22: THE FEMALE BODY AS A SITE OF RESISTANCE AGAINST PHALLOCENTRIC DISCOURSES IN CONTEMPORARY CINEMA

Feminists try to reimagine and redefine the representation of women’s bodies in the media by challenging and subverting dominant patriarchal narratives mostly through the film medium. These creates a window of possibilities for women’s embodiment and empowerments leading to the disruption of phallocentric tendencies and the Male Gaze concept, an aged long oppressive parameter used by the male gender to destabilize femininity. This study is aimed at discouraging and decentralizing patriarchal narratives that tend to oppress or subjugate women in the media through phallocentric tendencies or the Male Gaze concept and embedded within is the Femme Fatale tendency. Qualitative methodology was employed, using the Liberal and Radical theories as the base for the study. From the findings it is discovered that the society is influenced by socio- cultural traditions and beliefs that tend to subjugate the female gender using patriarchal lens. This notion cut across all sectors of life including, political, economy, social and other sectors. Women are considered as subversive, complementary, aesthetics and are being objectified. The researcher therefore recommends that women’s bodies should not be objectified, classified or explored for pleasure alone but be dignified, empowered and investigated for hidden potentials.