TV's Female Gaze

In an article in the LA Times, Meredith Blake gives examples of where women are directing, writing and performing from a female point of view, particularly, on TV. She describes that whilst the male gaze is pretty straightforward, and takes one form, the female gaze is more complex, and can be 'the matter-of-fact sex work of "Harlots," the anatomically precise humor of "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” and the cheeky direct address of "Fleabag.”

The goal of director Jill Soloway, was to make viewers feel — rather than merely see — with her characters, to...

"create empathy as a political tool”

This phrase appeals very much to me. How can you show what it's like for women? For teenage girls?

The use of voiceover is also discussed in relation to Offred's new TV adaptation of The Handmaid's Tale, which 'in addition to empathy-generating close-ups and point-of-view shots, (...) also includes voice-over, much of it lifted directly from Atwood's prose.'

This is different to the 1990 film adaptation, where Harold Pinter objected to the use of voiceover, which has been denegrated for a long time. It's almost a rule, that filmmakers should avoid using voiceover at all costs, when visuals and sound can tell the story instead. I say this myself, to our students. But perhaps voiceover is just one aspect of what makes up TV's female gaze.

'A number of other shows — including "Outlander," "Fleabag," "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend," "Insecure," "Chewing Gum" “Grey’s Anatomy” and "Jane the Virgin" -- use narration, direct address and subjective fantasy sequences to convey the heroine's unfiltered point of view directly to the audience. The tradition dates back at least to "Sex and the City," in which Carrie Bradshaw, in narration lifted from her newspaper column, often "couldn't help but wonder" about various romantic conundrums. It hardly seems a coincidence that these shows also frequently depict sex that's messy, fumbling, ill-advised, or just plain old bad; in other words, relatable.'