male gaze

[meyl geyz]

noun

1. Often the male gaze 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.

Word History and Origins

Origin of male gaze¹

Coined by Laura Mulvey (born 1941), British feminist film theorist in her essay “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema” (1975)

Example Sentences

Some argued it pandered to the male gaze and promoted misogynistic stereotypes.

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The photo prompted a heated debate, with some arguing that it pandered to the male gaze and promoted misogynistic stereotypes.

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"There's a deeper meaning, portraying how the public views her, believing she is just for the male gaze," a fan wrote on X.

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“But this isn’t for the male gaze,” she says.

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The 41-year-old said: "Women age out of the male gaze. I was ripped from the male gaze at 24. I didn't just become invisible. I became a target for people saying derogatory things."

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