Theoretical entanglements: between the female gaze and the feminine look

Abstract

By weaving together a complex and conciliatory connection among the female gaze, the feminine look, and feminine writing, this article argues that we are facing a particularly productive theoretical configuration, one that enables us to challenge patriarchal and hegemonic cinematic representations. Our point of departure is Laura Mulvey’s seminal essay on the male gaze, which provides a framework for understanding the debates that have shaped feminist film criticism since the 1970s. In the second part, the discussion turns to other critics and filmmakers who engage with the notion of the female gaze, in order to contrast their views with Iris Brey’s conception of le regard féminin. Throughout this exploration, the article traces a shift within film theory, from a psychoanalytic model that emphasizes the spectator’s identification with the characters, toward a mode of feeling with them through a situated embodied experience grounded in phenomenology. The conclusion reflects on the subtle distinctions woven around the idea of the “feminine,” recognizing that in Brey’s framework the female gaze primarily invokes a political struggle rooted in women’s lived realities. In contrast, the feminine look, constantly in dialogue with Hélène Cixous’s écriture féminine, articulates a theoretical proposal that seeks to transcend the divide between essentialist and anti-essentialist thought.