When scrolling through TikTok, you might encounter the term female gaze, a concept used most commonly with self-expression and in film criticism. With the hashtag #femalegaze amassing over 100,000 views on the app, trending videos about makeup and fashion under the hashtag dominate the For You Page.
Feminists originally coined the female gaze as a term used to describe films directed by women and how those films capture the feminine experience in ways that films directed by men do not. Video and Photography Teacher Kelli Yon said, “[The] female gaze has to do with empowerment, maybe even autonomy.”
According to Oxford Reference, “The term [female gaze] alludes to the right of women to adopt the active and objectifying gaze that has traditionally and stereotypically been associated with males.”
Many TikTok videos compare the female gaze with its counterpart, the male gaze. TikTok users often associate the female gaze with a comfortable, colorful and creative style, while the male gaze includes a provocative and basic fashion style. These definitions only cover how the male and female gazes manifest through fashion — in reality, their impacts are more complex and far-reaching than a TikTok trend.
Filmmaker Laura Mulvey first coined the term male gaze in 1973. It rose to popularity in Mulvey’s essay, “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema,” and was originally used to examine how women were portrayed in film. Scholar Amanda Du Preez said, “Mulvey argues that the male gaze exerts an active power over the passive female body. … Women remain the bearer of the look, while men control the look,” said Du Preez, who has a PhD in English on the topic of cyberfeminism and involvement. Mulvey concluded that films appealing to men exclude women from positions of power and render them as objects.
As early as 1910, Old Hollywood films were notably dominated by male directors, and portrayals of women followed observable patterns. These patterns continued to carry through all types of media, including government advertisements. Messages and motives of many advertisements shifted as World War II (WWII) called for American women took on more roles in the workforce during WWII as men left their jobs to serve in combat. “The media was preoccupied with trying to hold on to what femininity was. [As a result,] the government produced propaganda like Rosie the Riveter. Through [government advertisement], there were ideas like, you could wear makeup and be beautiful and work in a factory,” said Kristjiana Gong, Screening History teacher.
In her book “Backlash,” feminist Susan Faludi wrote, “During World War II, in a brief burst of enthusiasm for strong and working women, a handful of Rosie-the-Riveter characters … flexed muscles and talked a blue streak.” Women needed to be able to maintain the social definition of femininity while still performing jobs in male-dominated fields.
However, the post-WWII era maintained the status quo and evoked resistance in how films portrayed women.“[In movies,] when shots are of women, … the parts of the woman we were looking at are fundamentally different [from the shots of a man],” Gong said. “What is really powerful to me is that with film, it’s so extraordinarily intentional.”
Casual film viewers often struggle to detect the male gaze’s influence in film. As a result, gender roles, stereotypes and standards become subconsciously absorbed. Gong said, “[Understanding the male gaze is] like seeing something you saw all the time, but suddenly now you can [see it on a deeper level].”
Media has influenced everyday habits of many, often reinforcing the concept of the male gaze in society. “In my [Peer Ed performance], I talked about how I have a habit of making assumptions about others just based on their appearance,” said Millie Hathaway ’27, who performed a monologue about growing up with patriarchal beauty standards. “I think that society has set up appearance to be a defining thing.” As a result, a woman’s value can often be equated to her appearance.
According to an article from Exposure, a youth magazine in the United Kingdom, “The internalized male gaze has festered with our greater media intake. We grow up seeing female characters through a rigid male lens. This resonates with us and shapes the way we think about ourselves.” The constant feed of filtered messages through media instills ideas surrounding self-confidence, worth and expression.
The pressure of the male gaze can impact self-expression through clothing. “[From what guys] are wearing I can guess [their] personality, but it’s not always the case with girls,” SWEAR co-leader RaeLynn Smith ’27 said. “Females are trying to fit the male gaze. And that’s unfortunate, but it’s true. For guys, I guess they [dress] to feel attractive for themselves and maybe for females, but it’s less of a standard.”
With the social and internal restrictions of the male gaze, the notion of a female gaze has been embraced by many since the term was recognized by American Film Director Jill Soloway in 2016.
Yon said, “The more females in film we have, the more understanding there will be. People’s understanding of themselves and the world will shift because media [has] so much power over people’s day-to-day experience and understanding of the world.” Many films only convey the male gaze, but with more women and nonbinary folks in film, popular shows and movies now represent characters through the female gaze as well.
Films made for the female gaze portray male and female characters in ways that give them a sense of agency. “[In Bridgerton,] men are portrayed through the female gaze. … They’re not just ripped, shirtless guys. They have a lot more depth and character,” Ari Braverman ’27 said. “[At the same time,] female characters are also portrayed through the female gaze. Their romantic storylines are not just sexy, it’s a plotline.”
With the rise of social media, people’s perceptions of themselves are changing. “[The way I want to be perceived] has changed with the rise of social media. On TV, whatever was [portrayed] through the male gaze served as [examples] of who I wanted to look like, and what was attractive,” Harper Lind ’27 said.
Because of social media’s accessibility, different messages could be sent to viewers. “[Film isn’t] nuanced — versus social media. It can look like wanting to dress or look like this person who is maybe not the heteronormative male gaze of what is hot. I think there’s a lot more room for self-expression,” Lind said.
The rise of the female gaze even impacted advertisements of beauty products in the 20th century, illustrating modern values of female empowerment. “[In the past,] models’ bodies and faces were manipulated through photographs; the image of beauty was distorted,” Yon said. “I think the Dove soap commercial campaign was the first brand that said, ‘This is affecting women and causing a mental health crisis.’ Real women, real products.”
The influence of social media and the rise of positive advertisements signify a more positive future for film and media. “With the [idea] of [the] female gaze, there is so much more potential to be a fuller and more creative person,” Gong said. “You’re investing in beauty because it feels fun in that moment, like a connection with other people and a way of expressing yourself.”