The female gaze - "What you looking at? "

We have or may not have heard of the Female Gaze because we are so often told stories and perspectives that consider the heterosexual male as the primary audience. This has been the way of things for a couple of thousand years so it’s hard to even notice this biased perspective. But screen theorists started picking up on it about 50 years ago when Laura Mulvey coined the phrase.

The inspiration for this post came from a Women’s Hour show last year about Portraits that affected my own photography practice and creative process deeply. The programme begins in the backdrop of discussing the current renovations of the National Portrait Gallery in London and how that when it reopens in 2023 that it hopes to be a very different place with a re-balance of what’s on show in terms of forgotten histories (or her-stories) of women and true representation of all voices. Historically their collection has included 88% artists and 75% of sitters being male and I for one find it very refreshing that women are being put back in the picture. Women who have been captured in the past are normally from upper classes and either placed in a stiff, posed position or seen as domesticated.

I invite you in this blog to consider art through a different lens and imagine how your role in a photoshoot can differ from usual pre-conceptions as well as feel inspired by the artists mentioned and the power of the female voice.

So what is The Male gaze?

The Male Gaze theory, in a nutshell, is where women in the media are viewed from the eyes of a heterosexual man, and that these women are represented as passive objects of male desire. A couple of examples of this is a camera shot over a man’s shoulder looking at a women or scenes that linger on and fixate on the female body.

“They believe that they are giving the public what they want, when that isn’t necessarily true. They are giving audiences what a proportion of males want, and what the rest of society has been brainwashed to accept.”

— Laura Mulvey

Think about ‘that scene’ in transformers when Megan Fox bends over the car bonnet to look at the engine, scantily clad with a perfect mid-rift on show. (You’re probably also imaging the over-the-top sunset lens flare too that Michale Bay is renowned for!) Or countless scenes from any James Bond. Or the design of the bodies and clothes of princesses in Disney films and how these women are betrayed as only being happy/fulfilled only when they are saved or loved by a man or losing their voice to win a man (The Little Mermaid). All in relation to the man. Moana an exception of course.

How is the female gaze different?

Here is a wikipedia definition to help you:

“The female gaze is a feminist theory term referring to the gaze of the female spectator, character or director of an artistic work, but more than the gender it is an issue of representing women as subjects having agency. As such all genders can create films with a female gaze.”

Essentially, the female gaze is the way that women are portrayed through the eyes of a woman instead of a man. Through the eyes of a woman, other women are seen as people with feelings and intelligence. The focus isn't necessarily on what the eye can see but on what the heart can feel.

You can start to see the importance of this in photography as well as the difference of females painting or capturing other women because of their lived experience that they bring to all their work. But remember that this is a perspective and any gender can have this gaze.

“When female desire is shown through
the female gaze, it doesn’t objectify the man (or partner), instead it helps both masculine and feminine energies move effortlessly between being the object and the subject of the desire between the two. Through the female gaze, the characters are seen as human and relatable, showing both strength and vulnerability.
”

— Wit and Folly in their video essay

films with the female gaze

One of the films that stick out to me is Nomadland which is directed by Chloé Zhao. It really embodies the aspect of the female gaze of women being active agents in society and not just something pretty to be looked at. There is a moment when Fern is bathing naked in a stream as she explores the great American landscape and is so joyful in her own presence. I was moved to tears in this scene. Her middle-aged body in symbiosis with the land, a place to call home (the theme of the film being that she lives in a travelling trailer when her whole live falls apart). Powerful storytelling and very moving that resonates on a soul level.

A recent film that tackled sex from the female perspective (when has this been done before other then Blue is The Warmest Colour?) is Good Luck to You Leo Grande. The way that a middle aged women is given permission to even voice her sex life and her intimate desires is something that we’re not used to on the screen let along in society. And (spoiler!) when she stares at her naked body in the mirror in the closing scene, it’s an invitation for us to do the same without disdain and letting go of societal expectations of having the perfect body. Powerful powerful writing from Katy Brand.

Think too about Dirty Dancing where the male gaze is turned on its head. The subject and object of desire in this movie is the male, Johnny Castle. Baby is the powerful agent that controls and initiates their relationship. In their first sexual encounter she circles him and makes the move as he stand half-naked in the middle of the room. It’s a coming of age story but not like the one we are used to. Her first sexual experiences are loving and yet they do not end up together. If we consider all this as well as the abortion storyline, something that was illegal in NY State at the time, we are hearing these stories from a very different perspective. Without knowing it it’s probably why us 80s and 90s kids have resonated with it so deeply over the years.

