Laura Mulvey's Male Gaze Theory

1. Laura Mulvey’s Gaze Theory
Laura Mulvey, born in 1941, was a film critic as well as an open feminist. Mulvey came up
with the idea of the Male Gaze theory in 1975, this theory revolves around the idea that the
female body is extremely sexualised with in the media. The Male Gaze Theory consists of
three ideas, these are; How men look at females, how women look at themselves and how
other women look at women.
One vital part of her theory is her idea that the camera often represents the audience in the
perspective of a heterosexual man. Mulvey states that this is particularly shown through the
use of long, lingering cuts showing females revealing their body, wearing skimpy clothing
and dancing in a provocative way. Mulvey’s whole theory relates to the objectification of
females. Mulvey disagrees with using the female body in a sexual way to boost views and
sales of a music video. A good example of the female body being sexualised with in the
music industry is Nikki Minaj’s song – Anaconda.
Mulvey’s theory has since been criticised as the idea may also apply to the male body, as
they are objectified in a similar way in music videos. An example of this is Call Me Maybe –
Carly Rae Jepson.