Danielle Hamm writes about the first UK screening of Miss Representation, hosted by the All Party Parliamentary Group on Body Image, 2 February
Miss Representation is a hard-hitting film that documents the media’s portrayal of women. With the average person spending a staggering 10.45 hours exposed to media every day, the scope for influencing our thinking is immense. The message we are constantly receiving is that the most important thing about women is the way they look.
This relentless message can lead to what the film describes as ‘psychological oppression of women’. The premise is simple and intuitive: what we see informs our perceptions and what, as women, we view as possible for ourselves.
The Sun, with an average readership of 7.6 million, publishes sexualised images of almost-naked women daily. Children are casually exposed to images at breakfast that could not be broadcast on TV before the watershed, and would most likely be unlawful sexual harassment if displayed in the workplace. Unfortunately, this is just the obvious stuff. Perhaps more undermining of women’s confidence and aspirations is the way the media depict women as emotional and not tough enough for the top jobs. Or, conversely, too tough and ‘unwomanly’. Miss Representation contrasted the negative portrayal of Hilary Clinton as a ‘tough bitch’ with the equally negative portrayal of Sarah Palin as a stereotypical woman – pretty, emotional and stupid – for which she was vilified. Rather than for her views themselves.
When it comes to Hollywood, Miss Representation documents that only 16% of films have a female protagonist. And of those that do, well, they’re mainly looking for love in the form of a knight in shining armor to save them from their life. Whilst TV, it seems, rarely acknowledges the existence of women over 40. Broadcasters vigorously deny female ageism, yet there are sadly few examples of older female presenters and too many cases of older presenters being axed and replaced with younger women. Strictly Come Dancing presenter Arlene Phillips, 66, replaced by former winner Alesha Dixon, 30, springs to mind as a recent example. This reminded me of a conversation I had recently with an articulate and intelligent female TV producer. When I asked whether she had ever considered presenting, she answered that it wasn’t a career with longevity – female presenters have a shelf life.
I found it hard not to be dispirited by the volume of examples of negative portrayals of women in the media. Most upsetting, however, were the accounts of young women – school children – talking about their body image problems and those of their friends; girls set up to ‘fail’ by the unrealistic aspirations of ‘perfection’ set up in the press.
Miss Representation calls on us to assert our power through our consumer voice and through recognising and building on our own internal strengths. Negative images mean that we underestimate ourselves and see ourselves as victims all the time. We therefore need to challenge this image and changing the construction of the media through influencing with our own stories.
Miss Representation is an American film that documents a global cause. I’m impressed with it’s website, it’s international reach, and the tools and support it gives women to who wish to take action: http://www.missrepresentation.org/
The film was inspiring and the issues important. The Leveson Inquiry, investigating the practices and ethics of the UK press, was described at the screening as an important opportunity to add voice on these issues. Yet it wasn’t clear how to add voice. In my research around the issue, I found the joint OBJECT and Turn your back on Page 3 submission to the Leveson inquiry, which compiles examples of the routine sexulisation ofwomen in the British Press and calls for greater regulation to prevent it: http://www.object.org.uk/morenews/151-object-turn-your-back-on-page-3-submission-to-the-leveson-inquiry
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