The female gaze in advertising: Why it matters and what it looks like

Let’s start with a question that may feel a little uncomfortable, Who are most ads really speaking to?

If you go by the scripts, the camera angles, the choice of emotion, or even the so-called “universal insights,” you’ll often find the answer isn’t just “the consumer.” It’s a certain kind of consumer: male, heterosexual, middle-upper class, and frequently placed at the centre of power, desire, or decision-making.

That lens is often subconscious, but very much real and this is what we call the male gaze. And for decades, it’s shaped the way we sell everything from razors and motorcycles to skincare and even domestic bliss.

But the world isn’t shaped by one gaze anymore. Women, in all their complexity, ambition, rage, humour, and power, are not just watching from the sidelines. We’re leading companies, building families, buying homes, and questioning everything. Which is why it’s time we speak about - and work towards - the female gaze in advertising.

First, what do we mean by the “female gaze”?

Let’s clear one thing up: the female gaze isn’t the reverse of the male gaze. It isn’t about objectifying men instead of women. It’s about shifting the lens itself, how we frame, portray, and center the female experience. It means making space for how women actually see themselves and the world, not how they’ve historically been seen.

Under the male gaze, women are often shown for someone else, desirable, agreeable, manageable. Under the female gaze, they are portrayed as someone that is flawed, vivid, contradictory, and real.

What does it look like in practice?

A great example is the shift from advertising fairness creams with euphemisms like “glow” and “radiance,” to skincare campaigns that celebrate texture, acne, and melanin. Think about Dove’s “Real Beauty” campaign, revolutionary when it launched, not just because it showed diverse women, but because it asked real questions: Who gets to feel beautiful? Who decides?

Or take recent campaigns around menstrual health that ditch the blue liquid and whispery tones in favour of straightforward, body-positive narratives. This isn’t just more accurate, it’s more effective. Because today’s audience can spot inauthenticity a mile away.

Brands that lean into the female gaze show women making decisions, being angry, choosing themselves, aging unapologetically, laughing loudly, failing, trying again. They depict ambition without guilt, motherhood without martyrdom, relationships without co-dependence.

One of my favourite examples is a recent campaign that showed a woman breaking up with a man because she outgrew him — not because he cheated, not because he hurt her, just because she evolved. That’s the female gaze at work: it doesn’t always need trauma or spectacle. Sometimes, it’s just the truth.

Why does it matter?

Because representation is power. Not just socially, but commercially too.

Women drive over 70% of consumer purchasing decisions globally. Yet in most boardrooms, briefs, and brainstorms, they’re either an afterthought or a monolith. The industry has long created personas like “millennial mom” or “urban working woman” as if we’re categorizing birds, not people.

The female gaze demands more. It pushes us to ask: Are we telling stories with women, or just about them? Are we inviting them into the room where the scripts are written, or just the ones where they’re performed?

Advertising doesn’t just reflect culture. It actively shapes it. The stories we tell in 30 seconds or three minutes leave imprints. And if those stories flatten or simplify the female experience, they contribute to a culture that does the same.

So, where do we go from here?

Start behind the camera - Hire more women — not just in creative roles, but in strategy, direction, post-production, and media buying. A female gaze can’t emerge if the room is still mostly male.

Question the default - If the “hero” of your script is always male, ask why. If the woman is only present as the reward, the sidekick, or the emotional anchor, pause and rewrite.

Stop sanitising reality - Real life is messy, joyful, raw, and full of contradictions. Ads can be too. Women cry and get promoted. They quit marriages and build startups. They scroll for memes after miscarriage. Show all of it.

Diversify the female gaze - The female gaze isn’t a singular voice. It’s many, shaped by caste, class, sexuality, ability, and age. What’s liberating to one woman might be limiting to another. We must listen, learn, and evolve.

Measure what matters - Don’t just track clicks and conversions. Track resonance. What are people saying in the comments? Are women sharing your campaign because it made them feel seen, or just marketed to?

At Collective Creative Labs, we’ve made it a practice to ask not just “Is this working?” but “Who is this working for?” That’s the shift, from seeing women as target groups to seeing them as whole people.

The female gaze isn’t a trend. It’s a correction. A reclamation. And, most importantly, it’s a creative opportunity. One that can lead to richer stories, deeper connections, and better business outcomes.

Let’s stop trying to write the perfect “female insight.” Let’s listen, collaborate, and co-create, until the industry no longer needs a special name for it. It’s just called great storytelling.

This article is penned by Sanjana Jain – CEO of Collective Creative Labs (A part of Collective Artists Network)

Disclaimer: The article features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the stance of the publication.