I think maybe its an attempt to dress in a way that asserts females as dominant? The only problem with that is regularly viewed dominant styles have always been catered to men so instead we get a females wearing historically masculine clothing in an attempt to convey this. From we get the idea of females purposefully pushing themselves away from characteristically feminine clothing which brings into question if femininity can be dominant at all despite the entire point being to prove feminine figures or just women in general can be dominant. If you ask me, it's just a never-ending paradox that marketing has jumped on to gain profit from an never ending loop, sort of like pharmaceutical companies.
I think saying that the female gaze is less about what you see and more about what you feel and perceive is a good way to put it. It’s about nuances and emotions, ect., not just about how someone or something looks. Of course part of it has to be about looks, we are human after all.
For me, dressing specifically not to attract the male gaze is still like dressing for the male gaze, since you still have how you will be perceived by men in mind
@@bananayogurt8002this is the world damm who is stalking you and constantly judging how you look? I doubt its every man you ever saw in your life, but yourself
I agree with you. It’s why this trend still doesn’t sit right with me. Very monotonous as well, no one really got creative with it. It also gave strength to ideologies based on brain-washed patriarchal propagandas.
Perfect example in film: Male Gaze - Margot Robbie in Suicide Squad vs Female Gaze - Margot Robbie in Birds of Prey. She’s playing the same character in both films, but they look and feel completely different.
The only thing I hate is sometimes I take the bus home at night and have to think of how men will view me and unfortunately have to dress more for safety, so in a way that’s dressing for the male gaze in a different sense 😅
Exactly, I wanna wear more girly clothes but in the area I live it attracts men’s attention and I’m not interested in it at all. 😅so, I have to wear more neutral stuffs just for my inner comfort
it’s good to distinguish those things because I think women just want to be able to exist without being seen as an object to all men and if we do happen to want to dress to attract a certain person or something it’s not something up for others to judge… I feel like that’s the female gaze I feel. Wanting to be seen beyond my outer appearance.
“When you’re twenty, you care what everyone thinks; when you’re forty, you stop caring what everyone thinks; when you’re sixty, you realise no one was every thinking about you in the first place” (Churchill).....so basically ... we want wisdom beyond our years lol ... we want to dress and feel like a true body neutral retiree lol
I don’t care what the people around me think of my outfits. I just love what I wear and when I can find others that like what I do, it’s a plus. It saves a lot of energy to just dress in what makes you comfortable/ feel good
I'm ace, and this video made me realize the way I dress all the time is the anti-male gaze style, because I feel so uncomfortable when men look at me in a sexual way. I can't really imagine how I would dress if I didn't have to factor straight men's lust into the equation. I don't really know what style I like or what clothing makes me feel comfortable, beyond being more comfortable when I'm less sexualized by others. That one factor really controls my appearance, and I think I actually really don't like that now that I'm realizing it.
my question - why is it a bad thing to dress nice and have part of the reason be that you want men to see you as pretty? Like, isn't that what you should do?
@@Doublecool I don't mean hurting your body - just dressing nice. I'm not going to wear sweats, I'm going to wear something nicer. Partially for me, but also because I want to be perceived as someone dateable. Starving yourself, or wearing tight clothes that make your stomach hurt, or wearing hairstyles that hurt your head - I'm not saying those things are good. I'm saying it is good to put in some effort to look nice for other people because I wear what I wear so people will perceive me a certain way. That's why I wear different things depending on what I'm doing. (I hope that makes sense)
@@poohbeardrawz8043 Yes, absolutely, I also dress a certain way to be perceived a certain way and I am also not a fan of sweats. I just hate so many women hurt themselves just so men (that being honest aren't even that worthy) find them attractive.
Are you quite young ? Because I'm 27 and married and had many partners and I feel when you live with someone (Ive lived with three of my partners not just my now husband) it's completely illogical and a huge pressure to ever think that " we should" dress nice and attractive because you are on your period cramps, you come work, you have stomach ache, you're super focused on work, you're late for somewhere, you just wanna rest. So when you live with people or actually share a life not just date to say " shouldn't we all dress attractive and not in sweats for them??" Is like crazy demanding and unattainable and uncomfortable I think the whole point is that I'm a human being, men barely put any effort on looking good most of the time (barely jewellery if any, no makeup, no skincare, etc) so it should NEVER be that we "should" @@poohbeardrawz8043
I think the female gaze in fashion is how women dress when they are busy out in the world doing great things, working, raising their families, participating in their community. Hence the great diversity in the female gaze "style".
I dress for the forest gaze 🤣 I just never wear anything I can't wear to a camping trip or something like that 😁 And I also don't like black and dark blue, so my clothing is mostly brown, dusty pink (but a darker version), mustard and dark green 🥰 All of the items are comfy and simple: no patterns, no decor, no weird cuts. I'm looking acceptable for the society while also wearing things I really like and feel good in ❤️ I also shave my head (as a female, 25) because it's just more comfortable for me, even though I like myself much more with longer hair - for me beauty is not worth it 😅 After shaving my head I actually stopped getting unwanted attention from random men, so I'm happy with that! A very nice side effect, lol.
