A SEXUALIDADE FEMININA SE DISTANCIA DO MALE GAZE — CONTRIBUIÇÕES DE BABY GIRL PARA UM CINEMA FEMINISTA

This article proposes an analysis of the film Baby Girl (2024), directed by Halina Reijn, with the aim of investigating the particularities of female sexuality from a perspective that distances itself from the cinematic concept of the male gaze, formulated by Laura Mulvey. The film analysis draws on Critical Theory to elucidate patriarchy as a fundamental element in this process of female subservience and suggests its overcoming as a path toward emancipation. The reflection is grounded in the relationship between sexuality, bodily perception, and female desire, understood as historical and cultural constructions still marked by taboos and prejudices. To support this approach, studies on the body and the representation of women are employed, with theoretical support from authors such as Nancy Fraser, Laura Mulvey, Mary Del Priore, and Naomi Wolf, promoting a feminist reading of cinema that enables new ways of addressing the theme. The results of this analysis point to a trend of new feminist films that distance themselves from the language of the male gaze and create spaces for alternative narratives within the film industry.