Women's Views on News |
- Chaotic race highlights cycling issues
- Sexualised and silent in Hollywood
- We need to talk to kids about porn
- Gender segregation at university events
| Chaotic race highlights cycling issues Posted: 30 May 2013 07:41 AM PDT
Let me state this for the record: I am a fan of women's cycling, and I would l like to be able to read and watch more about it. I feel the need to say this because, although there is no lack of articles praising the post-Olympic spike in interest in women's cycling, there is practically no coverage of the sport itself. Take the case of the Tour de Languedoc-Roussillon, won by Britain's Emma Pooley last week. It had been hoped that the race would replace the Tour de l'Aude, one of the more prestigious events on the women's calendar, which was cancelled in 2010 due to lack of sponsorship. However, Languedoc-Roussillon almost met the same fate; the organisers cancelled the race the day before it was due to begin, citing a lack of sponsorship. A backer was eventually found, and the race reinstated – with the first stage missing, and minus two teams, who pulled out in understandable disgust. After her win, Pooley told cycling blog VeloNation that the Tour had been "chaotic". The race she described was a far cry from the slick organisation of men's events. "Frequent last-minute changes of accommodation; a nightmare for anti-doping whereabouts; poor quality accommodation; campsites of varying cleanliness; no proper addresses for race starts… It was all highly frustrating." The race may have been shambolic, but the media coverage was non-existent. Despite being won by a Brit – and Pooley led the race from the third stage – there is no mention of it on the websites of the BBC, the Telegraph, the Daily Mail, or the Sun. The Guardian managed a passing reference to Pooley's third stage win, in an article about the men's Giro d'Italia. Newspapers are happy to discuss women's cycling in the abstract, whether praising the effect of London 2012 on women taking part in the sport, or castigating the sponsorship gender bias. However, they are simply unwilling to invest in sending journalists to report on women's races. Decisions by the media not to cover women's sports are frequently blamed on a lack of interest from fans. But it is difficult to develop an interest when just finding out who won a race, or even when a race is being held, is a challenge. So I'm adding my voice: more coverage please.  |
| Sexualised and silent in Hollywood Posted: 30 May 2013 06:00 AM PDT
A study from the University of Southern California analysed representations of women and girls in the 100 top-grossing US films. The study also examined the prevalence of female characters, as well as the employment patterns of women behind the camera over a five-year period. Researchers found that female characters are three times more likely than male characters to appear in tight clothing or partially naked. And not only does women's on-screen presence amounts to little more than titivation, but the report suggests that the problem is actually getting worse. In 2007, 21.8 per cent of female characters were shown partially naked in box office hits, but this figure rose to 31 per cent in 2012. A more disturbing finding of the study is that while nearly a third of all female characters are sexualised in films, the age group most at risk of sexualisation is young female characters aged 13-20, over half of whom are shown either dressed provocatively or partially naked. This is a figure which has risen 22 per cent since 2007, and dwarfs the 7 per cent of scantily-clad men shown in film. But while Hollywood's sexualisation of female characters is on the increase, especially for teenage girls, the number of female speaking characters has dropped to its lowest level since the study began – a meagre 28.4 per cent in 2012. In real terms, this female under-representation means that for every 2.5 men you see on the cinema screen, you only see 1 woman. The leader of the study, Dr Stacy L. Smith, said that since "Girls and women represent fully half of the US population and buy half of the movie tickets sold", this amounts to nothing less than a gross misrepresentation. A consequence of women's relative absence from cinema screens is that it silences female narratives and relegates woman-centric films to a niche. "Every voice deserves a chance to be heard and every story a chance to be told. At the moment… that does not seem to be the case in popular film," said Dr Smith. It's a particularly worrisome trend considering the strong global audience of US cinematic content and the message that this conveys to those watching about the acceptability of female objectification. Figures released by YouGov in 2010 found that the most frequent cinema-goers in the UK are those aged 15 to 24 years of age, so the reality is that the majority of those who are watching are teenagers. With these impressionable young men and women accounting for approximately 61 million cinema admissions each year, we can only speculate how women's relative erasure from speaking roles – unless they are semi-naked – perpetuates the continued objectification of women. And then add the potentially damaging psychological impact of those young