Feminist film theory has a complex history of debate, both with external theoretical positions, and among its own theorists. At the heart of this debate is the difficult relationship between 'woman' as cinematic representation, real life women, and the female theorist. Passionate detachment is the stance of the feminist engaged in a critical reading of the cinema, whether as film critic, as film-maker or as audience member. This book traces the key developments and debates in feminist film theory over the past twenty-five years. Beginning with the work on stereotypes of women from the early 1970s and moving to the most recent debates within cultural criticism, it charts the relationship of feminist film theory to the contexts from which it arises - and to which it offers a profound challenge. From arguments about 'the male gaze' to work on fantasy, horror and the body, each chapter presents a clear and detailed critical account of a key area of debate. Feminist film theory emerges as the central arena in which feminist theories of representation, identity and cultural politics have been fought out from the 1970s onwards.

休·索海姆，英国当代媒体与性别研究领域的杰出学者，目前担任苏塞克斯大学媒体与文化研究教授、媒体传播与文化研究协会副主席等职务。她在媒体与性别研究领域有深厚的积累，著有《女性主义电影理论读本》、《女性主义与文化研究》、《媒体研究读本》等。

译者简介

艾晓明，中山大学中文系教授，博士生导师，文学博士，中山大学女性别研究中心副主任。主要著作有《青年巴金及其文学视界》、《中国左翼文学思潮探源》等。

宋素凤，中山大学中文系比较文学与世界文学教研室副教授，美国伊利诺大学香槟分校访问学者。台湾大学外文系毕业，台湾师范大学英语研究所文学硕士、山东大学文学博士、美国加州大学柏克莱分校博士后。著有《女性主义文学理论》等。

冯芃芃，中山大学外语教学中心讲师，中山大学英语语言文学硕士，中山大学中文系比较文学与世界文学专业博士研究生，美国密歇根大学妇女与性别研究中心访问学者。研究方向为女性主义与电影、身体政治、性别与科技等。