How can the female gaze be about only emotions (ie not about looks)? We give meaning to looks in order to communicate to others/make judgements about what others are giving off. I think male/female gaze is more about the viewer interpreting what the object is giving. So male gaze is when the male is the subject (the vantage point), whereas female gaze is when the female is the subject.
I feel like what you said is an incorrect definition of the "female gaze". The female gaze is not about what the heart can feel. Nor is the male gaze about what the eyes can see. The male gaze is about framing what is shown on screen as objects. It's an external way of looking at things and people, resulting in the objectification, and/or sexualisation of those under the gaze. The male gaze offers male protagonists an omniscient point of view : they know as much as the viewer does = they sexualise the same characters. The viewer and the protagonist share the objectification of the others (most likely female characters). The female gaze is about framing what is shown in a way that conveys the characters emotions and feelings. It allows characters, female ones especially to have agency without having to be omniscient. As a viewer, you relate and feel through and with characters. None are just locked at, or bodies. The male gaze is a passive gaze, the female gaze is an active visualisation. As a viewer, through the framing of the scene, the music, the acting, you are invited to feel as you watch. You relate and identify, you are not invited to admire or look secretly. It is important talk about those terms in the context in which they were created, even when expanding their meaning to everyday life. TikTok being a social media, where videos are shown on a screen, the meaning of the "female gaze" as is for movies and TV shows, still works efficiently.
for me men gaze is about emphasizing femininity, clothes in cuts that emphasize the figure in Basic colors and female gaze is about showing your personality through clothes, which other women will pay attention to
i dress to feel comfortable. i wear leggings a lot because i am very flexible so jeans make me feel like i have less of a range of motion and restricted. i wear stretchy clothes for the same reason but im also tall so its hard to be comfortable in most clothes when they’re sliding up me
It’s kinda funny to me but it seems like you missed the point of dressing for the females gaze only to summarize it flatly at the end. Dressing for the female gaze literally means dressing in a way that makes you feel good and comfortable with out societal expectations or preconceived notions of how you should look.(which before was to be appealing and agreeable for men) That’s why you can wear whatever you want nothing is inherently s3xual and nothing is a performance but a true and even experimental expression of self. From my understanding that’s always been the point of the trend. The how to attract a man trend is something all it’s own entirely.
I dress for my own aesthetic gaze or to impress my friends❤ Sometimes I use my outfit as a manipulation to appear more naive or more professional to others. But thematic outfits are just my favorite ones
i dont know how relevant it is to this discussion, but as an ftm trans person i kinda had to let go of trying to please others with how i dress and so for the most part i dress for comfort and to avoid feeling dysphoric and sometimes that overlaps with passing and sometimes it doesnt. for the most part i care less about how others will like my outfit bc to me liking my outfit is more important, even if it might mean that the person i like is less likely to like me back. it hurts but since im not gonna change my style to their liking its a good way to let them go kinda fast. also, since i dress for myself i keep bringing myself visually which makes me comfortable and ✨confident✨ which i totally agree with you, Zoe, is always in style and so there are always going to be people who like me. and now almost every single person who cares to comment on my style says they really like it, which sometimes surprises me, but i think even if they would say my style sucks id dress the same way. im curious to see how my style will change as i transition and hopefully more things will feel comfortable compared to now
I think it holds up a funhouse mirror to the current beauty standards to show how ridiculous they are. Or at least that is how it started. Now its just an empty echo chamber like all trends on social media. Done for attention instead of with intention.
This just reminds me of one time where i complained about the sexualization of women in pornographic media, while the men are always left in a weird place of not there, self incert and or not the focus. Like i wanted to see the abs too or see a handsome face when it comes to that types of media. But most hentai story (includes webtoon) have the most gorgeous female characters, with the best outfit choices, the prettiest face and hit passed the beauty standard when it comes to their bodies (like unholy hips and boobs). Contrary the man just looks low effort (aka the art of that shot), like their face looks like those art drawing tutorials for beginners for anime men and their bodies look like the artist just learned about anatomy. Like the sixpack doesn't look jucy, more dry than those abs shaped bread. Then someone had to come in and tell me that i shouldn't complain about the male gaze, when there is also the female gaze. Like this person seems to misunderstand what the female gaze encompass. Also i should probably mention that i was talking mainly about drawn media than real life p*rn (but in those cases you also only see how only the women has the most screen time)
So now they feel like they need to dress to the exact opposite, actually just to prove than they don’t want to obey anymore. It’s more or less the same because you don’t dress for yourself. Like me, you should try to wear your pyjama in public, so comfy
Me who thougth that the "female gaze" where the male gaze for lesbians... like how to attract a woman as a woman, but I guess not😅 greatvideo as allways❤
That tiktok with Toreto and wolverine as "designed for the female gaze" is soooooo wrong. Toreto is a bald muscular man that likes fast cars. That's what men want to be. Wolverine too. He's a muscular man with knifes in his fists. There's no way someone in their right mind would think those two are designed to appeal to women. Now, an actual representation of the female gaze designed male is the reason why we have Justin Bieber and boy bands. They are engineered to be "perfect boyfriend". That's why men hate them, because that's not what men are and don't want to be. I could guess the male gaze works the same way on females. You have girls with Victoria secret model bodies and in your pursuit of it got the hit of uh oh. Being that skinny is not healthy and we dont have the same bodies, then we have to hate on it. Men want to be superheroes and want females to be Megan fox. Females seem to like Louis Tomlinson like boys and I can't guess what they want for their own sex.
