Feminist media theories have evolved as a critical framework within the broader field of media studies, responding to the historical underrepresentation and misrepresentation of women and marginalized genders in media systems. The evolution of these theories is rooted in the broader feminist movement, which began in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, advocating for women’s rights and social equality, and gained momentum through the second-wave feminism of the 1960s and 1970s, which emphasized issues of sexuality, reproductive rights, workplace equality, and cultural representation. In media studies, feminist theory emerged as scholars and activists began to scrutinize how media texts, institutions, and audiences perpetuate patriarchal ideologies, reinforce gendered hierarchies, and normalize inequality. By applying a feminist lens to media, these theories seek not only to expose the biases and exclusions in representation but also to propose transformative ways in which media can contribute to gender equality. Early feminist media scholarship was heavily influenced by the works of theorists such as Laura Mulvey, whose concept of the "male gaze" highlighted how cinematic techniques position women as objects of male desire and spectatorship. Mulvey’s work argued that classical Hollywood cinema constructs narrative and visual pleasure from a male perspective, reinforcing patriarchal power structures and shaping audience perceptions of gender roles. This concept remains foundational in feminist media studies as it elucidates the ways in which visual media can implicitly convey hierarchical relations of power, normalize male dominance, and marginalize female subjectivity. Beyond cinema, this lens has been expanded to analyze television, advertising, digital media,