The male gaze is a concept used in the fields of visual art and literature to describe the world and in particular the women in it. The theoretical claim is that a masculine point of view presents women as objects whose purpose is to bring about masculine pleasure and nothing more. The phrase was coined by feminist theorist and film critic Laura Mulvey in 1975, which brought about a corresponding formulation of the female gaze.
According to Mulvey and feminist theory, the masculine perspective (male gaze) is the act of describing women, and the world at large, from a masculine and heterosexual perspective. The concept was first developed by feminist film critic Laura Mulvey in a 1975 article entitled "Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema." Mulvey argues that asymmetry in gender forces is a dominant force in cinema, and is intended for the enjoyment of the male viewer, rooted in patriarchal ideology and discourse. The concept of the male gaze has become central to feminist film theory, communication studies and cultural studies. This term can also be related to models of voyeurism and narcissism. This point of view presents and represents women as sexual objects and in general, for the enjoyment of the viewers. The works are intended for the general public on the assumption that all people experience the world, look at it and interpret it through this point of view.
In the visual and aesthetic performances of narrative cinema, the male gaze has three perspectives: of the person behind the camera (screenwriter, director, etc.); of the male characters represented in the film and of the viewer looking at the image.
After Mulvey coined the term "The Male Gaze", the idea of the opposite female gaze was later coined to match and counter it.The psychology of male gaze is similar to the psychology of voyeurism - the pleasure of gaze; The way she sees women and the world. Thus, the term scopophilia identify both the aesthetic pleasures and the sexual pleasures derived from observing someone or something.
see also: Laura Mulvey on Hollywood