I’ve been thinking about this a lot myself. I dress because of how I feel or how I want to feel. I dress to feel sexy, cute, sporty, elegant, classy, smart, confident, outdoorsy, etc! And I started to come to the conclusion: *THIS* is what the female gaze is…That is, dressing for how I want to feel, not solely for how it looks
every single person dresses to satisfy someone, even if it's themselves, they dress in a way that reinforces their own self-image, and that self-image seeks to control other people's perception of them
Dressing to look feminine as a woman means that men who are attracted to feminine beauty will find you attractive. I mean, the whole thing with TikTok is that everyone’s obsessed with labeling everything but that’s pretty much it. Two birds with one stone kinda deal.
Sure, if you don't care about communicating and interacting at all; and if you prefer to look like an object rather than a person. Because you still look like "something" ...
@kyrak.4143 the more a person covers their face, the less can you identify them as an individual person. Making a person faceless is thus the most effective way to objectify the person. Nothing compared to wearing sleeves or not / shaving or not shaving your legs ...
What you think is that your looks and face are the only means of interaction. I didn't say anything about not communicating and interacting. Wearing a niqab isn't objectifying, it's more of giving people who wear it a personality instead of looks. Also, it doesn't make you faceless, rather it gives you a basis besides your looks. 🖤
I have heard of the female gaze before. But I was too busy with life to research it. I guess this video sums it up. Thank you, Zoe, and thank you, researchers, at Oxford.
I feel like people make the two terms way too black and white. It's almost like, by definition, men or the male gaze are still looked at as the "dumb one" of the two making it seem like men are one dimensional, only sex driven creatures. They're simply not. When I asked my man why he's attracted to certain actresses or singers he explained that it's more than skin deep. He saw the women he found attractive by looking at their demeanor, the way they interact with others and how they treats themselves. He wonders what's behind those eyes and what her story is. It's not just about sex or attraction. This is why I can't stand sht like this.
Yes, that's my issue with this whole diacussion about the male gaze! You worded it perfectly Even if we change the definition to cis straight male gaze - not all of them are sex obsessed creatures with one braincell that cannot look at women deeper than oMg sExY bOdY The discussion about different types of gazes is definitely interesting but we can't just generalize them like that (just in case anyone ask, no, i don't know the answer to what is the definition of famale and male gaze then xd)
Being attractive to the male gaze isn't unacceptable- it's the verbage surrounding media marketed to women with the idea that one's behavior must be altered in a way that is unfair ("be modest so as not to bruise his ego"), unnatural (be pleasant ALL of the time), uncomfortable (who wants to wear makeup or shapewear every day?), or even detrimental (wearing heels daily can cause longterm damage to the feet, legs, and back) in order to attract men that's problematic. Visual appeal is prioritized over one's personal style, comfort, function, equality, or longevity of one's wardobe. Many of the articles written for women who may want to appeal to the male gaze can be quite harmful in the way that women's bodies are referred to as perpetually needing to be improved upon, as well.
Is so sad that woman are objectified in this society, for the general gaze and whatever I decide to wear people would delete my identity for their interpretation and pleasure and sometimes is so sick the way I need to wear baggy clothes cuz where I live people are so rude and stare so much and make comments. Like I can't wear a dress cuz people notice and put me on the spotlight and I don't like it, I'm an introvert that likes exploring different styles, is my thing, done for me, not for anyone to judge me.
Honestly just thinking about all of this makes my head hurt. Can't we just get rid of male and female gaze and simplify this instead of overcomplicating? To me it feels like that's just another way of reinforcing gender stereotypes.
Dress how u want. Mismatch clothes. Nobody should care other than you and you should enjoy. Except when its a trash bag ofc, then everyone should make sure you’re okay. Im a 31 year old male and I wear female looking earrings (because what makes it feminine?)/ muted color eyeshadows and and my pokemon pajama 😂
Thinking of this recently, I've realised that ever since I've come to terms with my sexuality etc I don't really think who i want to attract when dressing that much anymore. Though when I do its just me thinking : okay how will the girls know I'm for the girls...
In my understanding, dressing for the female gaze is dressing in a way that might be interesting, that maybe appeals and catches attention visually, but not in a sexual attraction way... When you look at someone who is dressed for a female gaze, you can see a visual story, an aesthetic, you can appreciate the idea, but you don't need to necessarily be attracted in any way throught clothes to the person wearing that. Like with visual art - you can appreciate and enjoy the visual story of an art object, but you don't necessarily need to like it, want to take it home, or even understand why it exists. IDK i hope someone understands what I'm trying to say 😂
When a woman out in the wild gets my attention its usually from her dressing seemingly effortlessly. She looks happy and comfortable. She knows she looks good and so do I.
