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male gaze

American

[meyl geyz] / ˈmeɪl ˈgeɪz /

noun

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.

Etymology

Origin of male gaze

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

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

They were etherealized through delicate pastels, and while Brundage created images to appeal to the male gaze, she also could portray women as purposeful agents rather than passive victims.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 21, 2025

It had no male gaze involved in it.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 12, 2024

The 2010s had many examples, such as the "Man Repeller" fashion blog that refused to incorporate the male gaze into its analysis of clothing trends.

From Salon • Sep. 12, 2024

The designer, whose work offered women respite from the limits of the male gaze, has never been all that interested in explaining herself.

From New York Times • Mar. 17, 2024

"So he's very sensitive, but in the beginning, when we were finding the language, there was a male gaze, and he was not aware of that," she says.

From BBC • Jun. 16, 2023

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023