This thesis focuses on three major feminist works by multimedia artist, Lynn Hershman Leeson (b. 1941), that grapple with the construction and potential of female identity. Considering the works within the context of Laura Mulvey’s seminal text “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema,” this paper will attempt to elucidate how Hershman Leeson’s works have engaged with the male gaze and its social and cultural implications on female identity in visual spheres. This research demonstrates how Hershman Leeson’s efforts to understand the limitations and boundaries for women reflect the same phenomenons observed by Mulvey within “Visual Pleasure.” Rejecting this, Hershman Leeson also reimagines the internet and new technologies as an alternative path in defining female roles, engaging with Donna Haraway’s concept of the cyborg.
","abstract_html":"<p>This thesis focuses on three major feminist works by multimedia artist, Lynn Hershman Leeson (b. 1941), that grapple with the construction and potential of female identity. Considering the works within the context of Laura Mulvey’s seminal text “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema,” this paper will attempt to elucidate how Hershman Leeson’s works have engaged with the male gaze and its social and cultural implications on female identity in visual spheres. This research demonstrates how Hershman Leeson’s efforts to understand the limitations and boundaries for women reflect the same phenomenons observed by Mulvey within “Visual Pleasure.” Rejecting this, Hershman Leeson also reimagines the internet and new technologies as an alternative path in defining female roles, engaging with Donna Haraway’s concept of the cyborg.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Chou, Kelly"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts (M.A.)","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"Art History","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Lise Kjaer","Craig Houser"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2022,"date_issued":"2022-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2022-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:57:53Z","subjects":["Feminism","identity","gaze","technology","cyborg","internet","laserdisc","artificial","photography","film","American Art and Architecture","Contemporary Art"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://academicworks.cuny.edu/cc_etds_theses/1014","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Lise Kjaer","Craig Houser"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Chou, Kelly"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2023-07-15T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Art History"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts (M.A.)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Feminism","identity","gaze","technology","cyborg","internet","laserdisc","artificial","photography","film","American Art and Architecture","Contemporary Art"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://academicworks.cuny.edu/cc_etds_theses/1014"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This thesis focuses on three major feminist works by multimedia artist, Lynn Hershman Leeson (b. 1941), that grapple with the construction and potential of female identity. Considering the works within the context of Laura Mulvey’s seminal text “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema,” this paper will attempt to elucidate how Hershman Leeson’s works have engaged with the male gaze and its social and cultural implications on female identity in visual spheres. This research demonstrates how Hershman Leeson’s efforts to understand the limitations and boundaries for women reflect the same phenomenons observed by Mulvey within “Visual Pleasure.” Rejecting this, Hershman Leeson also reimagines the internet and new technologies as an alternative path in defining female roles, engaging with Donna Haraway’s concept of the cyborg.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The Real and the Digital: Female Agency and Resisting the Male Gaze in Lynn Hershman Leeson’s Works"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Lise Kjaer","Craig Houser"],"dc:creator":["Chou, Kelly"],"dc:date.available":["2023-07-15T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["This thesis focuses on three major feminist works by multimedia artist, Lynn Hershman Leeson (b. 1941), that grapple with the construction and potential of female identity. Considering the works within the context of Laura Mulvey’s seminal text “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema,” this paper will attempt to elucidate how Hershman Leeson’s works have engaged with the male gaze and its social and cultural implications on female identity in visual spheres. This research demonstrates how Hershman Leeson’s efforts to understand the limitations and boundaries for women reflect the same phenomenons observed by Mulvey within “Visual Pleasure.” Rejecting this, Hershman Leeson also reimagines the internet and new technologies as an alternative path in defining female roles, engaging with Donna Haraway’s concept of the cyborg.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://academicworks.cuny.edu/cc_etds_theses/1014"],"dc:subject":["Feminism","identity","gaze","technology","cyborg","internet","laserdisc","artificial","photography","film","American Art and Architecture","Contemporary Art"],"dc:title":["The Real and the Digital: Female Agency and Resisting the Male Gaze in Lynn Hershman Leeson’s Works"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Art History"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts (M.A.)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:57:53Z"}