Theorist: Lisbet Van Zoonen

Feminist theory - Lisbet Van Zoonen

Feminist - Person who believes men and women should have equal rights in society

Sexualisation - To make something, be it person or object exhibit sexual aspects. To define someone purely by their perceived physical attractiveness.


Objectification - To present somebody as something inanimate or unfeeling. To define somebody purely by their use or function.

The idea of gender is constructed through discourse and it varies according to cultural and historical context.

The idea of gender is constructed through codes and conventions of media products, and the idea of what is male and female changes over time.

The idea that the display of womens bodies to be looked at is a core element of Western patriarchal culture. Women's bodies are used in media products is as a spectacle for heterosexual male audiences, which reinforces patriarchal hegemony.

The idea that in mainstream culture the visual and narrative codes that are used to construct the male body as spectacle differ from those used to objectify the female body.

Male gaze theory