The female gaze is a response to the film theorists Laura Mulvey’s term “the male gaze”. This theory states that a woman is just an object seen through the eye’s of a male. They are either seen as a possession of the man or an object for the man to objectify and sexualise. Artists such as Petra Collins challenge this theory creating a world built on references to teenage hood and a dreamy, girly aesthetic. They reimagine fashion editorials, shifting the role of a woman from an object to desire to a character in a visual narrative. The first Russians feminist magazine, Wonderzine, demonstrates that fashion is more about experimenting with your looks rather than looking pretty in order to seduce a man. Their shoots feature ordinary women instead of models and explore concepts of age and body image. The new generation of female artists are breaking stereotypes and pushing boundaries. The female gaze is a liberating term that frees females from the male constructed images that have defined femininity throughout the decades.
Ashley Armitage is another photographer who embraces the female gaze. “My work is an exploration of what it means to represent femininity through a womans viewpoint and not through a mans fantasy.” When talking about body representations she said ” Current representations promote a toxic, one-dimensional beauty standard, telling us to be thin, fit and without blemishes. The beauty standard is a tiny box that we’re all told to squeeze into, when really we should all be celebrating our differences.” Recently Armitage was part of a shaving ad campaign for women that was the first ever shaving advert to feature body hair. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4DDpS685iI
The photographs women artists take of other women can be a tool for challenging perceptions in the media, human rights, history, politics; to get at the unseen structures in our world and contribute to a broader understanding of society, whilst empowering women and embracing/promoting a realistic body image. This is what the female gaze is all about, putting the power into women hands and being able to celebrate all imperfections. The female gaze offers a powerful lens through which to view and better understand the world. It is about how female artists are redefining the concept of beauty within the fashion industry.
The female gaze is a theory that always has and always will inspire me within my work. I am inspired by how much times are changing and how there is a forever growing industry out there for female artists. I love the idea of being able to empower women and promote a realistic more raw image of a woman. I think that this is important, especially now in a time of instagram and instagram influencers there is a certain image of what young girls and women think is the ‘perfect body’ through what others are promoting and through this it is creating pressure for young girls to look a certain way, causing a rise in eating disorders and mental health problems. This is a never-ending problem so be able to make and promote art that feature realistic body images i think is really important, so it makes girls feel empowered.
