The 1980s were a time of change for many women around the world. The fight against sexual stereotypes imposed by the media, art and advertising of previous decades is beginning to strengthen. People are beginning to realize that beyond women's basic rights, such as the right to vote and education, won by early feminists, a deep-rooted patriarchy still exists. This social structure still generates inequalities and hierarchies that benefit men. It is for this reason that women's sexuality and their right to their own body, as well as to abortion and contraception, enter into the debate. In this essay, two of the most iconic dance films of the 1980s will be analyzed and compared. Dirty Dancing and Flashdance address the theme of gender, which encompasses ideas of feminism, womanhood, and female sexual liberation. The idea of ​​a hypersexualization of the female body through the “male gaze” will also be explored. To support the arguments in this essay, I will use sources from dance and film studies, such as Laura Mulvey's “Film and Visual Pleasure” in Film Theory and Criticism. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essayFlashdance tells the story of Alexandra Owens, a young and beautiful girl who works days in a steel mill and nights making exotic dance. shows at a local bar. She does this to fund her dream of becoming a professional ballerina. One night, Nick Hurley, Alex's boss at the steelworks, sees her dancing at the bar and is attracted to her sensual performance. He tries to approach her, even going so far as to follow her in her car, to seduce her. Nonetheless, she continues to reject his advances. Eventually, after much persuasion, Alex and Nick start dating. However, they soon start having problems. Alex realizes that Nick, behind her back, has written a letter of recommendation to the dance academy she aspires to join. Alex doesn't like this, because she wants to achieve her goals through her own hard work. For this reason, Alex spends a week at home, without going to work at the steelworks or at the bar. However, she is distraught when her best friends, Jeannie, quit her job as a bar dancer to go work at a competing strip club, after giving up on her dream of becoming a professional skater. Additionally, her mentor Hanna, an old woman who was once a ballerina, sadly dies. After fighting her pride, she decides to take the dance academy audition. She fights her fear of failure and demonstrates that she will not give up on her dream of becoming a ballerina. Flashdance was an instant success when it was released in 1983. Alex's unconventional personality, cool sense of style, and electrifying dance sequences attracted millions of people. of girls. They aspired to be like him. On the other hand, Flashdance also attracts young boys and men. Not because of Alex's personality, but because of his athletic body in the highly sexualized dance sequences. They longed to have it. Flashdance, although based on a true story, was written and directed by men. This ultimately affected the way he portrayed his characters. The female characters are observed by a predominantly “male gaze”. The “male gaze” is a feminist theory discussed by Laura Mulvey in her essay “Film and Visual Pleasure”. This theory invokes the sexual politics of the gaze and suggests a sexualized way of looking that empowers men and objectifies women.In the “male gaze”, the woman is visually positioned as an “object” of heterosexual male desire. Women's feelings, thoughts, and sexual impulses are less important than their "framing" to satisfy men's desires. As Mulvey herself writes: “The concept of the male gaze holds that Hollywood defines the female body as a form of erotic spectacle that performs and signifies male desire” (809). This theory can be easily applied to many aspects of Flashdance, especially dance scenes. First Choreography of FlashdanceThe scene where Alex performs at Mawby's bar illustrates the theory of the "male gaze". In this scene, the camera lingers on her sweaty, athletic body as she dances energetically, while the mostly male audience watches. It can be argued that this scene was done not only to attract teenage girls with an exciting performance, but also to excite men. These scenes could be problematic for viewers because they may promote unhealthy beauty standards for women and objectification of the female body for men. Chris Jordan, in his essay “Gender and Class Mobility in Saturday Night Fever and Flashdance.” makes an interesting point about the “male gaze” in Flashdance. He argues that Alex's character could support the myth that women's sole purpose is to be looked at by men. This myth could be harmful because it “encourages women to view their appearance as a source of power and to base their self-esteem on their ability to attract the male gaze.” (9). Flashdance was heavily marketed as a teen movie. It was designed to appeal to teenage girls, but the sexualized visual subtext was designed to appeal to men. Dirty Dancing, like Flashdance, is also considered one of the most iconic dance films. However, its story and characters differ greatly from those of Flashdance. Dirty Dancing tells the story of idealistic teenager Francs “Baby” Hausman and his wealthy family as they spend their summer at a seaside resort. Here, Baby is instantly attracted to handsome dance instructor Johnny Castle, who comes from a background radically different from his own. Baby discovers that Johnny's dance partner, Penny, has an unwanted pregnancy. Baby then lies to her father so that he lends Penny money to have an illegal abortion. For this reason, she must take her place as Johnny's dancing partner. While practicing for the dance routine, Baby and Johnny fall in love. The problems begin when Penny becomes very ill after the unsanitary abortion procedure. For this reason, Baby calls his father, a doctor, for help. After saving Penny, he finds out what Baby did and with whom. He immediately forbids him from associating with “those people”. Baby rebels against his father's orders and goes to Johnny's cabin to apologize for his rude attitude. In his cabin, Baby confesses his feelings for Johnny and decides to initiate their first sexual encounter. After someone accuses Johnny of stealing, he is immediately fired from the resort. Nonetheless, he returns to the station's annual talent show and gives a speech about Baby. He tells her how much he respects and admires her, and that she should never be put in a corner. The film ends happily, and as summer is over, Baby continues her life plans to change the world, unchecked by anyone. In her essay on '80s cinema, The Time of My Life, Hadley Freeman describes Dirty Dancing as "one of the greatest feminist films of all time" (Freeman 2). The Guardian columnist talks about how she felt when she was.