The Female Gaze in The Blind Owl by Sadeq Hedayat and Lost Highway by David Lynch

Abstract

In feminist theory, the “female gaze” is a reaction to the imbalance of power created by the “male gaze”. Yet, since the concept lacks sound grounding in theory, it solely poses “a simple (antagonistic) response” to male voyeurism. This article traces the manifestations of the female gaze in Lost Highway and The Blind Owl, a film noir and a novella. It is concluded that instead of offsetting the imbalance of power, the female gaze only reverses it, turning the concept into yet another catchphrase of patriarchal hegemony to further commodify and subjugate women.