Revisiting the Gaze: The Fashioned Body and the Politics of Looking

Description

In 1975 Laura Mulvey published her seminal essay on the male gaze, ushering in a new era in understanding the politics and theory of looking at the female body. Since then, feminist thinking has expanded upon and revised Mulvey's theory and much of the Western world has seen a resurgence in feminist activism as well as the rise of neoliberalism and shifts in digital culture and (self-)representation. For the first time, this book addresses what it means to look at the fashioned female body in this radical new landscape. In chapters exploring the fashioned body within contexts such as queerness, veiling, blackness, pregnancy, fatness, and criminality, Revisiting the Gaze addresses intersectional debates in feminism and re-evaluates the concept of the gaze in light of recent social and political changes. With an interdisciplinary approach, bridging fashion and fine art, this book opens the door to discussions about the male gaze and the fashioned body.

Morna Laing is Assistant Professor in Fashion Studies at The New School, Parsons Paris, France. She is the author of Picturing the Woman-child: Feminism, Fashion and the Female Gaze (Bloomsbury, 2020). Jacki Willson is a University Academic Fellow in Performance and Culture in the School of Performance and Cultural Industries at the University of Leeds, UK. She is the author of The Happy Stripper: Pleasures & Politics of the New Burlesque (2008) and Being Gorgeous: Feminism, Sexuality and the Pleasures of the Visual (2015).

This innovative book inspires new ways of thinking about the pleasures and pains of looking and being looked at. By reassessing women's experience of objectification and empowerment it draws attention to the intersectionality of the gaze. From photography to art, fashion to social media this fascinating volume reveals how neoliberalism pivots on a complex circuit of gazes. A bold, refreshing and timely update on the politics of spectatorship. * Jane Tynan, Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London, UK * Diverse essays, diverse views - a must-read for scholars who want to further consider issues about representation and the evolution of Gaze theory. * Lorraine Gamman, Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London, UK * This excellent collection ... explores the legacy of Laura Mulvey's work, expanding and updating her analysis to address contemporary debates ... An invaluable resource to explore new directions of analysis within the context of an expanding visual arena of digital and social media platforms. * Joanne Entwistle, Kings College London, UK * This collection marks a timely return to a subject that emerged first in relation to cinema over forty years ago. The editors' focus on the fashioned body in the light of recent debates around whose bodies matter in the different gender, racial and sexual politics of looking in a digital age, makes an original contribution to visual studies. * Rosemary Betterton, Lancaster University, UK *