female news anchors are objectified, this will cause girls of all ages to begin viewing themselves as objects. Girls grow up in a world where their voice does not count; where our culture does not embrace them in all of their diversities, where

This paper will look at how the movies portray women in a way that women can relate to regardless if it’s an insulting

In the media we see today, and movies that are continually coming out all have a central idea in common. They all show and represent the idealistic perspective of male versus female in society. From cartoons to chick flicks to romances and comedies we notice identifiable differences and trends represented between the two genders. In the movie I watched, “Clueless,” there are many examples illustrating male superiority over female, ideas of what femininity should be, and female appeal towards the male figures in the film.

The documentary “Miss Representation” delves into how the media and society. The viewer is exposed to how the media builds an expectation of how women should look and act. When the media portrays women as the perfect weight, height, and behavior for the target audience, it lowers the self-esteem of the females watching that cannot hope to compare to a fictional character. Men exposed to these types of advertisement and entertainment are taught to objectify women. It distorts societies and male expectations of how real women should look and behave. The documentary also discusses the lack of female protagonists in television and movies. There is a distinct lack of female heroines in our world today. This shortage further diminishes the hopes

Women in the media are constantly hypersexualized, but when they choose to express their own sexuality they are called names and put down, while men are praised for expressing their sexuality. Also, many famous women are asked blatantly sexist questions that a man would never be asked but they are expected to smile and answer the questions even though these questions demean and invalidate them. From a young age, it becomes imbedded into a girl’s brain that she is inferior, weak, and fragile; seemingly harmless princess movies are teaching young girls that they need a prince to save them and that they are incapable of being their own hero. Also, young boys are taught from a young age that they should be the strong hero and if they are not strong, they are not manly. I would love to research the negative effects of subtle sexism through the outlet of media and how it affects all individuals, female and

In response to lack of strong female representation in Hollywood films, Jemina Lewis wrote a persuasive article on women being overlooked in Hollywood and how it is impacting kids-particularly young girls. Appearing in the Age on July the 4th, 2015, Lewis argues in a critical and sarcastic manner that Hollywood should dismissing the wants – even needs – of half its audience, and create more powerful female role models – particularly superheros. Adopting a challenging and scornful tone Lewis positions parents and superhero fans alike to accept her case against the Hollywood industry.

Through exposure, the role of women as a visible visual icon, such as cinematic mechanisms fetishism serves to convince the position of the male audience as an absolute subject.

In my EPQ I shall be discussing ‘How gender is portrayed in the media and its effects’. I will explore the effects on all genders and also how gender stereotypes are portrayed predominantly within plays and films. I chose to research and explore this topic as the portrayal of gender has dramatically changed over the years slowly due to the gender spectrum being more openly discussed. This progression widens the understanding of the definition of gender, and what gender fluidity is .For a long time gender has been a limited topic of discussion since many other genders were seen us unnatural because of this media tended to focus on only men and women due to other genders being unaccepted and unacknowledged. I will also be looking into the patriarchal point of view and its influence on the media and how it has progressed and its effects on the portrayal of certain genders overtime. I will then be looking at ‘The nuclear family’ and how that was considered ‘the norm’, the effects of not fitting into this category and how some genders upset this category. Then my focus will be how people’s lives are shaped when they don’t conform to the typical gender roles and how the media has impacted them. My final point will be to reflect on the changes were seeing in the media that are tackling these issues and furthering our understanding of genders.

Frequently, most superheroes in cinema are portrayed by male characters rather than women, creating a distinction between gender roles. Indeed, through the passage, “These results may suggest to viewers that women are less important, knowledgeable, and capable than men – and less likely to be a hero” (Miller et. al) women are much less likely to be featured as the hero within the film, and more likely to be featured as the “damsel in distress” of the story. Furthermore, women are much more likely to be depicted in a sexualized fashion, even when displayed in the role of hero. This feature of women with a lack of dominance defies feminism, as they lack roles in superhero films and they are portrayed with the sole purpose of boasting

Filmmakers use traditional gender stereotypes to produce characters audiences can easily identify with by portraying conventional images of a person with identifiable characteristics. In previous years, the dominant representation of a women in film has been the passive, subjugated protagonist. However, through the development of female empowerment and added feminist representations of film, the female heroine transformed to become strong and independent women in her own right, as an individual character.

Studies regarding gender roles in media show that the feminine essence tends to be depicted as inferior, with women often being marginalized, disempowered and humiliated through a status that is based on their youth and looks; whilst men tend to be portrayed as superior with higher and longer lasting careers

The simplest way to increase gender equality is by creating more roles for women. According to 2007-2012 film statistics reviewed by the New York Film Academy, the “average ratio of male actors to female actors is 2.25:1.” With less females onscreen than males, men continue to be the majority in movies. It is important to portray realistic representations of everyday life in where “women comprise 50 percent of the population” (Green, Women In Film Los Angeles). It is also important for women and young girls to have a variety of role models to look up to. With more women in movies, young girls will begin to understand that being a woman does not limit what they can do. Organizations such as Women in Film were created to help by “promoting equal opportunities for women, encouraging creative projects by women, and expanding and enhancing portrayals of women in all forms of global