Allure and Disavowal of the Female in the Male Psyche
Although not explicitly acknowledged as irony, there is intrinsic irony to the notion that the male gaze requires the powerful and seductive draw of female beauty, sensuality, and charisma, and simultaneously requires her dismantling, due to the unconscious fear of castration. It is as though the male psyche both strives for and repudiates the powerful and enigmatic magnetism of female sexuality. This principle of simultaneous attraction and repulsion is seminal to psychoanalytic theory, on which Mulvey draws throughout her essay.
Celebration of Women on Screen
One of the underlying ironies of Mulvey's argument is that women's presence in film is not actually a celebration of their talents or contributions to cinema, as many would be led to believe. Instead, Mulvey argues that the particular ways that narratives and directorial style present women to spectators is inherently objectifying. In many of Mulvey's examples, the more spectators encounter a female character, the more fetishized she becomes, and thus the more alienated she is from the actual events that transpire.
