Women's Views on News |
- Sexism not ‘just banter’
- The students turning shame on its head
- Professional women vilified for drinking too much
| Posted: 22 May 2015 04:15 AM PDT
While it may be yesterday's news, it is important in the cold light of day to examine the coverage and decision taken by the Belfast Telegraph to write a 2-page feature on the appearances of four women and five men who stood for election in Northern Ireland recently. Written by two experienced journalists, one male, one female, the article received considerable negative coverage. The editor – in response to this – said that the article was to "take a tongue-in-cheek look at how the candidates had chosen to publicly present themselves." The paper also suggested that the negative coverage from the article was "wilfully misrepresented by being selectively shared online." So let's look at the article in a bit more detail. The Belfast Telegraph article did featured both women and men; looking solely at the numbers they did comment on the appearance of five men and four women. This article placed the four women centre stage. Their pictures were substantially larger than those of the men – and to further draw the attention of the reader to this particular section, it was highlighted in yellow. That's the aesthetics of the article. What about the content? Let's start with the negative things they said about the men. On Mairtin O Muilleoir of Sinn Fein the journalists suggested his image was "sober, … sombre", and that he looked "bold and thrusting… with tired eyes", that his frown was "not attractive and makes him look angry". Timothy Gaston of the TUV was "smug", "looking exhausted". He was also referred to as being a "good looking guy" and "a fine man". SDLP leader Alasdair McDonnell was thought to be looking "giddily happy". People Before Profit Alliance candidate Gerry Carroll was referred to as "a good, sound proletarian", looking "a bit worried". The eyes of DUP Gavin Robinson were referred to as having "been polished up with Brasso", looking "quite scary". He was described as "professional looking". And then what they said about the women. Standing for the Workers Party in North Belfast, Gemma Weir was seen to have "got the right image"; commenting on her hair the journalists suggested it "probably cost a bob or two". Her teeth are "up there with Jo-Anne" who they referred to as having a "dazzling white smile". Jo-Anne Dobson was standing for the Ulster Unionist Party in Upper Bann. The comments started with how "genuinely happy" she was, before moving on to her make-up, specially her lip gloss and how it "seems to catch the glow of her cheeks". The male journalist referred to her as a "girly girl". Further comments on Jo-Anne's appearance included a "dazzling white smile, California tan and sun-streaked highlights". The Alliance Party was represented by Naomi Long, MP for East Belfast. Naomi was reported as being "a good looking woman" with "fiery red hair". The journalists also commented that her choice of necklace was inappropriate and she "needed a good night's sleep". Claire Bailey stood for the Green Party in South Belfast. The journalists suggested she was going for "the glam look" with a "plunging neckline" and that she's a "stunningly attractive woman". They also commented that her look is more "a night out down the town, clubbing with the girls." The verdict? The Belfast Telegraph referred to the article as humorous, and suggested that including comments on the appearance of men alongside women was not sexist and that any attempt to suggest otherwise was "a diversion" which people "are all very good at promoting". Malachi O'Doherty, who co-wrote the article, tried to defend it on BBC Evening Extra. An attempt that did not go down well; O'Doherty became very angry, making it painful for anyone listening. All jokes have a victim. Humour or jokes about how someone looks, dresses, talks, walks are really not acceptable for either a woman or a man. What is also worrying is that the editor and journalists involved have failed to understand why some women find this article to be an aggressive form of reporting that contains sexist beliefs, stereotypes and attitudes. Humour requires an expert, sophisticated knowledge of language which evokes laughter. It is a risk using humour as a central message in any journalistic article. Sadly that risk did not pay off on this occasion. The article reinforces a stereotypical view of women which is spread under a mask of humour. It is evident that today's media contribute to a culture in which women are increasingly objectified as sex objects, that their shoes and looks are more important than their views; see the WVoN article Political Views, Not Shoes. This overwhelming portrayal of women plays a role in maintaining inequality between women and men. This has been recognised at the international level by the United Nations Convention to Eliminate Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) which calls on member states to take decisive action to tackle objectification – which it links to stereotypes and prejudices based on gender. CEDAW has since repeatedly identified the links between the portrayal of women as sex objects by the media and sex industry with attitudes that underpin violence and discrimination against women. Gender stereotyping and portraying women in the media and popular culture in this way are totally unacceptable. And The Belfast Telegraph asserting that their article was not sexist because of their decision to include five men totally missed the point. Men have so little experience of being victims of sexism that they may well be less aware of sexist comments being made against them. We women on the other hand are easily able to recognise hostility and sexism because sadly we have had plenty of it. It is about time it stopped.  |
| The students turning shame on its head Posted: 22 May 2015 02:15 AM PDT
Ione Wells caught the last tube home on 11 April. As she walked along her street she was sexually assaulted, her head knocked to the ground and a grab made to her breast so vicious it ripped apart her bra. Neighbours who heard her shouts went to her aid. Her attacker escaped but was caught by the police later that night, while, it seemed, he was following another young woman. What made this story stand out is that Ione Wells decided to waive her right to anonymity and write an open letter to her attacker. The letter was published by the Cherwell, a student newspaper at Oxford University where Ione is currently a first year student. At the centre of Ione's letter is the force of community. ‘I don't know who the people in your life are. I don't know anything about you. But I do know this: you did not just attack me that night,’ she wrote. ‘I am a daughter, I am a friend, I am a girlfriend, I am a pupil, I am a cousin, I am a niece, I am a neighbour, I am the employee who served everyone down the road coffee in the café under the railway. All the people who form those relations to me make up my community, and you assaulted every single one of them. ‘You violated the truth that I will never cease to fight for, and which all of those people represent – that there are infinitely more good people in the world than bad.’ Ione's letter, at once powerful and yet simple in its message, was shared hundreds of times. The story has since spread like wildfire, featured throughout the national press and discussed on TV panel shows such as Loose Women. So why did one woman's choice to speak out following a sexual attack make national news? Because many women choose not to report sexual assault and many more women choose not to discuss it openly. A woman's right to anonymity is of course necessary, that goes without question. However, when women feel able to talk openly about the abuse they have suffered that openess does play an important role in the eradication of such behaviour. The notion that women are somehow partially responsible for being assaulted, because of the way they dress or their behaviour, is so deeply ingrained in society’s heads that many people are afraid to come forward. And it was this last issue that prompted Ione and Cherwell Life to instigate the #NotGuilty campaign, an online storytelling platform aimed at encouraging victims of sexual attacks to share their experiences. In an article for the Guardian Ione said, "Through this we hope to encourage individuals to feel that they can speak out and get help after an assault, by emphasising the solidarity of community, and abolishing victim blaming." And in the weeks since the campaign began many women have contacted #NotGuilty with stories of abuse and sexual attack. Many of those who have done so talk about their fear in coming forward or sharing their story, they are thankful for a forum in which they can now do so. By choosing to speak out Ione has opened up a whole new line of dialogue concerning the blame culture which is often pointed at victims. Are we beginning to experience a sea change? More and more women are speaking out against sexual assault following their own personal experience. Last year, Emma Sulkowicz, a student at Colombia University in the United States, made international headlines for carrying a mattress everywhere with her on campus in disgust at the university's decision not to punish the man she accused of sexually assaulting her. Three other women had made accusations against him, but the university did not think there was enough evidence to prove his wrongdoing. Sulkowicz's decision to waive her anonymity and use her mattress as a campaign tool ensured her story went viral. Many more women at US universities are now speaking out against such attacks. The New York Times magazine reported in 2014 that 78 Colleges are under investigation, following the work done by a network of activists who have helped young survivors of attack report the crimes they have experienced. Speaking about her own experience of being raped, the actress and writer Lena Dunham said in an interview with Elle in April 2015, ‘Of course, every girl who talks about sexual assault has their credibility questioned’. A horrifying truth. Dunham has revealed she was raped when she was at University, but she chose not to report it at the time. Having gone public with the story years later she has been faced with a barrage of claims that she is lying, that she wasn't 'really' raped, and that she perhaps brought it on herself by being drunk. Lena Dunham's experience highlights the difficulties faced by women when speaking about sexual assault, on a celebrity scale. Changing the way the media reports on stories of rape and sexual violation is an important part of the battle. That is why Ione's story is so interesting. It is both extremely exciting and extremely frustrating that one woman's choice to speak out carries so much weight. The fact that Ione Wells's decision to write an open letter to her attacker made national news, as powerful as it is, demonstrates eactly how rare it is that women feel able to speak out publicly following sexual attack. Speaking about the campaign to the Evening Standard she said, "Doing this has really helped me because it's made something positive come out of a traumatic incident, something I hope to feel proud of later. "Mine is one case in many and the more others speak out the more we all help each other and change attitudes." Thanks to Ione's voice, and the others joining her as part of the #NotGuilty campaign, women now have the opportunity to change the dialogue surrounding sexual violence.  |
| Professional women vilified for drinking too much Posted: 22 May 2015 01:09 AM PDT
Do you ever fancy a nice glass of wine at the end of a hard day's work? Many of us do and think nothing of it. However, according to the British media, a recent report highlights how professional women in the UK are some of the world's worst binge drinkers. Women who venture into 'traditionally male' workplaces such as finance are picking up bad habits it sesms. Stress, work pressures and social aspects of work like networking are forcing women in high-powered positions to hit the bottle. Totally out of control, unable to have a demure glass or two, 'highly educated women' are pushing up the UK drinking statistics. Middle class women 'are drinking themselves to death' screamed the Daily Mail. Binge drinking is 'the dark side of equality' reported the Telegraph sternly. Except this isn't what the report, by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), ‘Tackling Harmful Alcohol Abuse: Economics and Public Health Policy’, said at all. It looks at the impact of alcohol across all demographic groups. Men who are less educated and of lower socioeconomic status are just as likely to binge drink as highly educated and affluent women. Furthermore, the overall levels of binge drinking in the UK fell from 19 per cent in 2006 to 15 per cent in 2013. Not that this gets in the way of a good old hysterical headline vilifying adult women for daring to have a drink. Why not splash with 'Working class men on binge drinking blowout' instead? Perhaps stories of feckless women and their bad behaviour creates more moral outrage and shifts more copies. Mark Pearson, the OECD economist who oversaw the study, told the Guardian that a combination of taxes and advertising restrictions could help combat this rise in hazardous drinking in professional women, even going as far to suggest that printing the number of calories on bottles will cause women to think twice about what they are drinking. This speaks volumes. Of course, there are worrying trends in alcohol consumption across a large range of demographics. Alcohol does indeed have numerous adverse health, social and economic implications, and the overall results of the OECD report are alarming and must be addressed. But my issue here is how the findings are cherry-picked and presented in the media. The UK media tells us that adult women who choose to drink alcohol – which is perfectly legal – are putting their lives at risk. The insinuation being that ill health and even death is the price women must pay if they want equality. It's enough to drive anyone to drink.  |
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