The Male Gaze

Iggy Azalea ft. Rita Ora - Black Widow

In the first 20 seconds of the music video the audience can see the degrading act from men to women. Before the music has even started we can see that the waitress (Iggy Azalea) has a stereotypical job of being a waitress which consists of domestic tasks e.g. washing, cleaning, ordering food. This could be based on the traditional stereotype of women being the housewife. Based on the male shouting at the female in this part of the clip the viewers can assume that men are more powerful then women showing that females are used for other purposes e.g. sex which is proven through the media by their clothing, this has been demonstrated throughout this music video.

In the 1:24 mark the audience can clearly see the waitress' outfit. The outfit consists of a blouse/t-shirt with a very short, tight skirt. This portrays to the audience the pleasure of women to men through their clothing and mannerisms and how they're represented through the media. The reason why a waitress' clothes are figure hugging is to attract male attention resulting in more business for the café, restaurant, pub etc. This shows the viewers watching the music video that women are not seen as equal to men in the media and are used to attract the males eye in the audience by presenting what they find attractive e.g. short skirts, high heels.

At the 1:59 mark the audience are able to see the empowering part of this music video for females. In this shot we are able to see the artist (Iggy Azalea) walking towards the camera wearing a white, tight cat suit while holding a sword in one hand. This empowers women instead of degrading them as by giving someone a weapon it shows they feel more powerful and makes them dangerous. The sword goes against the stereotype of women being the 'damsel in distress' which occurs a lot throughout the media, this music video shows females are capable of saving themselves and being in control. However the clothing is tight and slightly revealing showing a hint of sexiness which could suggest to the audience that women use this to their advantage making them seem that they have more power over men.

In the 2:23 point of the video the camera angle moves to show the lower half of the artists body with the martial arts instructor in between them. This again empowers women slightly as this angle separates both characters by showing one has more power over the other. By the female towering over the male the audience can interpret this as the woman being important and more dominant over the man. However this can also be degrading towards women as by having the male character in the middle of her legs it gives the impression to the audience of sex and other sexual activities again representing the sexualisation of women.

At the 3:20 mark the audience witness one of the other artists in the music video (Rita Ora) attack a male for ganging up on her. This empowers women as this shows females can do male tasks e.g. fighting. In society's eye when males fight against each other it is deemed acceptable as they are brought up to be aggressive and violent whereas females are brought up to be caring and loving, if they fought as much as men they would be highly disapproved of. This part of the video shows women fighting against men which proves the audience of equality despite the men being twice a women's average size.

4:20 into the video the audience see the second artist (Rita Ora) doing a flip in the air while her and the other artist (Iggy Azalea) fight against a handful of men. This empowers women as it goes against the traditional stereotype for women which say they should stay at home doing activities such as cooking, cleaning etc. This music video supports women's rights and proves they are capable of doing other tasks. By these women taking over a bunch of men proves to the audience that they are stronger and are more empowering despite their biological state, this gives the impression to the viewers that females are not weak and are equal to males.