I don't think it's a bad thing if a woman is dressed nice... Women too like a man who isn't dressed up like a dumpster truck. I think this whole 'male gaze' and 'female gaze' debate is just dumb. Dress what you're comfortable in and dress with confidence, those who are attracted to you will be attracted cause in the end does it really even matter? Most men like a certain type of woman and most women like a certain type of man, it doesn't have to be a negative thing
Ngl after learning ehat the female gaze is and how to dress for the gaze. I tried showing skin and ngl i feel awesome while doing it, but I can't get comfortable going out with too much skin. So branching out in other styles, especially streetwear has me feeling real good in my own body.
Idk I always think how some people dress so nicely just to sit in the corner of the room and look badly at everyone. If you wanted to be liked because of your clothes why not try to be liked for your personality too? The way you make others feel?
I don’t dress to attract the male gaze, but that doesn’t mean I don’t dress how men like, it just means that that wasn’t the reason I dressed like that.
yea this is what i go for. i love super girly dresses and cutesy patterns, and i do get nice boys who tell me i look nice (probably more girls though) and it feels nice to know fashion that is authentic to me is appreciated 😊
I don't have TikTok and I only keep myself updated lately thanks to video essays and sometimes IG and I have to say that learning that the female gaze is not a queer/wlw trend really broke my heart. In my head it was so cute !
I like your take (especially having just watched the Joey speech referenced here) that Male gaze is looking at women. Female gaze is women understanding each other and ourselves. Looking at versus being and feeling seen as a whole person
As trans person who loves watching your videos, it is a little hurtful to see you deadname Soloway for seemingly no reason. Otherwise, great video as usual.
In my opinion dressing for "the female gaze" doesn't necessarily mean dressing opposite of the male gaze or dressing in a way that is purposely as de-sexualized as possible. I would argue its more about dressing up with the intent/goal of looking cute for yourself, or having other girls go "oh my god i LOVE your ______!". Like i dress pretty sexy with like fishnets, short skirts, firm fitting clothes ect, but i don't do it for men 🤷♀️ i also think certain aspects of my attire are not super appealing to men, like very full fluffy skirts/dresses. Big chinky platform boots/shoes, and bold makeup. Of course you always have the "oh goody a goth gf!" Guys, but i think i tend to draw way more female attention when dressed to the nines, than male attention, abd thats how i like it!
How would you define the female gaze?
I think maybe its an attempt to dress in a way that asserts females as dominant? The only problem with that is regularly viewed dominant styles have always been catered to men so instead we get a females wearing historically masculine clothing in an attempt to convey this. From we get the idea of females purposefully pushing themselves away from characteristically feminine clothing which brings into question if femininity can be dominant at all despite the entire point being to prove feminine figures or just women in general can be dominant. If you ask me, it's just a never-ending paradox that marketing has jumped on to gain profit from an never ending loop, sort of like pharmaceutical companies.
Honestly, I think it is just dressing for yourself or following the latest trend.
an eye
I think saying that the female gaze is less about what you see and more about what you feel and perceive is a good way to put it. It’s about nuances and emotions, ect., not just about how someone or something looks. Of course part of it has to be about looks, we are human after all.
dressing how the f*** u want. That means Jog pants or princess dress. You decide 🩷
For me, dressing specifically not to attract the male gaze is still like dressing for the male gaze, since you still have how you will be perceived by men in mind
This is a men's world
They'll be looking either way
@@bananayogurt8002this is the world damm who is stalking you and constantly judging how you look? I doubt its every man you ever saw in your life, but yourself
I agree with you. It’s why this trend still doesn’t sit right with me. Very monotonous as well, no one really got creative with it. It also gave strength to ideologies based on brain-washed patriarchal propagandas.
That's a great point
idk not me im gay i do this shit so girls will notice me
which is embarrassing and not much more impressive
Perfect example in film: Male Gaze - Margot Robbie in Suicide Squad vs Female Gaze - Margot Robbie in Birds of Prey. She’s playing the same character in both films, but they look and feel completely different.
I think Margot Robbie outfits for the Barbie movie are also more female gaze.
Female gaze = the objectification/sexualisation of men (especially in media/popculture)
I was just about to say that...@@aprilrapunzel5318
I really think that wearing what makes u comfortable will make u confident and people will like u , u don't need to dress for a certain gaze yk
Fr
Yeah
I raise you all a new gaze:
The Self Gaze. I dress for myself because it makes me feel confident, comfortable, and creative.
@@kyrak.4143 And wear your pants with shaven legs, its a short life after all
@@kyrak.4143real it's our body we can do whatever we please with it.facts
and 100 other lies i tell myself to keep my ego in check
@@krejziks3398 It’s not ego driven in my case. Someone called me a 1, thats cool. I’m just happy to live another day :-)
@@keymango I was referring to the part where you do it for yourself that is a lie, not about how you or others view you, you can't affect that.
