Hoss's first slide from the presentation
The Male gaze is a term discussed by Laura Mulvey in her essay, "Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema" (1975). It is used to describe when the audience is put into the perspective of a (heterosexual) man. Female characters are sexualized, and the camera may zero in on female body parts considered sexual. This takes after the psychoanalytical term brought into popular usage by Jacques Lacan
Further reading
- Wikipedia: The "male gaze" in feminist theory
- FAQ: What is the male gaze? at "Finally, a Feminism 101 blog"