women watching unrealistic, hyper-sexualised female body ideals, an effect which the report's authors suggest may activate or reinscribe females' self-objectification, body shame, and appearance anxiety So how do we tackle this vast under-representation and gross over-exposure? The study itself found one possible solution, finding that when there is a woman involved behind the scenes in a creative role as a writer or director, not only is there a greater female on-screen presence but that female presence is also less sexualised. Unfortunately, while women in front of the camera are rare, women behind the camera are even more so. There is a ratio of 5 men to 1 woman behind the camera; women account for only 20 per cent of producers, 21.2 per cent of writers and 4.1 per cent of directors. In an earlier study she conducted, Dr Smith identified five areas that were hampering women's career development in film: gendered financial barriers, male-dominated industry networking, stereotyping on set, work and family balance, and exclusionary hiring decisions. Arguably four out of five of those reasons can be traced back to inequality in the employment practices of studios. So if the studios are prohibiting women from working behind the camera and a misguided industry belief that women don't bring in the big bucks is keeping women from appearing in front of the camera, then how can we make them pay attention? My suggestion? With our feet, as we walk away from the cinema.  |
| We need to talk to kids about porn Posted: 30 May 2013 03:51 AM PDT
‘Porn is everywhere’ according to a new report from the Children’s Commissioner, and it’s shaping the way our kids think about sex and relationships. In an era when ‘extremely violent and sadistic imagery is two clicks away’, schools are failing to keep up with the porn industry, which for some young people has become the go-to resource in their quest to learn about about sex. The report suggests that relying on pornography to educate our children is leading to a generation of people with unrealistic attitudes towards sex and a warped understanding of what constitutes a healthy relationship. It’s also helping to normalise the objectifiction of women, and reinforce the inequalities and sexism we see around us every day. The study found that exposure to porn is linked to risky behaviour such as having sex at a younger age, and that there is a correlation between holding violent attitudes and accessing more violent media. “For years we have applied age restrictions to films at the cinema but now we are permitting access to far more troubling imagery via the internet. We do not fully understand the implications of this. “It is a risky experiment to allow a generation of young people to be raised on a diet of pornography,” said Maggie Atkinson, Children’s Commissioner for England. The study calls for urgent action by the government to ensure that all schools, including independent and faith schools, deliver effective relationship and sex education which includes discussions about access and exposure to pornography. The findings come less than a week after warnings from the National Association of Head Teachers, and the suggestion that children should be taught about the dangers of pornography as soon as they have access to the internet – which would mean lessons at primary school. With references to pornography seeping into mainstream culture (don’t even get me started on the Playboy Bunny), it’s no surprise that the industry is having a huge influence on some young people and that this is a generation which is seeing increasingly hardcore porn as the norm. For many young people pornography precedes sex, so is their first reference point for intimate relationships. The problem with this is that most porn is still very unequal – it’s made by men, for men – and does a good job in convincing girls they’re here to please men. One young woman, interviewed by the BBC’s Social Affairs Correspondent, revealed how pornography was part of her social landscape from the age of 11, and made her think rape was normal. In the distressing report she discusses how at the age of 16, her boyfriend would make her watch ‘rape porn’ and re-enact the scenes with her. “He was my first boyfriend, and I thought this is what a sex life was, this is what I have to do. “I thought what was happening in the videos was normal as well, because he had made me watch so many of them. “I thought if I am not enjoying it, I am not doing it right, and I didn’t feel that I was ever able to say no.” Sexually explicit material online is also contributing to young girls’ body image issues. Surely no one can disagree that the trend for women to be completely hairless down below has its roots in the porn industry. I am not sure we will ever be able to stem the tide of online pornography, but we can certainly put less pressure on young women and girls to look and act like porn stars, by ensuring they are educated about the reality of sex and relationships. “We think it’s really important that the curriculum includes pornography to help build children’s resilience to what they are seeing on the internet – to help them differentiate between what they are seeing and good healthy relationships which are not about