The Male Gaze research

The Male Gaze, is the idea that the female character(s) are purely in the scene as an erotic object for the male characters and male audience. They're are there to be looked at, that is their meaning in the scene/film. The male gaze theory denies women of their own identity, showing them as subordinate to men and as objects of admiration of physical appearance.

Here is an example of the Male Gaze theory from High School Musical, specifically, Sharpay's entrance. In this scene, Sharpay arrives in her pink car and struts down the corridors of the school. The camera takes tracking shots of her exposed legs in a miniskirt, and of her rear. As she walks past, male students from the school sigh and crumble. She looks at the camera in a sultry way. Sharpay has been strategically placed in this scene to catch the attention of male viewers and to show that she is a sexualised object without being too erotic as this is a kids film.