The Male Gaze

Her Statement

"In a world ordered by sexual imbalance, pleasure in looking has been split between active/male and Passive/female. The determining male gaze projects its fantasy onto the female figure which is style accordingly". (Laura Mulvey 1992)"

This statement basically talks about how women are represented in music videos. It explains how certain videos are created for the pleasure of men by broadcasting women passively and how female artists purposely make their image look passive specifically for the male attraction.

The videos that expose women passively include women in bikini's, tight tops, shorts, heels and making them look like what the audience call 'sexy'. Not only does costume and the artist add to this passive look but directors & editors do also by continuously adding in close up of the female's bum, breast and 'sexy' body.To add to this the women in these videos add to the passive look by provocatively dancing, making sexual facial expressions and sexual gestures e.g. biting there lip. Also in these videos the men are seen to be the ones with the most power.

The Male Gaze through Male artist's music video's

In this video of Ayo technology by 50 cent, Timberland and Justin Timberlake we see a lot of the above take place. The girls in this video are dressed in a 'sexy' way and you can see by their facial expressions and body movements that they represent the Passive look that Laura Mulvey was speaking about in her statement.

50 Cent - P.I.M.P. (Snoop Dogg Remix) ft. Snoop Dogg, G-Unit

This is another example that represents Laura Mulveys above statement throughout this video we see girls dressed provocatively, we see them dance provocatively and doting over the artist as if the artist is 'God', to the me this video proves Laura Mulveys statment the most.

Other Examples

The Male Gaze through female artist's music video's

Christina Milian - Dip it low

In this video the artist has purposely made herself look sexy for the male attention. In the beginning we see her dancing in a dressing gown and whilst she dances she teases the audience by unraveling the robe and showing a bit of how she looks underneath then she covers her self back up. Other things in the video from the way she dances to what she wears and the way she sings to the camera all prove that this video was made to attract the male gaze.

Beyonce - Baby boy

Like the above video Beyonce intentionally makes her image look sexy and Attractive for the male gaze, you see this through her costume and her dancing, no woman would dress like this and dance like this for another woman.