The only thing I hate is sometimes I take the bus home at night and have to think of how men will view me and unfortunately have to dress more for safety, so in a way that’s dressing for the male gaze in a different sense 😅
Exactly, I wanna wear more girly clothes but in the area I live it attracts men’s attention and I’m not interested in it at all. 😅so, I have to wear more neutral stuffs just for my inner comfort
it’s good to distinguish those things because I think women just want to be able to exist without being seen as an object to all men and if we do happen to want to dress to attract a certain person or something it’s not something up for others to judge… I feel like that’s the female gaze I feel. Wanting to be seen beyond my outer appearance.
Like it’s your personality on the inside being visible to the world without caring what other people think
“When you’re twenty, you care what everyone thinks; when you’re forty, you stop caring what everyone thinks; when you’re sixty, you realise no one was every thinking about you in the first place” (Churchill).....so basically ... we want wisdom beyond our years lol ... we want to dress and feel like a true body neutral retiree lol
I don’t care what the people around me think of my outfits. I just love what I wear and when I can find others that like what I do, it’s a plus. It saves a lot of energy to just dress in what makes you comfortable/ feel good
I'm ace, and this video made me realize the way I dress all the time is the anti-male gaze style, because I feel so uncomfortable when men look at me in a sexual way. I can't really imagine how I would dress if I didn't have to factor straight men's lust into the equation. I don't really know what style I like or what clothing makes me feel comfortable, beyond being more comfortable when I'm less sexualized by others. That one factor really controls my appearance, and I think I actually really don't like that now that I'm realizing it.
my question - why is it a bad thing to dress nice and have part of the reason be that you want men to see you as pretty? Like, isn't that what you should do?
You shouldn't aspire to be something to look at. A lot of women end up hurting their bodies just to be admired by men. I don't think this is good.
@@Doublecool I don't mean hurting your body - just dressing nice. I'm not going to wear sweats, I'm going to wear something nicer. Partially for me, but also because I want to be perceived as someone dateable. Starving yourself, or wearing tight clothes that make your stomach hurt, or wearing hairstyles that hurt your head - I'm not saying those things are good. I'm saying it is good to put in some effort to look nice for other people because I wear what I wear so people will perceive me a certain way. That's why I wear different things depending on what I'm doing. (I hope that makes sense)
@@poohbeardrawz8043 Yes, absolutely, I also dress a certain way to be perceived a certain way and I am also not a fan of sweats. I just hate so many women hurt themselves just so men (that being honest aren't even that worthy) find them attractive.
Are you quite young ? Because I'm 27 and married and had many partners and I feel when you live with someone (Ive lived with three of my partners not just my now husband) it's completely illogical and a huge pressure to ever think that " we should" dress nice and attractive because you are on your period cramps, you come work, you have stomach ache, you're super focused on work, you're late for somewhere, you just wanna rest. So when you live with people or actually share a life not just date to say " shouldn't we all dress attractive and not in sweats for them??" Is like crazy demanding and unattainable and uncomfortable I think the whole point is that I'm a human being, men barely put any effort on looking good most of the time (barely jewellery if any, no makeup, no skincare, etc) so it should NEVER be that we "should" @@poohbeardrawz8043
I think the female gaze in fashion is how women dress when they are busy out in the world doing great things, working, raising their families, participating in their community. Hence the great diversity in the female gaze "style".
I dress for the forest gaze 🤣 I just never wear anything I can't wear to a camping trip or something like that 😁 And I also don't like black and dark blue, so my clothing is mostly brown, dusty pink (but a darker version), mustard and dark green 🥰 All of the items are comfy and simple: no patterns, no decor, no weird cuts. I'm looking acceptable for the society while also wearing things I really like and feel good in ❤️ I also shave my head (as a female, 25) because it's just more comfortable for me, even though I like myself much more with longer hair - for me beauty is not worth it 😅 After shaving my head I actually stopped getting unwanted attention from random men, so I'm happy with that! A very nice side effect, lol.
i don't wanna attract a man i wanna attract zoe to my comment 😝😝
I'm here ☺️💕
oMBGOMG@@zoeunlimited
Fuck what people think, wear what make you feel beautiful.
How can the female gaze be about only emotions (ie not about looks)? We give meaning to looks in order to communicate to others/make judgements about what others are giving off. I think male/female gaze is more about the viewer interpreting what the object is giving. So male gaze is when the male is the subject (the vantage point), whereas female gaze is when the female is the subject.
This is the earliest I've ever been and I'm not even complaining
Omg love this trend soo much!
Well I’d love to dress to attract a girl
(I’m a girl)
As a lesbian I know there are also a lot of gay woman how are into stereotypical "beautiful" femenin woman.
Zoe please make a video on colour theory this seems really off at least for me😢😢
I define the female gaze in bl manhwa/manga, kpop boy bands and Sarah J Mass men
i dress depending on my mood, cycle, spotting, headaches, study pressure parentage, and whatever is in my closet
such a lil fashionistia
I feel like what you said is an incorrect definition of the "female gaze". The female gaze is not about what the heart can feel. Nor is the male gaze about what the eyes can see.