Another subtle moment in Pride and Prejudice 2005 that has gained recognition as representative of the female gaze is now known as the ‘Mr Darcy Hand Flex’. The way that the camera zooms in on such a minute detail was pivotal in showing the increasing love that he starts to show for Elizabeth Bennett and telling of his interior landscape. It’s a moment that is almost missed but shows the slow unravelling and vulnerability of the masculine and the sexual tension and frustration in their relationship. It’s in the book and wouldn’t have been customary at the time for skin on skin contact, even if innocent in helping a lady out of her carriage. Seriously, there is a whole Tik Tok trend on this it’s so electrifying! We follow Lizzie’s gaze throughout the whole film and here as the camera tracks Mr Darcey’s hand, we are left understanding the emotions of the characters on a whole other level.

My PHOTOGRAPHY work

I have lost count of clients who tell me about uncomfortable experiences in front of a professional photographer in the past. I’ve had it too and remembering them makes me cringe. They’ve usually been in a studio setting with a dull background where I am told where to stand, how to move, no interest in me as a person and no clue what the final shots will look like. Generally being treated as an object and the photo more important than the subject.

These experiences made me vow to never make my clients ever feel like this on a photoshoot. Women see women differently and that approach can turn the photo shoot experience on it’s head. A place to feel comfortable and yourself because of the agency and power you have rather than just an object that has to look good, measured in a way that society has conditioned us to believe. You are to celebrated in all your ‘your-ness’ and are an intriguing personality to be explored and experienced and the deeper that goes, the more authentic the result can be.

“Portrait photography is concerned with portraying people with an emphasis on their identity as individuals.”

You can see that the female gaze deeply affects my work. You are not just a body in space but a thinking, feeling being where the image is a manifestation of the inner feelings and landscape. The power is with you, the subject not the onlooker. We co-create together on equal footing. It’s an amazing process and experience.

Joy as a radical feminine act in my photos

Something that is invisible in historical images of women (and in general) is laughter. Women are never seen as joyful with their mouths agape laughing in total abandon. The artist Roxanna Halls is obsessed with this in her artwork and talks about the way that laughter is a total uncensored explosion in the body. We don’t see this much in historical painting but when we do it’s normally pub scenes which are more related to the lower classes. Open mouth can insinuate a whole host of ideas from eating to sexual pleasure or even the monstrosity of things like the essay by Hélène Cixous called The Laugh of Medusa. She advocates for women to address their needs by building strong self-narratives and identity and argues that writing is a tool women must use to advocate for themselves in order to acquire the freedom women have historically been denied.

Making you laugh on a shoot is extremely important to me. One of the reasons is that the whole body comes alive and is one of the keys to great authentic photos. It’s releases your whole body and helps you let go. When you just smile it can look forced but when you laugh or giggle, your whole face changes and the way the edges of your eyes lift exudes true joy. I’m no natural comedian but seem to make this happen naturally with everyone I work with. ⁠There is absolutely no cringey, gimmicky techniques like random prompts or fake laughing or joke or tickling sticks - just good conversation and space to just be you.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Toyin Ojih Odutola who has been commissioned to paint Zadie Smith for the new Portrait Gallery next year talks about the subject being at ease too. She wanted to portray Zadie in a way that she doesn't really care if you look at her or not, either way she will be fine. She wanted to show that agency - that the sitter can do whatever she wants. There is no performitivity and definitely no reduction to women as a function in society. Her full humanity is captured and celebrated.

On the same radio programme I mentioned, the artist Roxanna Halls shares the conscious work and responsibility that women artists have in capturing their subjects and how to best represent their lives and agency. This is something that really resonates with me and the process that I use to capture women as well as the intention behind the image. I simply believe in your ‘enoughness’. That showing up with courage will create a great photo. We don’t need to adhere to industry standards or perfect bodies. You can have your make done professionally or turn up with none. All bodies and abilities are welcome. Seeing diverse bodies and voices represented can and will change society.

Roxanna Halls perfectly captures this whole idea in the metaphor of an orchestra.

“Without female voices, only half the orchestra is playing. Half of the instruments are being kept in their cases. WE NEED THE FULL SOUND!”

— Roxanna Halls

If I could press anything on you it would be this.

Now it’s over to you. Tell me your favourites female/queer artists below and filmmakers so I can add to my list. And please comment or email me with your reactions and responses to this.

Donna x

RESOURCES:

This insightful panel talk on the absent voices from the Troubles from Belfast Film Festival not only features images from the female gaze but also the Queer Gaze.

I am very excited to see the art work from the famous Pre-Raphaelite model Elizabeth Siddall (yes Ophelia!) at the Tate Britain.

You must listen to this podcast with the Guilty Feminist featuring Katy Brand talking about Good Luck To You Leo Grande and Dirty Dancing (of which she has written a book).

An interesting article that I have referenced in this blog on more films that use the male gaze.

Feminist activist and photographer Amanda de Cadenet talks about the female gaze in this article.

A great chat with Roxanna Halls on her work and Hélène Cixous.

More Incredible Films That Celebrate The Female Gaze

The 100 greatest films directed by women

Some tips on how to prepare mentally and know if you’re ready for your photoshoot.