CULTURE
F
rom a film where the camera lingers over the female figure to even animated children’s movies that feature curvaceous female characters, we view much of the world through the male gaze.
The Male Gaze in Media HOW CATERING TO MEN’S DESIRES DEFINES FEMININITY ACROSS MEDIA Written by Madison Targum, Contributing Writer and Shannon McManus, Culture Staff Writer Illustrated by Channing Smith, Art Director
The male gaze theory can be understood in three ways: how women are influenced by the way men look at them, how women look at themselves and how women look at other women.1 Under the male gaze theory male created mediums and representations that depict women in a stereotypical way set the norms of how women should look and behave. Women internalize the external standards placed upon them by the heterosexual male expectations of feminine beauty and standards. We see the effects of catering to men’s desires across media forms. For example, in the industry of video games, the male gaze prominently rules over the characters and game itself. Popular video games rarely show female characters in main player roles, and when they do, they are built for the male gaze. Lara Croft, who was championed for fighting the gender roles as one of the first female main characters, is highly sexualized with a large chest and small waist.2 In Grand Theft Auto, women are known for wearing minimal clothing and only functioning as side characters to the main male characters. Not only are the female characters seen as lesser players, but they are also criticized by the gaming community if they possess more masculine, or rather, less sexualized traits. In one study based on feedback from World of Warcraft, “female characters in feminine roles received significantly less negative Sampson, Rachel. “Film Theory 101 - Laura Mulvey: The Male Gaze Theory.” Film Inquiry. May 21, 2020. 2 “Miss-Leading Characters: The Hyper-Sexualization of Females in Video Games.” GCMLP, October 25, 2019. 1
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