Mulvey's Male Gaze

What is The Male Gaze?

In 1975 Laura Mulvey noted the term 'male gaze.' She believes that in media, audiences have to view characters from the perspective of a heterosexual male. Techniques are employed by directors to emphasise the sexuality of women and in some cases objectify them. This can include leaving the camera lingering on the females body, portraying female characters as dumb, inferior or sexual objects, and having female body on display. Within the music industry, the male gaze can take form through the music video, the lyrics or the artist character themselves.

Examples:

• Blurred Lines - Blurred Lines was released in 2013 as a single from Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams. While it did reach number 1 for 3 weeks it sparked controversy all over the world. Masses argued that the song promotes rape culture and legitimates the exploitation of women through its music video and lyrics. For example the lyric 'I know you want it' insinuates a lack of consent and encourages males to pressure women. Similarly in the video, women paraded nude around the two men who acted conspicuously objectifying the female actresses.

• Female Artists - In recent decades, the sexualisation of female of artists in the music industry
  
  has increased with some perhaps arguing that it is now looks over talent which gets you admired. To the same extent, the performances of female artists have also become more sexualised, for example Ariana Grande features sexualised choreography, Miley Cyrus features sexual props, and Little Mix have revealing outfits. While in 2016 this is the norm and audiences of all ages and genders enjoy these artists, the sexualisation means we are indirectly viewing the artists as a heterosexual male would.

• She's So Lovely - She's So Lovely is a song by Scouting For
  Girls released in 2007. While at first glance it is an inconspicuous pop, feminists argue that the
  music video is a prime example of Male Gaze and is linked below. The video follows the narrative of the male pining over a girl, however if the audience was asked simple questions following the video such as what colour top was she wearing? they wouldn't be able to answer as they were too busy watching the woman just as the heterosexual male was.

Relation to my video

My proposed music video is linked closely with the ideas of Mulvey's Male Gaze as it tackles how females are pressured by images in the media. The media constantly portrays images of other women being sexualised and presented as the 'ideal,' this causes young females to have a low self image. Arguably some may even say that female present themselves in the eyes of their male counterparts, they will replicate how females in the media act in a bid to equal how these figures are viewed by males. In my music video I want to present the effects that the male gaze and representation of females in the media has on young girls in the hope that this would raise awareness of the issues. I believe that the music video is lacking such issues and if the video was spread to a young audience who is affected by the male gaze and pressures of society it could encourage them to step out and be themselves. Therefore, while the male gaze isn't initially harmful to anyone, it can influence how audiences perceive themselves and can have detrimental effects to self worth particularly among young girls.