definitions

male gaze

[ meyl geyz ]
/ ˈmeɪl ˌgeɪz /

noun

(often preceded by the) the assumption in visual and creative arts that the default or desired audience consists of heterosexual males, and inclusion of women in narrative or art should seek to please this audience with the objectification or sexualization of these depicted women.

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Nearby words

male chauvinism, male chauvinist, male chauvinist pig, male cow, male fern, male gaze, male menopause, male pattern baldness, male turner's syndrome, male-, male-sterile

Origin of male gaze

Coined by Laura Mulvey (born 1941), British feminist film theorist in her essay “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema” (1975)
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019