by Imran Siddiquee
With the success of shows like the Emmy-winning Homeland and blockbuster movies like The Hunger Games, the media seemed poised this year to finally recognize the demand for more variety in representations of women and girls. In news media, popular stories like Anne-Marie Slaughter’s “have it all” essay in The Atlantic and the number of women running for office in the U.S. election put “women’s issues” front-and-center throughout the year. And even big brands like Nike released advertisements that actually empowered and inspired women in America, rather than diminished them.
Yet, alas, these were exceptions to the frustrating rule. TV shows and movies where women and girls are trivialized and demeaned regularly were still the norm in 2012. Way too many major advertisers still relied on sexist and misogynistic representations of women to sell products. And the mainstream news media continued to blatantly demean women – even those women in the most powerful positions in the country – while only covering most issues of actual women’s rights in response to their popularity on social media networks.
In fact, the brightest spot in this year’s shifting media landscape was the way in which women and girls online were able to continually influence the mainstream conversation. Whether it was a photo of a congressional hearing that went viral, or a petition that asked magazines to change the way they represent women in photographs, individuals banded together to fight sexism in a big way in 2012 – and actually succeeded.
While we won’t ever stop challenging the disrespect lobbed at women in mainstream media, this year we learned emphatically that our own voices are the most effective weapon in the battle to change the media conversation. Which is reason enough to be hopeful and excited about 2013.
Watch our video recaps of how women were represented by the media in 2012:
Imran is the Communications Director at MissRepresentation.org. Follow him on Twitter @imransiddiquee
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As a teen journalist I am so inspired by these videos to make a change. However, as a teen, my income is limited. How can I be involved in the campaign from my community in Minneapolis?
email/write and ask advertisers, tv channels (esp ‘for women’) and makers of ‘chick flicks’ why they have male announcers telling us which shows to watch and movies to see, and advertisers use male announcers for huge percentage of products bought EQUALLY or mostly by women? It sends the message that women should be seen and not heard, and that we need men to tell us what to buy and watch. ..(esp. when women control most consumer spending.) It’s so pervasive, most women don’t notice or consider effect it has on us.
go Jennifer Siebel Newsom, we need more strong women, us women wear the pants in the family, we are the boss. Keep up the great work.
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John: Rapprochement and cooperation would only sgnretthen the work of both groups. Well put!It’s always frustrating when a group of people all working toward mutually benefitial goals like women’s rights, social justice, and environmental sustainability begin to snipe at each other with some version of My goal is more important than your goal or worse Your goal is interferring with my goal so let’s stop talking about your concerns. Your response to Hartmann avoids that and goes to extra mile in seeking rapprochement and cooperation. Easing population pressure benefits everyone, so does sgnretthening women’s rights. Yet, all causes can be abused. No one wants to see measures mitigating population pressure having the side effect of harming women’s or anyone else’s rights. Hartmann in my opinion is just plain wrong to argue that the spotlight should be taken off population growth so it can shine more brightly on women’s rights. The answer is to make a more powerful light which can properly illuminate both concerns which calls, as you note, for cooperation.The issue of poverty disccussed in part 1 of this series is another example. I think poverty is clearly caused by the nature of our economic and social systems, but also than any reasonable person must accept that it is made vastly worse, much harder to fix, by population pressure. The latter part is so sadly simple: more people, less physical resources to go around. In extreme conditions of poverty and population, children become devalued as human beings and perhaps seen more as a potential source of helping hands: having more children is a (horrible) way to create more cash producing resources. Very poor people do sell their children, yet I think that mostly is a problem only in crowded countries.
That some women reply that homosexuality is a chioce is a topic that warrants a blog spot all its own. Personally, I think it’s a potentially harmful reply, even if authentically felt, for no other reason than we are such a reductionist people. It is far easier to take the chioce reply only at its face value and use it against people.
When we ALL get behind the burgeoning Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) going on nationally, THIS SEXISM WILL CONTINUE!
Face it, we must all RECOGNIZE rampant sexism Everywhere!
If the legislative EAL War on Women didn’t convince yo
u that WE MUST FIGHT BACK STRONGLY.
Elise, I would add that you be a role model yourself! Don’t be afraid to speak out when you see injustice, don’t be shy when it comes to doing something YOU know you can do, be a voice that is heard! You could also try and contact positive female role models like Gloria Steinem or Alice Walker or even Nicole Curtis of the DIY Channel’s, “Addiction Rehab.” It’s the one “construction” show that doesn’t have their female lead in tight clothing and sporting a pink hammer. Nicole said her mother told her growing up she could be anything she wanted to be and equal to anyone, anytime!
CONT.. So yes, see if you can contact positive female celebrities and interview them for not only practice but to help build solidarity for a new generation of feminism!
[...] blaming – is that no matter how modest one woman’s outfit is, it can’t undo the widespread sexualization of women in the media that is too easy to [...]