For as long as films have been around, women have often been positioned as objects to be looked at rather than real people who have their own autonomy. The concept of the “male gaze” is about the way cinema has traditionally placed the camera, and by extension, the audience, with a more heterosexual male perspective. Because of this, women often appear as made for the male desire, a spectacle even. Men, on the other hand, act as the main characters who drive the plot forward. Films such as Greta Gerwig’s Little Women (2019) and Barbie (2023) reconstruct this traditional power dynamic and portray women as real people with agency and intelligence, rather than merely objects of the male gaze.
The “female gaze” isn’t about objectifying men in return. It’s changing how stories about women are told and how the female bodies have been put on display. Instead of showcasing a spectacle, these kinds of films focus more on emotional depth, dynamics within relationships, and a scarcely seen intellectual ambition in women. The camera here instead focuses on women as intelligent and feeling.
As an example, in Little Women, Gerwig completely transforms Louisa May Alcott’s classic novel into a story about ownership and creative agency. The main protagonist, Jo March, is depicted as a dedicated writer trying to find her way through the economic and artistic constraints that women faced at that time. The film tells the story of the March sisters by jumping between timelines. These sisters are often seen together, which highlights their connection with one another rather than the common spectacle of competition. This allows the audience to identify with the characters, their frustrations, and their aspirations, instead of just seeing them as desirable objects.
In Barbie, Gerwig uses satire as a way to expose the traditional use of objectification in film. The movie starts off in a hyperfeminized world where Barbie is seen as an idealized woman, though it takes a turn as she becomes more self-aware. The tone changes from fantasy to realism, a place of vulnerability and reflection. The camera shows close-ups of Barbie, feeling fear, confusion, but also curiosity. As she travels to the real world, she is no longer the plastic icon symbol of consumption, but a person trying to understand her identity, as well as the anxieties tied to understanding her place in the world. Because of this, the film is a critique of our very system that had once reduced her to a face of surface-level idealized femininity.
What makes these two films so significant is not only that they feature women as central figures, but also that they allow these women to think. These women who are portrayed are all intelligent, creative, and understood. With this shift, viewers are encouraged to see women through their real, lived perspectives and experiences rather than objectifying them from a distance.
This matters because representation shapes perception. When women are constantly filmed as objects, and ones of desire, it creates this broader societal logic that values appearance over individuality and autonomy. So, films that highlight agency and intellectualness challenge that hierarchy. Instead of fighting, women are not just accessories to a narrative; they are important individuals who have so much to contribute to the story.
Taking back the gaze is still a process in progress, and Hollywood is definitely still catching up to effectively make this change. Yet, films such as Gerwig’s Little Women and Barbie are incredible examples of how cinema can reclaim power!