Unequal gender representation in “objective” media

This video made me wonder: when men are referred to in the pejorative in media? It seems that that while society is rife with acceptable slurs for women, men are rarely frowned upon because of their nature or inappropriate behavior.  In “sex scandal” after “sex scandal” the politician stands in front of the media with his wife in tow, apologizing for his lapse in judgment before emphasizing how much he loves his family; meanwhile the woman he paid is vilified for her prostitution in the media and then by the courts.

In the indie film Amy’s Orgasm (the title is far more salacious than the film), lead Amy sits down with shock jock Matt to discuss her best selling book.  Despite their flirtatious banter, she reminds him, “slut, tramp, whore.  Those are all words that would describe you if you were a woman.  But you’re not. You’re a man; you’re a stud.  I don’t date studs.”   All of the nouns to describe a promiscuous woman have negative connotations, but for men, being a player is practically cause for celebration in their social circles.

Sexism has also had a role in the 2008 Presidential campaign.  Blog Shakesville has documented 103 instances of sexism in the coverage of Hilary Clinton thus far.  A CNN political commentator found himself in hotwater when he said some women deserve to be called a bitch, which by his definition seems to include aggressive, forceful women. . . in men that would be demonstrating traditional leadership skills and their ambitious.

As of 2006, women made up 50.7% of the US population, so if we’re offended by what we’re seeing, wouldn’t we “vote” to oust such negative stereotypes by choosing to consume different media?  One of the main reasons we don’t see more uproar over the unbalanced coverage of women is ignorance.  We’d have to recognize that the behavior is inappropriate,  rather than the norm, in the first place.

Let me digress to a personal anecdote.  In high school I reported being harassed by a group of male students in the hallways and in my chemistry class.  Guidance had to have a few words with the guys, and the inappropriate behavior quelled, which was my goal.  To my complete shock, a fellow classmate approached me in the hall to inform me that I was wrong to report the issue.  “We’re women; we have to put up with it.”

Sorry, I have to disagree; what we do not denounce, we encourage and the latest studies on sexual harassment show another generation of girls growing up believing derrogatory remarks related to their gender to be the norm. Teen self-esteem expert Courtney Macavinta recently blogged about a new UC Santa Cruz study that found 9 in 10 girls between the ages of 12-18 report at least once experience of harassment at school including

**receiving inappropriate and unwanted romantic attention, hearing demeaning gender-related comments
**being teased about appearance
**receiving unwanted physical contact
**being teased, bullied, or threatened with harm by a male

The study points out that

Moreover, girls who had learned about feminism through the media or from people in their lives, including mothers and teachers, were more likely to recognize it than girls who had never heard about feminism, and girls who felt pressure from parents to conform to gender stereotypes perceived more sexism than other girls

You have to be able to identify a problem to call it out and demand change.  Much like we’ve been desensitized to violence through TV, film, and video games; the same can be said of sexism and misogyny. Children are still in a culture that supports misogyny; at some point we have to break the cycle and stand up for equality, not just in women’s represenation in media, but for women in society in general.

Media that objectifies women and uses derogatory gender specific terminology reinforces language and ideology that denies women equal status. Judgement-neutral terminology should be the only acceptable language choice in so-called objective journalism, which is clearly, based on the above video, not the standard.

And it wouldn’t hurt if entertainment celebrated and multiplied strong female protagonists, instead of wondering why we need them.