First of all the concept “male gaze” refers to the way that visual works, such as films or images, are often created from the perspective or point of view of a male observer. This is reflected in how female characters are portrayed and approached, often objectifying them as objects of desire for the male viewer. This concept highlights how artistic vision can influence the perception and social construction of gender, giving rise to often stereotyped or limited representations of women.
This effect is something that unfortunately has always been seen in the audiovisual world as for many years, we have lived in a completely patriarchal era. Even today, despite having evolved a lot and having made great progress, it is something that continues to happen, especially in industries like cinema which have spent years dedicated to giving visual pleasure to men by objectifying the figure of women and even being an impediment for many actresses when it comes to progressing in their career. This is because for years this industry has been 100% controlled by male figures who have always decided to give important roles to men and generally use female characters as a “complement” or an objective of the main male character. A good example of how women are objectified in the film industry is the world of superheroes.
In companies as important and well-known as Marvel and DC, characters like Wonder Woman or Black Widow have never had their own titles in the film industry until relatively recently like many other male superheroes who have always led these two companies. That’s not to mention how almost all Marvel and DC superheroes are sexualized in a fairly obvious way just to please the male audience and until recently these female characters had never had a clear role on the big screen.
All these factors are reflected in the classic stereotypes that according to patriarchal society every woman should meet in order to be attractive. Superheroines in cinema until recently have always had more passive characters generally used to complement the male protagonist or simply to be able to form that romantic plot that is often needed in a film or story. They always have to follow the beauty roles of having curvy bodies with tight suits and in which the body is usually visible quite a bit unlike the suits that male superheroes usually wear in these industries.Even so, it is important to highlight that, although these elements are common, the superhero industry has been evolving and diversifying.
Overall, the “male gaze” in the film and superhero industries refers to the tendency to portray women from a male perspective, often focusing on physical aspects and perpetuating gender stereotypes. Growing awareness and efforts to diversify narratives and representations have resulted in positive changes, although it has been a persistent feature. However, gender equality in these industries remains a challenge. Which is something that despite progress still has to change a lot and it must be normalized that both male and female roles can follow a protagonist character regardless of the industry or stereotypes.
Bibliography:
Guo, Tongtong. “To What Extent Is Laura Mulvey’s Argument in “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema” (1975) Still Relevant Today?” Frontiers in Art Research, vol. 5, no. 2, 2023, https://doi.org/10.25236/far.2023.050203.
Kučerová, Lucie. “Women in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.” Dk.upce.cz, 2023, dk.upce.cz/handle/10195/80878. Accessed 5 Dec. 2023.
Oliver, Kelly. “The Male Gaze Is More Relevant, and More Dangerous, than Ever.” New Review of Film and Television Studies, vol. 15, no. 4, 2 Oct. 2017, pp. 451–455, https://doi.org/10.1080/17400309.2017.1377937.
Vanbuskirk, Sarah . “What Is the Male Gaze?” Verywell Mind, 14 Nov. 2022, www.verywellmind.com/what-is-the-male-gaze-5118422.
As a woman reading your blog, it was great to see the self-awareness superhero fans have towards their own passion. The industry is extremely entrapped in the male gaze, and I had no idea it was only until recently that women got their own titles. Thank you for explaining the patriarchal sense in the superhero world, as it was something I understood but never consciously identified.
It is interesting that you pick up on the male always having a main role that goes beyond his physical features and actually instead focuses on his character, his role in the movie, his friends and generally more than just his looks. Yes there are lots of movies where men are objectified a little but it can’t be compared to how often women are sexualised in TV.
It is quite interesting that you explained and analysed the male gaze from perspective of the superhero films. As someone who has watched most of the films of Marvel, I totally agree with what you wrote in this blog. No matter how strong and powerful the superheroines are, they are always the sidekicks of the male characters. It is always the superheroes who beat and win the villains. In the posters of superhero films, the superheroes are always posed to show their masculine strength, but the superheroines are always posed in sexy poses that can show the curves of their bodies. I think it’s unnecessary. These are all male gaze, to attract male audiences.
It is quite convincing. As a man’s perspective, objectively speaking, a lot of movie scene of woman is quite confusing. It is merely show those wried angle of woman. It makes zero contribution of telling the story or the characteristic of their role. It do influences the film area. People shouldn’t chasing this.