BRISTOL FAWCETT MEDIA REPRESENTATION PROJECT 2007
Or
some reasons why feminism is still needed…..
On 3rd July 2007, the Bristol Fawcett group undertook an action around representation of women in the media. Without identifying a specific methodology, individual members chose areas of interest within this broad theme and, during that particular day, explored, documented and analyzed their experiences and observations of women’s representation in the media.
We came up with findings that, while not scientific, do make the on-going need for feminism very clear. There is much to be done in countering the ‘normalisation’ of extreme gender stereotyping, the commodification of women’s bodies and the male dominance of the wider culture. in 2008 we went on to build on this ‘pilot’ and we sought a wider range of people to be involved: we have documented the results elsewhere on our website.
Charlotte and Nicola, respectively, researched how women were represented in newspaper photographs and in the sports press.
As a mother of young sons Helen took as her main focus for the day representation of women and girls (as well as men and boys) in children’s media.
Elaine’s report, ‘A loaf of bread and a dozen wet, horny babes, please’, examined women’s representation in local supermarkets and newsagents in what turned out, because of the prevalence of ‘lads mags’, to be “a series of impromptu and random interviews on attitudes to pornography.”
Marion's report looks at a typical day's television viewing on the terrestrial channels.
Sue looked at the visual arts – films and art shows –not only looking at how women were represented but also at how visible women were as makers of representation - film directors and artists.
There were some striking ‘headline’ facts and figures
• Out of 27 films showing in Bristol not a single one was directed by a woman. (Man-fest! Imagine media commentary if the genders were reversed…)
• The newspapers carried more than twice as many pictures of men as of women: 6 out of 10 (61%) photos were of men, less than 3 out of 10 (26%) were of women (the rest pictured men and women together)
• Lads mags, objectifying women and commodifying sex, are widely available, often at child height by the tills : ‘the distributor tells you where you have to put them on the shelves, and lads’ mags have to be where they are easy to reach….. boys as young as 11 buy them regularly’ (local newsagent).
• 6 of the 8 lead stories in the sports pages of major newspapers were about male football, and this was in Wimbledon week, with Serena Williams a star turn.
• Gender stereotyping of children’s toys and clothing is ever more extreme and pernicious.
For girls: or for boys:
a smorgasbord of pink:
fluffy heart-shaped cushions, cosmetics,
hairdryers, stationery
choose between
“Adrenaline”, “Ruthless
Aggression” & “Deluxe
Aggression”
Follow the links to the reports and find more detail.