The male gaze
The male gaze is a theory introduced by film critic Laura Mulvey in 1975 to describe how visual media is often constructed from and by a male's perspective. It explains the way films, photography, advertising, and other media position the viewer as male, while women are presented as objects to be looked at rather than actual people.
Within the male gaze, women are frequently framed in ways that emphasise their physical appearance over their thoughts, actions, or emotions. The camera often lingers on body parts, uses angles that invite visual consumption, or place women in passive roles that exist mainly to support or motivate male characters. Men, by contrast, are usually portrayed as active, powerful, and in control of the narrative.
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The image above (Megan Fox cleaning the car in Transformers 2007), is a widely cited example of the male gaze in mainstream media. The camera frames her body through slow pans and low angles, focusing on her physical appearance rather than her character or role in the narrative. Although the scene appears to show her performing a practical task, the framing turns the action into a spectacle designed for visual pleasure.
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Fox's character has little agency in the moment, instead, she is positioned as an object to be looked at, with the camera angle positioned slightly below eye level, creating a subtle low angle view that emphasises her body while also placing the viewer in an observational role. The framing crops her figure closely, excluding the scenery around her and the activity she is doing to solely focus on her image rather than what she is doing. The composition uses the car with Fox leaning over the top to create leading lines that guide the viewer's eye across her body, and the shallow depth of field seperates her from the background, ensuring she becomes the dominant focal point in the photo. Lighting is soft and even, highlighting skin texture and contours rather than conveying any mood or narrative.
Colour and costumes also contribute to the male gaze - the high contrast between her skin and the mechanical surface of the car reinforces the visual emphasis on the body as an object while the revealing clothing is styled for visual impact rather than practicality of cleaning a car. Overall, this image demonstrates how the male gaze operates by prioritising appearance over personality, reinforcing traditional power dynamics where women are displayed and men observe.
“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 phantasy on to the female form which is styled accordingly." - Laura Mulvey
The female gaze
The female gaze, like the male gaze is a way of representing people in visual media, however, the female gaze prioritises subjective experience, emotional depth, and mutual awareness, over visual consumption. Differing from the male gaze which positions the viewer as dominant and the subject as an object, the female gaze seeks to humanise its subjects by giving them agency, interiority, and presence within the frame.
Rather than fragmenting the body or emphasising physical appearance, the female gaze often focuses on facial expression, body language, and moments of quiet intimacy. Camera techniques such as eye level angles, longer takes, and naturalistic lighting are used to create a sense of equality between the viewer and subject. Desire, when present, is portrayed as reciprocal and emotionally grounded rather than voyeuristic.
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In the image above from Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019), the framing prioritises the face and upper body, allowing the subjects expressions, stillness, and gaze to carry meaning. Unlike male gaze imagery, the body is not fragmented, faces, necks, and hands are included as a whole, reinforcing the subjects as complete people rather than visual parts. The closeness of their bodies creates intimacy without spectacle. Importantly, neither figure is centred as an object, the composition treats the interaction itself as the focal point.
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Neither subject looks directly at the camera. Instead, their attention is inward and towards eachother. This denies the viewer ownership of the moment. The scene feels observed, not offered, which is a defining characteristic of the female gaze. The subjects retain agency because the moment does not exist just for us.
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The lighting is soft, warm, and low contrast, wrapping around thier skin rather than highlighting or sculpting it for display. Shadows are gentle, prioritising atmosphere and emotion over clarity or sharp detail. This kind of lighting encourages emotional reading rather than visual consumption.
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The shallow depth of field isolates the figures from their surroundings, but this time it's not to emphasise them as an object, it reinforces the emotional focus on thier interaction as a whole.
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The touch shown is delicate and tentative, not performative. It communicated vulnerability and trust rather than possession or dominance. desire is implied through proximity and restraint, not exaggeration.
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Overall, the photographic choices slow the viewer down. Instead of directing the eye across the bodies, the image invited empathy, stillness, and emotional engagement. Power remains with the subjects, not the viewer. This demonstrates the female gaze by prioritising intimacy, mutual presence, and inner experience over spectacle or visual pleasure.
“The female gaze… places the spectator within the woman’s point of view, making it possible to share what she is feeling… Pleasure no longer comes from voyeuristic viewing, but from a gaze that sees women as equals, as subjects.” - Iris brey
This understanding of the female and male gaze informs my project working with reputation, even though I am working primarily with objects rather than any models. By removing the human body entirely, I intentionally can avoid the objectification often associated with the male gaze, while still exploring themes of intimacy, vulnerability, and perception. Instead of asking the viewer to look at a person, I invite them to read meaning through objects and emotional symbols.
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I intend to apply the principles of the female gaze - such as restraint, closeness, and emotional presence - through photographic choices including careful framing and shallow depth of field. These techniques encourage the viewer to slow down and engage emotionally, rather than consume the image visually. The objects are not presented as spectacle, but as quiet carriers of memory, identity, and personal history.
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