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The Male Gaze Theory

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‘Thinking Through the Male Gaze’
The aim of this paper is to present a position in relation to the function on the male gaze in performance art. For the purpose of this paper, the male gaze theory will be examined through the work of Yoko Ono’s ‘Cut Piece’ (1964). In order to do this, this paper will first introduce the history of the male gaze theory. This paper will then introduce the work of Yoko Ono and her performance ‘Cut Piece’. Having introduced all the above, this paper will have laid out the foundations in order to present its position on the male gaze in relation to Cut Piece. The position that will be established in this paper is that Cut Piece is a multi-layered work that goes way beyond being a universal symbol for the victimisation of the female body. That even though many issues were highlighted in relation to the treatment of the female, Cut Piece also commented on the giving nature of the human spirit. This paper will then be able to arrive at a conclusion. First off though, this paper will introduce the history of the male gaze theory.
The male gaze theory and the supporting circumstances have been around for quite some time. However, the actual phrase originally was coined by Laura Mulvey. Mulvey established the phrase in her 1975 essay ‘Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema’ which was about cinematography. In Mulvey’s essay, the role of women in films was examined. Through this examination, Mulvey courageously stated that the portrayal of women was done

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