The male gaze theory proposes that media is typically crafted from the perspective of the heterosexual male viewer to sexually objectify women. This objectification perpetuates patriarchal ideals of women existing primarily for male pleasure and validation. Cosmopolitan magazine exemplifies the male gaze through cover lines that advise women on how to seduce men, implying their worth relies on pleasing the heterosexual male viewpoint. While seeking to empower women's sexuality, Cosmo paradoxically promotes misogynistic ideals by focusing on male approval rather than a woman's own fulfillment.

1. RESEARCH
Dodoh M.
THE MALE
GAZE

2. The male gaze and what is it?
The male gaze is the theory originated by a British theorist Laura Mulvey in 1973 had expressed the theory in a essay about the
concept of the male gaze, where in theory the majority of media has been manufactured to objectify women or see women
body’s in a sexual way to please the male audience. This theory goes into the whole idea of the patriarchy where the way society
is built to benefit mainly white heterosexual men. In so many movies there have been scenarios where the women being have
been portrayed as something to be won over as if they are an object to be won and not a human. Seeing this aspect or the other
storylines that cater to the male gaze, the male extends to real life society and how men expect women to be like the women and
their personas or dress in a way that is catering to the male gaze.

3. SOURCES Leonard, K. (2021). What is the Male Gaze?
Definition and Examples in Film. Available:
https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/what-is-the-
male-gaze-definition/. Last accessed 17 Sept 2021.
“The main to remember about Laura Mulvey's male
gaze is that it’s the perspective of heterosexual
fantasy.”
“Female characters can be overly sexualised objects
of desire.”
“The same way the male gaze promotes a
certain ideology about females characters,
other stereotypes also persist.”
“Female characters must perform their
story function while also adhering to the
heterosexual male sexual fantasy”

4. SOURCES Vanbuskirk,S. (2021). What Is the Male Gaze. Available:
https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-the-male-gaze-5118422.
Last accessed 17 Sept 2021.
“Continually seeing girls and women serve as prizes
for men and acting.”
“Seeing women and girls continually portrayed in
this way by the male gaze perpetuates this vision.”
“While some aspects of these portrayals may be
seen by some as powerful, sexual, or beautiful, they
also stem from centuries of visual objectification of
women for the pleasure of men.”

5. SOURCES
Loreck, J. (2016). Explainer: what does the 'male gaze'
mean and what about a female gaze?. Available:
https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-does-the-
male-gaze-mean-and-what-about-a-female-gaze-52486.
Last accessed 17 Sept 2021.
“The male gaze takes many forms, but can be identified by
situations where female characters are controlled by, and
mostly exist in terms of what they represent to, the hero.”
“It supports a patriarchal status quo, perpetuating women’s
real-life sexual objectification.”
“Such arguments don’t consider how insistently women
are presented as sexual objects.”

6. RESEARCH-HEARST COMMUNICATIONS
Hearst Communications Inc, is a well-known publishing company for
various sources of media such as magazines, newspapers, television
channels and stations but the company was originated/ founded 1887
by William Hearst just mainly owning and publishing newspapers and
magazines. The Hearst communications owns various magazines such
as Cosmopolitan, Elle, Harper's Bazaar, Women’s & Men's Health and
more. Originally Hearst was started off creating a magazine called
‘Motor Sport’ in 1903, then two well known magazine brands
Cosmopolitan and Good Housekeeping joined the Hearst
Communications empire in 1911. As the years go by Hearst as a
company started joining other media incorporations such as book
publishing, radio stations and more and in 1920-30s this was Hearst
peak as they were a famous and biggest multi media company.