The male gaze is about framing what is shown on screen as objects. It's an external way of looking at things and people, resulting in the objectification, and/or sexualisation of those under the gaze. The male gaze offers male protagonists an omniscient point of view : they know as much as the viewer does = they sexualise the same characters. The viewer and the protagonist share the objectification of the others (most likely female characters).
The female gaze is about framing what is shown in a way that conveys the characters emotions and feelings. It allows characters, female ones especially to have agency without having to be omniscient. As a viewer, you relate and feel through and with characters. None are just locked at, or bodies.
The male gaze is a passive gaze, the female gaze is an active visualisation. As a viewer, through the framing of the scene, the music, the acting, you are invited to feel as you watch. You relate and identify, you are not invited to admire or look secretly.
It is important talk about those terms in the context in which they were created, even when expanding their meaning to everyday life. TikTok being a social media, where videos are shown on a screen, the meaning of the "female gaze" as is for movies and TV shows, still works efficiently.
for me men gaze is about emphasizing femininity, clothes in cuts that emphasize the figure in Basic colors and female gaze is about showing your personality through clothes, which other women will pay attention to
i dress to feel comfortable. i wear leggings a lot because i am very flexible so jeans make me feel like i have less of a range of motion and restricted. i wear stretchy clothes for the same reason but im also tall so its hard to be comfortable in most clothes when they’re sliding up me
It’s kinda funny to me but it seems like you missed the point of dressing for the females gaze only to summarize it flatly at the end. Dressing for the female gaze literally means dressing in a way that makes you feel good and comfortable with out societal expectations or preconceived notions of how you should look.(which before was to be appealing and agreeable for men) That’s why you can wear whatever you want nothing is inherently s3xual and nothing is a performance but a true and even experimental expression of self. From my understanding that’s always been the point of the trend. The how to attract a man trend is something all it’s own entirely.
I dress for my own aesthetic gaze or to impress my friends❤ Sometimes I use my outfit as a manipulation to appear more naive or more professional to others. But thematic outfits are just my favorite ones
Yassss the queen has posted ❤
i dont know how relevant it is to this discussion, but as an ftm trans person i kinda had to let go of trying to please others with how i dress and so for the most part i dress for comfort and to avoid feeling dysphoric and sometimes that overlaps with passing and sometimes it doesnt. for the most part i care less about how others will like my outfit bc to me liking my outfit is more important, even if it might mean that the person i like is less likely to like me back. it hurts but since im not gonna change my style to their liking its a good way to let them go kinda fast. also, since i dress for myself i keep bringing myself visually which makes me comfortable and ✨confident✨ which i totally agree with you, Zoe, is always in style and so there are always going to be people who like me. and now almost every single person who cares to comment on my style says they really like it, which sometimes surprises me, but i think even if they would say my style sucks id dress the same way. im curious to see how my style will change as i transition and hopefully more things will feel comfortable compared to now
As a lesbian, I don't dress for the ""female gaze"", I dress for my own gaze when I look at myself in shop windows
i dont dress for the female gaze, i dress for the female gays
Thank You ❤
I think it holds up a funhouse mirror to the current beauty standards to show how ridiculous they are. Or at least that is how it started. Now its just an empty echo chamber like all trends on social media. Done for attention instead of with intention.
I feel like , this trend is more creepy rather funny
This just reminds me of one time where i complained about the sexualization of women in pornographic media, while the men are always left in a weird place of not there, self incert and or not the focus. Like i wanted to see the abs too or see a handsome face when it comes to that types of media. But most hentai story (includes webtoon) have the most gorgeous female characters, with the best outfit choices, the prettiest face and hit passed the beauty standard when it comes to their bodies (like unholy hips and boobs). Contrary the man just looks low effort (aka the art of that shot), like their face looks like those art drawing tutorials for beginners for anime men and their bodies look like the artist just learned about anatomy. Like the sixpack doesn't look jucy, more dry than those abs shaped bread.
Then someone had to come in and tell me that i shouldn't complain about the male gaze, when there is also the female gaze. Like this person seems to misunderstand what the female gaze encompass.
Also i should probably mention that i was talking mainly about drawn media than real life p*rn (but in those cases you also only see how only the women has the most screen time)
So now they feel like they need to dress to the exact opposite, actually just to prove than they don’t want to obey anymore. It’s more or less the same because you don’t dress for yourself.
Like me, you should try to wear your pyjama in public, so comfy
I'd identify the female gaze as women who are homosexual
Nothing gonna last one day we all will die and this cringe I AM THE MAIN CHARACTER attitude would vanish
Wear a trash bag and some sinps out there will find it hot..
Me who thougth that the "female gaze" where the male gaze for lesbians... like how to attract a woman as a woman, but I guess not😅 greatvideo as allways❤
I'm sorry...but Ryan Reynolds is for EVERYONE gaze BUAHAHAHAHAHAA
Dressing for the Female Gaze = Dressing like the Baba Yaga. What, just me?
What I want to know is where this audio is from originally??
