1. How is Male Gaze Theory relevant when analysing women in
fashion magazines?
It isa knownfactthat womenare objectifiedinmagazinesaimedatbothmenandwomenandI am
aimingtolookintowomeninfashionthroughmagazinessuchas VOGUE, Heat,closeretc to findout
howthe male gaze hasrelationwiththese throughdesignsof these magazineandhow theyinclude
onlywomenonthe magazinesorthe historybehindthe magazine itself.Iwill lookintothisby
analysingmagazinesfromfrontcoversandfindingmagazine websitesthatincludearange of articles
withrelationtoThe Male Gaze.Therefore,Ichose tofocuson fashionmagazineswithahigh
audience like Vogue magazineswhobetween2019-2020 reached2.7 millionviewersontheir
women’smagazines. MovingonfromthisThe Male Gaze Theorydescribeshow viewersengage with
visual mediathroughadvertisementsitalsosuggeststhatwomeninmediaproductsare notdeemed
as a ‘person’merelyanobjectthat’sonlytobe admiredforphysical appearance.LauraMulvey isa
feministfilmtheoristfrom Britainandknownforhertheory made in1975 regardingsexual
objectificationonwomeninthe media,whichisknownasThe Male Gaze theory.Naturally,the
influenceonthe male gaze seepsintofemaleself-perceptionandself-esteemanddiscourages
female empowerment.However,the influence of the male gaze isnotlimitedtohow womenand
girlsare featuredinmagazinesbothforthe female modelsonthe magazine andalsoits audience.
The argumentis the male gaze controlsthe narrative whichisthat womenare notequal inthe world
and despite the factwomenmake upover50% of the population,the male gaze relegateswomento
have the positionof others.One of the brandswhichI chose to explore intois‘Playboy’whichisan
Americanmen’slifestyle andentertainmentmagazine,formerlyinprintandcurrentlyonline,itwas
foundedinChicagoin1953 byHugh Hefnerandhis associates,HoweverMrHefnerdiedin2017
aged91. The historybehindthiswaswhenthe companypublishedtheirfirstmagazine inDecember
1953 the year whichfeaturedMarilynMonroe onthe frontcover.The coverincludesnude images
whichcatapultedthe companytofame and the printmagazine became the centrepiece of its
businessfordecades whereasitnowdescribesitself asa consumerproductscompanythatincludes
sexual wellness,clothingandgamingandincludesitsfamousbunnylogoonproductssuchas
lingerie etc. Throughoutitssupportof the beliefsanditspopularizationof the notion thatviewing
sexuallysuggestive photographyof womenwasnotonlyacceptable buthealthy,itcontributedto
the so-calledsexualrevolutioninthe UnitedStatesinthe 1960s.Playboy’s circulationincluding
subscriptionsandadvertisingrevenues steadilyincreased,reaching7.2millioncopiessoldin
November1972 and an average salesof 5.6 millioncopiesperissue,howeverthe magazines
leadershipdeclinedbecause the sexual revolutioncontinuedtoadvocate andhadlargelybeenwon,
renderingitsimageslessdaringandprovocativeasitfacednew competitionsuchas‘Penthouse’
whichfeaturedmore explicit photography.When exploringPlayboy,Ifoundouta bitinformationon
Hugh Hefnerandhowhisformergirlfriendswere treatedduringtheirtime atthe Playboy Mansion.
The mansion islocatedinHolmbyHills,LosAngeles,CalifornianearBeverlyHillsthe mansion
became famousduringthe 1960s whenthe mediabegantocover the lavishpartiesthrownby
Hefner,the mansionincludes22rooms andwas designed byArthurR.Kellyin1927. All toldthe
historyof the Playboyhasbeenone of the fame and success,butwhat aboutitsrecognizable logo?
clean,simple andunique andhasnodoubtplayeda role inthe international successof the
magazine.The logovisionwassomethingthathada “Humoroussexual connotation”HughHefner
had saidthe meaningbehindastowhytheyhad chosena rabbitwas because it’safreshanimal,shy
and jumpyandhe,mentionedthat“agirl looksa lot like abunny”.The coloursusedwithinthe logo
are solidwithablacktone thisconveysluxury,professionalismandclasswhicheffectivelyconveys
the magazines image.MovingonfromthisI decide toexplore more intothe ‘secretsof Playboy
2. documentary’lookingintothese episodesIfoundapiece whichisa preview ittalkedaboutHolly
Madisonand the pressure toconformin thisafterherfirst6 monthswithinthe mansionshe feltlike
she had gottento a pointwhere she hadbrokenbecause she feltshe neededtolooklike everyother
girl in the house.HughHefnerwantedeverygirl tolookthe same witha stereotype of blonde long
hair,blue eyesashollyhaddecidedtocut herhair off Hughhad flippedoutather andwas
screamingat herfromthis itseemsAsif thisishisworldtheyare livinginand have tolookand act a
certainwayto his standards.Hollyalsoopensupaboutthe show ‘GirlsNextDoor’whichisa reality
televisionseriesfocusedonthe livesof HughHefnersgirlfriendswholive withhim,she statedthat
Hugh wasa verymanipulative personwhowouldtryandplaythe three of the girlsagainsteach
other.The veryfirstimage encounteredinPaul Ruditisbiographyof ‘The GirlsNextDoor’supports
the ideaof the male gaze because of how the girlsare situated,cameraanglesandwhattheyare
wearingaswell asthe expressionsontheirfaces.The cameraangle fromwhichthe photographof
the three womenwastakenisfromabove,lookingdownuponthemthisproducesthe feelingthat
the viewerisobjectifyinganddistancinghimself fromthe subjectandlevel inwhichthe three girls
are on a much differentfeelingfromthe entire bookcouldbe achievedthroughandifferent
photographof the womenforexample asimple close upof theirfaces.Fromthe image the girlsare
wearingshortbrightcoloursand bikini bathingsuittopswhilstposingwhilstthere facial expressions
all have smilesontheirface whichrevealstobe a ‘overly-friendlysmile’whilstmakingeyecontact
withthe viewersthe combinationof these aspectsisnottoforce,butto invite the male gaze upon
thisimage.inthis photograph all of the womenare holdingsomethingintheirhandInoticed
‘Bridget’whoisholding ontothe stemof a flowerandpickingthe petalsoff thisis areference toa
well-knownchildhoodgame inwhichgirlspickpetal of aflowerrepeatingthe phrase “he lovesme,
he lovesme not“this game employsthe ideasthatsocietyandrelationshipsare centredaroundthe
male and bythe male whichdeterminesor initiatesthe relationship.
