In 1975, the feminist film theorist Laura Mulvey invented the theory of the 'Male Gaze'. One aspect of it is that the camera makes the audience see through the eyes of a heterosexual man. When women are presented in the video, they are objectified for the men's pleasure. This is extensively seen in the music video for "You Shook Me All Night Long" by AC/DC:
There are bits where the camera points to the sexual parts of the female body. For example, the woman's breasts as she puts her jumper on to get changed at the beginning and a woman's buttocks when she is exercising on some kind of machine.
Another aspect is that there are two types of female character in film and music videos. One is the virginal innocent character or ingenue, which can be clearly seen in the music video for "Love Story" by Taylor Swift:
In spite of her obvious sex appeal, she is presented as the ingenue of the piece - clearly referencing stories like 'Romeo and Juliet' and 'Pride and Prejudice'.
The second stock character which women are usually given is the sexy whore. These are used to appeal to the male audience - in spite of the femininity in a song. A good example of this is in the video for "Don't Cha" by the Pussycat Dolls:
As we can see, women are heavily sexualised in this music video. Their dance moves, their lyrics, and their facial expressions all have sexual connotations. This fits in with that character of the sexy whore.
Laura Mulvey referred to this theory of having only two types of female character as the Virgin/Whore Dichotomy.
There are bits where the camera points to the sexual parts of the female body. For example, the woman's breasts as she puts her jumper on to get changed at the beginning and a woman's buttocks when she is exercising on some kind of machine.
Another aspect is that there are two types of female character in film and music videos. One is the virginal innocent character or ingenue, which can be clearly seen in the music video for "Love Story" by Taylor Swift:
In spite of her obvious sex appeal, she is presented as the ingenue of the piece - clearly referencing stories like 'Romeo and Juliet' and 'Pride and Prejudice'.
The second stock character which women are usually given is the sexy whore. These are used to appeal to the male audience - in spite of the femininity in a song. A good example of this is in the video for "Don't Cha" by the Pussycat Dolls:
As we can see, women are heavily sexualised in this music video. Their dance moves, their lyrics, and their facial expressions all have sexual connotations. This fits in with that character of the sexy whore.
Laura Mulvey referred to this theory of having only two types of female character as the Virgin/Whore Dichotomy.
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