Media Studies Homework - Questions/Sheet D - Gaze and Feminist theory

Ferguson's (1983) Four female 'looks' :

Chocolate Box : This is a look where a female model shows a slight smile, showing as minimal amount of teeth as possible, the lips tend to be closed and the face is not shown full on face forward.

Invitational : This look which focuses maily upon the eyes, and mouth which will be closed although the model will be smiling with her head to one side, as if to be looking down upon the invintee.

Super Smiler - When a model is showing this look she will show her full face with a full teeth smile with either her head tilted forwards or backwards.

Romantic or Sexual - This look includes both a female and a male in the picture, it will seem as if it is a dream and will represent desire and sexuality.

TASK: Does this translate from magazines to music videos?

Typically in R&B/Hip Hop videos women are sexualised and are a sex symbol for men (or even other women). The reason for this is due down to the songs subject material, as is often referring to sex, drugs and alcohol use respectively. The 'romantic and sexual' female look is very much displayed frequently throughout many videos of this musical genre. You could say in men's magazines such as FHM etc, females are exploited in similar ways in the magazine types, as well as music videos of the R&B genre.

 Such an example can be seen through 50 Cent's music video for his single 'Candy Shop' where it is clear that women are objects of sexual desire, adhering to the fantasy element of the 'romantic and sexual' archetype.

A contrasting look (you could say) is of a female who adheres towards more of the 'chocolate box' and 'invitational' looks rather than the sexual side of the female looks. Such 'girl next door' imagery is in keeping with the audience the artist is aiming towards, that being the ages of 8-16 years. The look in her music video is typical of the girl next door image which would frequently appear in many a teen magazine aiming towards a younger and more impressionable audience, with less sexual desires and motives in mind. So much so that such forms of over sexualised advertising would not be necessary when targeting a younger audience, and a more natural and friendly look would appear as much more attractive to that specific target audience. With non-sexually explicit lyrics, a catchy radio hit with a non offensive cute look about her, Carly Rae Jepsen, specifically in her music video for single 'Call Me Maybe', is a perfect example.