Laura Mulvey's 1975 theory suggests that in film, the camera adopts a male point of view for the benefit of a male audience, lingering on female bodies and portraying women as sexual objects to gratify men. Men are typically the central, active characters that the male audience identifies with, while females are portrayed as passive. However, the theory has been challenged as not all central heroes are male, and representation of women in film has evolved, challenging some traditional gender stereotypes.