Women's Views on News |
| Posted: 06 Nov 2013 08:02 AM PST
The Movember campaign encourages men to sport follicle freestylings to raise awareness of men's health issues, but what involvement can women have? And can letting it all grow out really change things? The Movember campaign began humbly, founded in 2003 by Australians Travis Garone and Luke Slattery after a chat about the Demise of the Mustache resulted in a promise to bring it back with a month-long growth fest in the November of that year. Ten years later and Movember has official partnerships with many prostrate cancer charities in different parts of the world, raising money for and publicising the work of these organisations. Partnerships have also been forged in many countries with organisations that address men's depression, and testicular cancer charities. In the United Kingdom (UK) the organisations involved are Prostrate Cancer UK and the Institute of Cancer Research. Money is raised for and distributed by Movember, and these partners, encouraging the men who participate in Movember to constantly remain mindful of boosting the profile of men's health issues. In the United Kingdom the Movember campaign raised 27 million pounds in 2012. Globally, it generated 92 million pounds and had 1.1million participants. Thus there is no denying that this campaign works, and that busting out upper lip designs is a creative that has roused the interest of humungous numbers of individuals the world over. However, how can women get involved in Movember, a campaign that explicitly targets male participants? And is women letting their hair grow anywhere but on their scalp still the taboo it once was? The Movember site itself calls female supporters of Movember 'Mo sistas', and encourages them to support 'Mo brothers' by – among other things – recruiting a team to raise money, organising events, donating money and 'supporting and showing love for the mo'. Though enormously successful, Movember's focus on the moustache as a sign of masculinity makes this an explicitly gendered campaign. This is an approach that inherently excludes the full participation of women through the rhetoric evident on its site: 'growing a mo' is left to the guys'. And, in addition, it reinforces that growing facial hair is a masculine and exclusive trait that should be admired by women, as evident in the above mentioned sentiments about 'mo sistas' supporting mo' growth. Armpits4August is a campaign that urges participants to grow their underarm hair for one month in order to raise money for people with Polycistic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) by passing donations on to the charity Verity. The campaign was launched in 2012, and Armpits4August say: 'A common symptom of PCOS can be hirsutism (excessive hair growth), so by growing our body hair we are working towards having pride in our body hair, not shame'. The campaigners go on to explicitly outline that 'We believe the shame a lot of people feel about their body hair is a consequence of living in a society that regulates, controls and dictates that female-assigned bodies must conform to incredibly narrow beauty standards, and which upholds a rigid gender binary that deems body hair a 'masculine' trait'. Hence could Movember be said to be feeding in to – exacerbating – this societal dictat? This predicament is further explored in a Women's Views on News article, available here. Women against non essential grooming (WANG) also see the removal of female body hair as arising from societal pressure, arguing that society has established a damaging and limiting link between conforming to expected beauty standards and being considered a worthwhile person. WANG thus encourages the rejection of 'prohibitive and narrow beauty standards imposed on women', though welcomes 'allies of any/no gender' who resist or struggle against conforming to constructed beauty standards. The 'No shave November' campaign or 'Noshember' urges men and women to give up shaving for the month of November, particularly referring to men letting their beards grow and women notably their underarm hair and leg hair. This again, genders hair growth, with the website emphasising that letting hair grow is 'lazy', with the 'plus' that 'it is cold enough to wear scarves or jeans […] to cover that unsightly hair'. Why is body hair unsightly? In the ‘ladies’ section of the Noshember website, the 'Noshember guys' thank 'Noshemberinas' 'for all the ladies who have to deal with your man's nasty annoying and downright manly facial hair'. Why is it that when a man grows facial hair, or a mustache it is manly but when a women grows any hair apart from on her head it isn’t described as womanly? This sentiment is reinforced by quotes scattered throughout the section, but principally in the referral to the female 'Noshember' Facebook group: 'How long can you go? *Oh btw [by the way], this group is only for legs, feel free to shave other places as you wish, cuz [because] I'm not gonna go there'. Even within the gender binary constraints of growing body hair there is a hierarchy, with growing leg hair permissible when engaging in 'Noshember' but other hair on the female body seen as beyond comprehension or desirability. It is a damning indictment of society that even foundations and campaigns concerned with bucking the trend for removing, or grooming body hair – bar Armpits4August – can be accused of fortifying stereotypes and repressive, patriarchal attitudes. Both Movember and Noshember do not engage with the experience of trans men and women, and non binary persons, exacerbating perceptions of acceptance as clearly defined by alignment with and traditional expressions of gender. Both these campaigns raise money for, and support charitable causes that suffer from under-funding and are highly necessary, however it feels like they may have missed an opportunity to engage with, and change, public attitudes to body hair and gender. For shame. |
| Toy campaigners win another victory Posted: 06 Nov 2013 04:05 AM PST
