DEFINE FEMININE, I’M FEMININE: A Comparative Analysis of Female Character Designs Created Through the Male and Female Gaze

• Main Author: Nadala, Denise Angeline B.
• Format: text
• Published: Animo Repository 2023
• Subjects: female gaze; male gaze; character design; mural; feminism
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/conf_shsrescon/2023/arts_da/3; https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/context/conf_shsrescon/article/1767/viewcontent/DA_Nadala_Pajarito___Denise_Angeline_Nadala.pdf
• Institution: De La Salle University

The study intends to analyze how character designs are affected by their creators, target audience, and intentions in order to further understand the male gaze theory and, consequently, what it looks like in comparison to the female gaze. The researcher intends to use visual semiotic analysis in analyzing 3 characters from a film, animation, and video game that were initially created through the male gaze, and later revisited in the female gaze. These designs are the subject for determining what factors of character designs the gazes affect. The results of this study were then translated into a set of 8 digital mockup designs for a mural art collection, which incorporate both semi-realism and graffiti-style elements in portraying its subjects. Aiming to combat the misrepresentation of female characters in the entertainment industry and the real-life consequences it has on both young men and women, the intended impact of the artwork is to be an opportunity for self reflection to both consumers and creators of media regarding how they perceive and create female characters. The study also aims to bring to light the importance of the female gaze in creating empowering female characters, promoting the demand for female executives in the entertainment industry to surface.