7. RESEARCH COSMOPOLITAN MAGAZINE
Cosmopolitan magazine originally known as ‘The Cosmopolitan’ is an American based
magazine started in 1886 in New York. Now known as a fashion magazine for women but
also gave advice to women about various topics such as home life, family issues and
cooking. When publishing the first issue Cosmopolitan, the founder Paul Schlicht his
intentions with making Cosmopolitan was to in his words to make a “first-class family
magazine” so magazines back in 1800s were family orientated where they discussed
various such as decoration, care management for children, on cooking and with addition
department target younger audience of the family. After the first publishing of the magazine
got circulation 25,000 copies bought but later the magazine went out of business in March
1888. Then new editor was introduced that brought fictional stories, colour illustrations and
books reviews into the Cosmopolitan magazine and their circulation tripled by the new
aspects of the magazine. As sales tripled Cosmopolitan very quickly became one of
America’s leading magazines. Then the introduction of television in the mid 1960s there was
a big decline in sales for magazines that were fiction based and a women editor was
introduced called Helen Gurley Brown was now the editor in chief and started changing the
Cosmopolitan magazine by changing colour illustrations with little clothing on and more
young women/models were placed on the front cover and by doing that the sales increased.
Then eventually Cosmopolitan Magazine became a very sexual orientated magazine where
the magazine’s content/ articles become more about sex and maintain relationship advice
but this advice was targeted towards women and there was such a emphasis on women
doing various sexual activities for the men approval and or attention. As Cosmopolitan tried
to evolve into a magazine for the sexual liberation for women and how women should feel
empowered and be confident their sexuality but trying to do that they make the front cover of
magazine of past consisted of content/advice for women for the favour of men which can be
struggle for young women and grown ones too.

8. RESEARCH MARIE CLAIRE
Marie Claire is a French-British magazine formed and published their
first issue on October 1937, the magazine was founded by a woman
called Jean Prouvost with immediate success with the first issue as
Marie Claire sold 500,00 copies, as Maire Claire was something
different at the time as it was giving beauty tips and with addition of
proactive writing in the magazine, Marie Claire was a success. But in
1954 Marie Claire was refurnished as times were changing for women
they wanted them to stay informed of the changing times and give a
platform where women can have a voice. With the issues they had
produced in 1954 it was much more luxurious with the paper they
used and layout was more spaced out and less writing which was
different to already existing magazines. Prouvost retired in 2004 and
gave the Marie Claire magazine to her granddaughter Evelyne
Prouvost in 1976, as she loved magazines and journalism and later on
1989 she was named the “Business Women of the Year.” Marie Claire
magazine was also launched in UK in 1988 and again gained instant
success and Marie Claire as magazine focused on spreading the
brands internationally for many of years and gained success
worldwide. Although gaining the success they did Marie Claire has
received criticism for having a history of making magazines that
involve misogynistic cover lines that give into the Male Gaze and
advising women to care too much about what men think of them.

9. Analysis
The product I will be analysing is a Cosmopolitan Magazine,
Cosmopolitan magazine is known and targeted to the women in age
group 1 for beauty and the consist giving women tips and tricks to
help out women but to fit the standard of what men want. Which is
setting a terrible message for women as to with front cover I have
presented here, with having cover lines such as ‘50 Ways To Seduce
Him now’ this cover line is implying and also advertising to young and
grown women that they need ways to seduce their significant other,
as that cover line is bold and is front of the model, there is an
indication that the specific cover line is important which is far from the
truth as women should NEED to seduce their partner in a sensual way
to win their partner/man. With the highlighted of the cover lines
Cosmo are advertising the “importance” to having to please men as
which is not any coloration to what Cosmopolitan magazines is about
as Cosmo are fashion and beauty magazine in what way is telling
women how to seduce a man goes in theme with that.

10. Bibliography
Anon. (n.d). Hearst Communications. Available: https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Hearst_Communications. Last accessed 17th Dec
2021.
Anon. (n.d). History. Available: https://www.marieclaireinternational.com/our-story/history/. Last accessed 17th Dec 2021.
Anon. (2015). Film Theory 101–Laura Mulvey: The Male Gaze Theory. Available: https://www.filminquiry.com/film-theory-basics-
laura-mulvey-male-gaze-theory/. Last accessed 19th Dec 2021.
Anon. (n.d). Male Gaze. Available: https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803100128610. Last accessed
19th Dec 2021.
Leonard, K. (2021). What is the Male Gaze? Definition and Examples in Film. Available: https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/what-is-
the-male-gaze-definition/. Last accessed 17 Sept 2021.
Loreck, J. (2016). Explainer: what does the 'male gaze' mean and what about a female gaze?. Available:
https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-does-the-male-gaze-mean-and-what-about-a-female-gaze-52486. Last accessed 17
Sept 2021.
Vanbuskirk,S. (2021). What Is the Male Gaze. Available: https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-the-male-gaze-5118422. Last
accessed 17 Sept 2021.