😍😍
😊😊😊
You don't have to be a muslim to support Palestine🇵🇸 you just have to be a human✨
#Help Palestinian
Then leave the holy land of Jerusalem to the jews
That tiktok with Toreto and wolverine as "designed for the female gaze" is soooooo wrong. Toreto is a bald muscular man that likes fast cars. That's what men want to be. Wolverine too. He's a muscular man with knifes in his fists. There's no way someone in their right mind would think those two are designed to appeal to women.
Now, an actual representation of the female gaze designed male is the reason why we have Justin Bieber and boy bands. They are engineered to be "perfect boyfriend". That's why men hate them, because that's not what men are and don't want to be. I could guess the male gaze works the same way on females. You have girls with Victoria secret model bodies and in your pursuit of it got the hit of uh oh. Being that skinny is not healthy and we dont have the same bodies, then we have to hate on it.
Men want to be superheroes and want females to be Megan fox. Females seem to like Louis Tomlinson like boys and I can't guess what they want for their own sex.
:)
Good thing i like women🥱
ew
@@sathira_anuk5179 uhm💀sexist?
@@sketchedout4080how?
@@Penelope_777 how do i like women?💀
@@sketchedout4080 how is the comment above sexist? Maybe homophobic would be the correct word, I just don't understand what's sexist in that comment
I’ve been thinking about this a lot myself. I dress because of how I feel or how I want to feel. I dress to feel sexy, cute, sporty, elegant, classy, smart, confident, outdoorsy, etc! And I started to come to the conclusion: *THIS* is what the female gaze is…That is, dressing for how I want to feel, not solely for how it looks
I don't understand some people. They should dress the way they like, they shouldn't dress to satisfy someone else. But it is what it is.
every single person dresses to satisfy someone, even if it's themselves, they dress in a way that reinforces their own self-image, and that self-image seeks to control other people's perception of them
Or sometime they just don't know how to dress
no i dont lol. i throw on the first random shirt and jeans i see in my closet. idgaf bout anyone@@liii3622
Maybe because some to some people, dressing to satisfy someone is is dressing the way they like
Dressing to look feminine as a woman means that men who are attracted to feminine beauty will find you attractive. I mean, the whole thing with TikTok is that everyone’s obsessed with labeling everything but that’s pretty much it. Two birds with one stone kinda deal.
Hii, have a nice day
ight
When you cover up/do niqab in public for "no gaze" 💫💫💫
Only for Allah
Sure, if you don't care about communicating and interacting at all; and if you prefer to look like an object rather than a person. Because you still look like "something" ...
@kyrak.4143 the more a person covers their face, the less can you identify them as an individual person. Making a person faceless is thus the most effective way to objectify the person. Nothing compared to wearing sleeves or not / shaving or not shaving your legs ...
What you think is that your looks and face are the only means of interaction. I didn't say anything about not communicating and interacting. Wearing a niqab isn't objectifying, it's more of giving people who wear it a personality instead of looks. Also, it doesn't make you faceless, rather it gives you a basis besides your looks. 🖤
@@Cottonswab38 niqab is not even in Islam ... Y'all be promoting it as if it's something
There is only hijab
I have heard of the female gaze before. But I was too busy with life to research it. I guess this video sums it up. Thank you, Zoe, and thank you, researchers, at Oxford.
I feel like people make the two terms way too black and white.
It's almost like, by definition, men or the male gaze are still looked at as the "dumb one" of the two making it seem like men are one dimensional, only sex driven creatures. They're simply not.
When I asked my man why he's attracted to certain actresses or singers he explained that it's more than skin deep. He saw the women he found attractive by looking at their demeanor, the way they interact with others and how they treats themselves. He wonders what's behind those eyes and what her story is. It's not just about sex or attraction.
This is why I can't stand sht like this.
Yes, that's my issue with this whole diacussion about the male gaze! You worded it perfectly
Even if we change the definition to cis straight male gaze - not all of them are sex obsessed creatures with one braincell that cannot look at women deeper than oMg sExY bOdY
The discussion about different types of gazes is definitely interesting but we can't just generalize them like that
(just in case anyone ask, no, i don't know the answer to what is the definition of famale and male gaze then xd)
Being attractive to the male gaze isn't unacceptable- it's the verbage surrounding media marketed to women with the idea that one's behavior must be altered in a way that is unfair ("be modest so as not to bruise his ego"), unnatural (be pleasant ALL of the time), uncomfortable (who wants to wear makeup or shapewear every day?), or even detrimental (wearing heels daily can cause longterm damage to the feet, legs, and back) in order to attract men that's problematic. Visual appeal is prioritized over one's personal style, comfort, function, equality, or longevity of one's wardobe. Many of the articles written for women who may want to appeal to the male gaze can be quite harmful in the way that women's bodies are referred to as perpetually needing to be improved upon, as well.
Simple solution: dress the way you want. Stop allowing outside mindsets to control your life.
did she remove her video of her watching the hate video made by the teletubby?
Firsttttt girllieeee
Is so sad that woman are objectified in this society, for the general gaze and whatever I decide to wear people would delete my identity for their interpretation and pleasure and sometimes is so sick the way I need to wear baggy clothes cuz where I live people are so rude and stare so much and make comments. Like I can't wear a dress cuz people notice and put me on the spotlight and I don't like it, I'm an introvert that likes exploring different styles, is my thing, done for me, not for anyone to judge me.
