#all.kinds of people can be assholes and all kinds of people can be decent

[softness-and-shattering]

Mmhmm. My inner descriptivist wants to talk about meanings changing but also sometimes misunderstandings are incoherent.

Because yeah people use 'male gaze' to mean lust or attraction. We already have a term for that, and instead using 'male gaze' is adding so much unnecessary moralistic and gender essentialist baggage.

Lust is not evil, its normal, without it there would be no people and a lot less pleasure and joy and connection. At the same time, expressing lust where it is unwelcome is very socially tabboo and for good reason. Expressing. Not experiencing. Experiencing is always fine. Expressing is not always fine.

And ofc its not gendered, has nothing to do with gender, and is not only aimed at a particular gender or sex. Its a normal experience. It does not change your gender and does not make you a bad person.

Male gaze is film theory, its about the camera and what it focuses on, what angles it employs at what distance. How it tends to present men as agents of action, and women as sexual decoration. Which can actually imo be separate from lust. Someone can use the techniques because theyre copying what theyve seen without even being horny about it. A woman can shoot something with the male gaze. Its about the filmmaking and the perceptions and characterisation and framing that it creates.

A guy looking at someone a particular way isnt Male Gaze, its lust. If its unwelcome you might call it creepy or uncomfortable or dangerous. If it is welcome you might call it hot. The same applies whoever is doing the expressing and whoever is being expressed to. The point isnt Evil Gender, or Evil Lust, the point is be respectful of others, and remember they are humans who are also sexy, rather than sex objects who happen to be human. If your in a socially acceptable situation to express attraction, go ahead respectfully and if it is reciprocated and everyone consents, have fun! If its not socially acceptable, like at someones workplace or somewhere they cannot leave, do not engage. If the person declines in any way or otherwise doesnt enthusiastically consent, back off and leave them alone. Thats it. Whoever you are and whoever they are.

The idea that lesbians can engage in the "male gaze" is so stupid and we need young lesbians to understand that their desires can't be "male gaze fetishitic" because they are lesbians. You're experiencing lesbian desire. That's by definition not "male gaze fetishitic"

But also. How did film theory concepts get distorted so badly that people think that the "male gaze" is a thing that people can people "do". A man lusting for a woman is also not "male gaze" because that's not what male gaze means.

Why are people using film theory concepts to describe emotions and human experiences. help.