Tips on How to Direct in a Feminist Way...

Greta Gerwig: Director and Actor.

Attribution: Martin Kraft

License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/legalcode

1 OBSERVE REAL WOMEN:

The first tip is to observe women in your daily life to prepare for your next film. Taking notes on the behaviors of women in real life can make the characters you direct seem more accurate. In addition, you should talk to women in your life about the female roles you are getting ready to direct. Without spoiling the future film, you could develop questions to ask the women that would help you understand the characters you are directing. Hearing different perspectives revolving around the female experience will especially help male directors because they may not understand the characters’ struggles on their own. The same goes for female directors that may not understand the struggles of women of a different racial, gender, or class-based identity. A listening ear and an observational eye are key to feminist directing!

2 WATCH FEMALE-DIRECTED FILMS:

No one knows the complexities of a woman more than a woman. So, the next tip is to watch films directed by women to learn techniques for your own films. This is not to say all films directed by women are good examples of feminist directing because internalized misogyny is real. However, our hand-picked selections below are female-made films that are good examples to watch.

FILM RECOMMENDATIONS:

Lady Bird (2017) directed by Greta Gerwig
Nomadland (2020) directed by Chloe Zao
Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019) directed by Celine Sciamma
Booksmart (2019) directed by Olivia Wilde
The Diary of a Teenage Girl (2015) directed by Marielle Heller
But I'm a Cheerleader (1999) directed by Jamie Babbit

3 BE SEX-POSITIVE:

First, let’s give you two definitions:

1. Sex-positivity: The idea that people should have space to embody, explore, and learn about their sexuality and gender without judgment or shame.

2. Objectification: The seeing and/or treating of a person, usually a woman, as an object.

Sex-positivity and objectification are clearly two different concepts, and you should understand this distinction to direct in a feminist way. To do this, direct sex scenes in a way that spotlights the pleasure of both men and women. If the scene only focuses on the man’s pleasure (assuming this is a heterosexual sex scene), it gives the idea that the woman is only there as a tool to pleasure the man – she has no desires of her own. Female desire is real and should be shown in a way that does not make her sex life her whole personality. Women do not exist to be sex machines for men – let’s not contribute to this dehumanizing stereotype.

4 EMPATHY:

The next tip is simple: be empathetic toward the characters and actors you are directing. Put yourself in the shoes of the woman on screen:

How would you feel if you were sexualized and put on display?
How would you feel if you were put in a box, and forced into a stereotype?
What if the person you are directing was your daughter?

This is not to say you can’t have imperfect female characters, but their imperfections should feel real. It is important to think through the implications of the behaviors you direct. Just stop and think: what is this scene saying about what it means to be a woman?

5 AVOID THE MALE GAZE:

The last tip is to avoid the “male gaze.” This term refers to putting a film in the perspective of heterosexual male desire in the form of looking, ultimately objectifying the women on screen. The outlook sexualizes women’s bodies, rather than treating their characters like human beings. Objectification is something we always want to avoid in feminist films because it dehumanizes women and perpetuates toxic stereotypes about them.

Make sure to check out our other page, The Male Gaze, to learn more background and the impacts!