I only wear outfits that I find cool lile aesthetically pleasing and that give me self-confidence
Honestly just thinking about all of this makes my head hurt. Can't we just get rid of male and female gaze and simplify this instead of overcomplicating? To me it feels like that's just another way of reinforcing gender stereotypes.
I really didn't know were you were going to go with this but I'm very pleasantly surprised by your ending take.
You're my favorite youtuber.
I absolutely love your videos... they're such a comfort!
Dress how u want. Mismatch clothes. Nobody should care other than you and you should enjoy. Except when its a trash bag ofc, then everyone should make sure you’re okay.
Im a 31 year old male and I wear female looking earrings (because what makes it feminine?)/ muted color eyeshadows and and my pokemon pajama 😂
Thinking of this recently, I've realised that ever since I've come to terms with my sexuality etc I don't really think who i want to attract when dressing that much anymore. Though when I do its just me thinking : okay how will the girls know I'm for the girls...
In my understanding, dressing for the female gaze is dressing in a way that might be interesting, that maybe appeals and catches attention visually, but not in a sexual attraction way...
When you look at someone who is dressed for a female gaze, you can see a visual story, an aesthetic, you can appreciate the idea, but you don't need to necessarily be attracted in any way throught clothes to the person wearing that. Like with visual art - you can appreciate and enjoy the visual story of an art object, but you don't necessarily need to like it, want to take it home, or even understand why it exists.
IDK i hope someone understands what I'm trying to say 😂
Firsttt
broo random when I saw Tam Kaur I screamt because where I live is not very known but I personally love her and Idk AHHAHAHAH
Thank you Zoe, it was a very interesting video! ❤
Sometimes when i have bad days, i want to dress for NO gaze.
Any ideas fam???
When a woman out in the wild gets my attention its usually from her dressing seemingly effortlessly. She looks happy and comfortable. She knows she looks good and so do I.
I think it’s more about what women go through and how they feel that men aren’t necessarily aware of
I don't think it's a bad thing if a woman is dressed nice... Women too like a man who isn't dressed up like a dumpster truck.
I think this whole 'male gaze' and 'female gaze' debate is just dumb. Dress what you're comfortable in and dress with confidence, those who are attracted to you will be attracted cause in the end does it really even matter?
Most men like a certain type of woman and most women like a certain type of man, it doesn't have to be a negative thing
Ngl after learning ehat the female gaze is and how to dress for the gaze. I tried showing skin and ngl i feel awesome while doing it, but I can't get comfortable going out with too much skin. So branching out in other styles, especially streetwear has me feeling real good in my own body.
Idk I always think how some people dress so nicely just to sit in the corner of the room and look badly at everyone. If you wanted to be liked because of your clothes why not try to be liked for your personality too? The way you make others feel?
I don’t dress to attract the male gaze, but that doesn’t mean I don’t dress how men like, it just means that that wasn’t the reason I dressed like that.
yea this is what i go for. i love super girly dresses and cutesy patterns, and i do get nice boys who tell me i look nice (probably more girls though) and it feels nice to know fashion that is authentic to me is appreciated 😊
ily zoeee
Well, to be honest, I’m trying to dress for the male gaze because I’m trying to find a husband
I don't have TikTok and I only keep myself updated lately thanks to video essays and sometimes IG and I have to say that learning that the female gaze is not a queer/wlw trend really broke my heart. In my head it was so cute !
I like your take (especially having just watched the Joey speech referenced here) that Male gaze is looking at women. Female gaze is women understanding each other and ourselves. Looking at versus being and feeling seen as a whole person
I always wear everything for myself but I never dress up sexy cause I’m scared of men. I would like to look sexy sometimes.
If I see a certain visual trend in succesful females than I want to look like them.
dressing for the female gaze is not an excuse for terrible looking outfits
Chill, They're just joking.
@@skmuskanrahaman1690 nah twin, there are some people who actually say this shit. I find those "how to dress to attract a man" videos funny tho
@@pawedziedzicjr.672 me to.
I always feel calm . Thank you for bringing these topics zoe your the best 💗💗💕
As trans person who loves watching your videos, it is a little hurtful to see you deadname Soloway for seemingly no reason. Otherwise, great video as usual.
In my opinion dressing for "the female gaze" doesn't necessarily mean dressing opposite of the male gaze or dressing in a way that is purposely as de-sexualized as possible.
I would argue its more about dressing up with the intent/goal of looking cute for yourself, or having other girls go "oh my god i LOVE your ______!".
Like i dress pretty sexy with like fishnets, short skirts, firm fitting clothes ect, but i don't do it for men 🤷♀️ i also think certain aspects of my attire are not super appealing to men, like very full fluffy skirts/dresses. Big chinky platform boots/shoes, and bold makeup. Of course you always have the "oh goody a goth gf!" Guys, but i think i tend to draw way more female attention when dressed to the nines, than male attention, abd thats how i like it!