High street chain Debenhams has announced it will be removing all "girls" and "boys" signage from their toy departments. The statement comes after a sustained campaign from Let Toys Be Toys, the parent-led action group that aims to stop gender stereotyping in children's toys. Debenhams told the campaign on Twitter: "We would like to assure you that changes have been made to the way we categorise toys in our stores. "These changes will take place across all stores in the next few weeks." They clarified this meant the removal of all "girls" and "boys" headers of all stores in the UK and Ireland, as well as changes to their website. Kerry Brennan, Let Toys Be Toys campaigner, said: "This is a particularly important victory for me. "It was heartbreaking shopping in Debenhams with my small daughter who chose toys from the 'boys' section without realising. "One of the reasons I helped set up Let Toys Be Toys was to make these changes before she learnt to read, and found out that some adults thought her favourite spaceship and fire engine toys weren't for her." The campaign and its supporters had been protesting about Debenhams "girls" and "boys" labels since last Christmas. Their objections had been communicated in writing, in person and also by harnessing the power of social media, where much of the Let Toys Be Toys campaigning takes place. This victory comes hot on the heels of several other successes by Let Toys Be Toys, including a commitment from Toys R Us to market their toys in a gender-inclusive way, changes to toy packaging from Marks and Spencer, and a complete removal of all gendered toy signs in TK Maxx and Boots. To find out about the group's next targets, and how you can help, go to their website or follow them on twitter @lettoysbetoys. |
| Film festival adds panel discussion Posted: 06 Nov 2013 01:09 AM PST
Not only will there be five-jam packed days of screenings, sessions and networking showcasing the very best raw cinematic talents of women working across the industry. There will also be a one-day event of panel discussions, called 'Girls on Film'. Four panel discussions: ‘The Bechdel Test: The Ugly Truth?’, ‘Honest Lies: The Representation of Prostitution in Cinema’, ‘Act Your Age: Is there a Space for Older Women on Screen?’ and ‘Is the Manic Pixie Dream Girl Dead?’. The aim is to tackle the difficult questions and discuss the issues at the heart of the representation of female characters in film. For a film to pass the Bechdel Test, it has to feature at least two named female characters who have a conversation with each other that doesn't focus on men. The amount of films that do not pass this test is alarming. What does this say about the representation of women in film? Are there enough female characters being written? Are the women that are being seen in films well rounded, substantial characters or are they simply there for decoration? The panel, which will be chaired by Katherine McLaughlin, will tackle the difficult question about the representation of women in cinema and discuss the lack of real women on our screens. Speakers will include Dr Hannah Hamad of Kings College London and Muriel d'Ansembourg BAFTA, nominated for ‘Good Night’. More speakers are yet to be confirmed. Prostitution features in hundreds of films from multiple countries since cinema began. Yet how accurate are the depictions, and how do they affect society's attitudes to those involved? Considering mainstream films from "Breakfast at Tiffanys" to "Monster" the ’Honest Lies: The Representation of Prostitution in Cinema’ panel will reflect on the power of cinema to influence public perception, and interrogate the links between fiction and real-life experience. Chaired by Silvia Murray Wakefield, the chair of Object, panellists will include UnderWire's co-founder Gabriella Apicella, the producer of "Honest Lies"; Dr Sophie Nield from the Royal Holloway; Heather Harvey, research and development manager for Eaves; and Rachel Moran, author of Paid For: My Journey Through Prostitution. More speakers are to be confirmed. Our society's obsession with youth can be seen everywhere but especially on the silver screen. Leading men are allowed to age but their love interests are not. Why do filmmakers shun older female characters or stay within the boundaries of stereotypes? Should older females not be consider viable heroines? ‘Act Your Age: Is there a Space for Older Women on Screen?’ will be looking at the issue from behind the camera, from the casting room and from an actress's own personal experience, we challenge the tradition of older women being kept out of the frame. We owe Nathan Rabin for the term 'Manic Pixie Dream Girl' which describes the two-dimensional female characters in films who are used to teach the brooding male protagonist how to embrace life and live for the moment. After recent films have been saturated with girls like Summer from '500 Days of Summer' and Clementine from 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind', the stereotype is now being heralded as meaningless and dead. With a move towards actors writing their own parts, tired of the options available to them, the ‘Is the Manic Pixie Dream Girl Dead? panel asks if the days of the manic pixie dream girl are really behind us. The panel will be chaired by Simran Hans and speakers will include Laurie Penny from The Independent, The New Statesman, The New Inquiry among others; Catherine Balavage, writer/actor, ‘Proses & Cons’; and Kaite Walsh who writes for The Guardian, The F Word, The Independent. More speakers to be announced here too. These will be held at the 71A Gallery on Leonard Street in East London from 12noon-17:00 on 23 November. Tickets are £7 per session or £20 for an all day pass. Come and join in. UnderWire's founders Gabriella Apicella and Gemma Mitchell launched the festival in 2010 with the belief that women working in the UK film industry needed more encouragement and a bigger platform for their work. The fact remains, they point out, that women still make up a small proportion of film creatives, and UnderWire looks to recognise the best short work made by women across a range of crafts – from director to cinematographer; screenwriter to editor. UnderWire believes that a more gender balanced industry will benefit everyone by creating a diversity of perspectives, stories and experiences for audiences. The UnderWire Film Festival 2013: ‘Celebrating Women in Film’ runs from 19 – 23 November. For more information, click here. |
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