The Mistress and Female Sexuality
The Mistress and Female Sexuality
Crystal Kwok's film, The Mistress, replaces male fantasy and the male gaze with female desire and a female subject position. However, it was not surprising that when it was shown commercially, the few members in the audience were all male, probably misled by the title and the Category Three rating. This chapter situates The Mistress within the context of feminist filmmaking. When the Second Wave Feminism was developing in the late 1960s and early 1970s, especially in the United States, there was a good deal of writing and debate over whether or not we could identify a feminine aesthetic in works produced by women—painting, sculpture, film, and the other arts. For the purpose of clarification, the chapter defines “feminine” as any work that consciously or unconsciously deals with the lives of women or reflects the female experience. Such works could, of course, also be produced by men.
Keywords: Crystal Kwok, The Mistress, male fantasy, female desire, female subject, filmmaking, Second Wave Feminism
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