submission and not about being forced,” said Sue Berelowitz, the Deputy Children’s Commissioner. Women’s Aid, which campaigns to end domestic and sexual violence against women, welcomed the report, as it does not think the government cannot assume young people will be taught about healthy relationships at home. Polly Neate, chief executive of Women's Aid, said: "Both girls and boys deserve an education where alongside biological facts they are taught about healthy relationships, what is acceptable and what isn’t. “It is important that children learn how to 'see through' the fictions presented in pornography, and that being forced or coerced into sexual acts is unacceptable." A joint statement by End Violence Against Women Coalition and Rape Crisis said: “This report provides further strong evidence of the need for schools to be required to teach young people about sexual consent and how to deal with pornographic and violent imagery they see online, in music videos, adverts or elsewhere.”  |
| Gender segregation at university events Posted: 30 May 2013 01:09 AM PDT
Student Rights, a non-profit organisation that campaigns against discrimination and extremism, claims that segregation by gender was promoted at a quarter of the 180 events it examined. The events in question took place at university campuses in the UK between March 2012 and March 2013. And the 21 universities involved in the 46 events that explicitly advertised or implied gender segregation, all have diversity and equality policies that prohibit sexual discrimination. As Student Rights points out in their 'Unequal Opportunity' report, all universities also have a legal obligation to protect students from discrimination and harassment under the Equality Act 2010. Raheem Kassam, director of Student Rights, said: "What we have shown in this report is that gender segregation and discrimination on UK university campuses is not simply an increasing trend, but one that is growing despite universities being aware of the incidents. "This is a deeply disturbing revelation, as campuses across the country are supposed to be committed to ensuring that students are not discriminated against, be it on the grounds of race, religion, sexuality, gender or otherwise." The report, which was published on 13 May, highlights a gender-segregated debate at University College London (UCL) on 9 March. This debate, which was entitled 'Islam or Atheism: Which Makes More Sense?', was organised by the Islamic Education and Research Academy (iERA) and featured writer Hamza Tzortzis and physicist Professor Lawrence Krauss. Despite repeated assurances from UCL that there would not be a policy of segregation at the event, there were separate entrances for men and women and separate sections for seating. The organisers' security staff attempted to move three male attendees who tried to sit in the women's section, but they were stopped after Krauss objected and threatened to leave the debate. Adam Barnett, one of the three attendees, was appalled and shocked at what happened. He said: "For a London university to allow forced segregation by sex in 2013 is disgraceful. "It's insulting to be told that because I'm a man I can't sit near women in the audience. "I'm not in the habit of forcing my presence where it's unwanted, but the event's organisers have no business policing social matters of this kind." Krauss told the media: "The notion that because these cultural norms make some people feel uncomfortable in broader society, that broader society should accommodate that discomfort, is complete nonsense." UCL banned iERA from operating on campus and deny that the university facilitated the segregation policy. Segregated seating was also in place at a public lecture at Leicester University on 20 February. The talk, which was organised by the university's Islamic society, sparked an investigation and led a spokesperson to say that "the University of Leicester does not permit enforced segregation at public events". And “If some people choose to sit in a segregated manner because of their religious convictions then they are free to do so. “By the same token, if people attending do not wish to sit in a segregated manner, they are free to do so." In response to such incidents, Student Rights have recommended that institutions should closely monitor events and ensure that management complies with policies against discrimination. The campus watchdog also said that universities should 'communicate equality and diversity responsibilities to the student body repeatedly throughout the year'. Pete Mercer, National Union of Students Vice-President for welfare, warned that while enforced gender segregation is "entirely unacceptable", events should be considered on a case-by-case basis. "A witch-hunt which makes sweeping judgments about student Islamic societies without knowing the details denies the women involved the very equality it claims to wish for them.” Kassam, also speaking specifically about women, said: "I am distraught that, in the 21st century, British university campuses can be used to segregate and denigrate women. “The acceptance of segregation on campuses is a far more serious issue than previously thought.”  |
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