You may askhow doesthe male gaze linktothe playboybrand?Thisis bythroughthe show which
each girl isdistinguishedinseveral ways,mostcrudelybyherrankthat combinesherlongevitywith
the seriousnessof herrelationshipwithHughHefner.The showsownhistorical discourse around
womenwhichseesthemascontestedbutnoteworthyadvance infemininelife.Fromeachmagazine
of all the girlsthe centre of the attentiononthe coverand the dresscodesandfacial expressionsis
seemsHughisin control overthese women, andhe hasmore linguisticpowerbecause of hissocial
statusand wantshisaudience tofocuson the women the male gaze twiststhisnatural urge turning
these womenintopassiveitemstopossessanduse as‘props’inthe magazine covers.Ialsonoticed
that Hugh alwaysincludesthe ‘presence of aman’ somewhereinthe backgroundof the photograph
whichshowsevenif there isn’tamanin the images,theywill certainlybe apresence of aman. the
photographwhichIlookeduponof the three womenonthe cover,and manyotherphotographsof
the three togetherserve tore-inforce ideasof the male gaze thatis prevalentin society.Included
withinthe playboymagazineswomenare presentedinasexualisedwaytowardsmenandobjectifies
womenasthisthenempowersmenastheyfeel theyare aheadof the womenwhichisshown
throughoutthe episodesof playboyhowHughHefnercausesargumentswithmostof the girls
because he wantspeople toargue andbe against eachotheras if itis a competitiontobe at the top
by the wayyou lookandhow youpresentyourself.The male gaze isalso presentedinwaysinwhich
Hugh as a personwouldact to the otherwomenwhohe waswithhe wouldpickwhattype of hair
theyhave to have and if theychangedthisitwouldhave an huge impacton hisbrandwhichiswhat
he onlyseemedtocare about thiscan increase low-self esteemforthese womenandfemale
objectificationbecausetheydon’tfeel like theyare the bestorenoughwhichiswrong.Furthermore,
the shot typesusedon these magazines are veryclose uporhighup as if the audience are looking
3. downon these womenasHughmade these womensmile andalmost‘welcomethe malesin’to
these magazines andbythe explicitimages whichare usedtorepresentthe womennotfor
themselvesbutforthe satisfactionof men.Movingontomy FMP thisyear fromfindingout
informationfromthissource Ican justifythatI will includethesespecificelementsbyincluding
baggy clothingon womenwhichisn’tsexualisedandthe wayinwhichI will take myimagescanbe
more of close upsor froma far distance asI will be focusingonthe elementof fashion.Asthe pointI
wantto achieve isthat the womenwill feel confidentinthe clothesand expressthemselvesfor
there owncreativitynotfora man’s attentionorsatisfaction.ChoosingPlayboywhichincludes
womenhashelpedme togathermore informationandideashow womenaportrayedespeciallyas
my focus isprintand fashion, Iwas able tolookat these clothesandsee the commonproblems
whichI can avoidwithinmyown work.I alsothinkwhenpresentingthe womenonthe coversof
these magazine etc.andwebsitesanideawouldbe tohave the women’sbodylanguage verySuttle
and elegantwithsome womennotmakingdirecteye contactwithitsaudience ortheycouldbe
lookingatothermodelstoempowerwomen. Inconclusion Ihave simplyansweredthe questionto
my essayas the male gaze isrelevantwhenanalysingfashionmagazinesbecause womenare usedas
propsand objectsforphotographwhichare thenusedon coversto attract the male audience of
howtheypose withthe femininetouchandwhenthere ismore thanone womanin these
photographsitamplifiesthe male voyeuristicfantasysince the female objectifiedandconsumable
bodyis doubled.FromthisIcan alsoimplythe unawarenessandvulnerabilityof these womenandit
seemsAsif theyare dependentonmenforprotectionortooverpowerthe womentothe point
where the male isincontrol and eachwomanis objectifiedintothis,Ihave managedtosource a lot
more informationonthe male gaze theory andfindoutnew facts on how theypresentwomenin
manyways throughthese magazinesandtvprogrammes.
