The Male Gaze

Laura Mulvey was another music theorist who concentrated on the idea of 'the male gaze'  But what is the gaze?

The gaze deals with how the audience views the people that are presented in a media text. Feature that are prominent in the male gaze are as follows:

• The camera lingers on the woman's body, specifically her curves.
• Regulates women to the state of objects

Women in many media texts are looked at through the male gaze and not only by men. The fact women get turned into 'objects' is reinforced by the dominant patriarchy ideology. In music videos this is seen regularly and many female artists are often put in the position of a 'voyeuristic' or 'sexual' manner.

Applying this theory to a recent pop stars video, Miley Cyrus's - 'Wrecking Ball' 

it's clear the male gaze is being used as she swings nude on a wrecking ball. The way it is done looks as if she is 'riding' the ball in a rodeo which many males are fans of. 

Her costume choices are also equally revealing and she parades around in a tiny cropped top and pants. 

Throughout the video there are panning shots on her body, starting from her legs up in an aerial view this automatically sexualizes her as a male gaze would suggest this is someone 'eyeing' her up. 

Another angle from a males gaze are the angles of her licking a sledgehammer - they are from a high angle as if being looked down upon - probably by a male. 

It's very clear through these shots and throughout the video that the idea is to look at Miley in a particular way; although the video is very emotional and about breaking down walls in relationships - this isn't the image in which projects it in my opinion, the best way. Mulvey also said that through this 'gaze' women see three things:

1. How men look at women

2. How women look at themselves

3. How women look at other women

I think it's safe to say that being a women and watching this video and many others that sexualize and place women as an 'object' that it's hard to look at yourself in an appealing way. You judge yourself an other women highly based on this 'male gaze' and how you'd like males to look at you, like these stars. I find this theory to be very accurate and powerful when analysing music video.

Some other examples of women being used as sexual objects or viewed in from the male gaze are:

Rihanna - 'S&M'

Britney Spears - 'Toxic'

and Jessica Simpson's - These Boots are Made for Walking'