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maltatoday, SUNDAY, 8 MARCH 2015 11 News The Academy Awards – or Oscars, as they're more commonly known – are always a fertile breeding ground for public debate: not only of the in- trinsic merits of the films that get nominated and awarded (or not, as it may happen), but of the wider social and political issues that surround this (by definition) very public and influen- tial industry exercise. This year, social and ethnic repre- sentation was front-and-centre during the Oscar debate, particularly as white male actors appeared to be getting all the accolades, to the consternation of many. But women also appeared to be side-lined, and in a refreshing excep- tion that proved the rule, actress Patri- cia Arquette – picking up a Best Sup- porting Actress statuette for her role in Boyhood – made a rousing speech that highlighted the plight of women both in and outside the film industry. "To every woman who gave birth, to every citizen and taxpayer of this nation, we have fought for everybody else's equal rights. It's our time to have wage equality once and for all and equal rights for women in the USA," Arquette declared, to the sounds of enthusiastic cheering from the audi- ence. The more immediate context to Arquette's speech may have been cued in by internal industry squabbling – to wit: the Sony leaks that revealed how even household-name stars like The Hunger Games' Jennifer Lawrence are paid less than their male counterparts. But the call for wage equality should resonate far and wide, as is perhaps appropriate to point out on the occa- sion of International Women's Day. Popular culture, and particularly the film industry, remains a powerful agent of 'soft power' that can transmit ideologies and beliefs quickly and per- vasively, so that efforts by the likes of Geena Davis (campaigning for more female representation in the industry) and Harry Potter's Emma Watson (in- augurating the viral 'HeForShe' cam- paign) are significant developments in the rekindled debate over 'feminism' – a term that has re-emerged on eve- ryone's radar once again, and that is perhaps more contested than it should in fact be. The fact that such an influential sec- tor as the movie industry, needs to be- come more feminist is in line with the words of University of Malta senior lecturer Brenda Murphy, who in her comments to MaltaToday said that the media in many ways shapes soci- ety ideologies: "In a world dominated by movies where women are almost invariably presented as second class citizens, how can we expect anyone to think and develop differently?" According to Murphy, the media's role in promoting ideas about gender roles cannot be discounted. We've all seen the depiction of sexism in vari- ous advertisements hailing from the 1950s, and the subsequent attacks on these said companies for their choice of advert. This in no way means how- ever that these kinds of adverts have disappeared. A recent advert by Voda- fone, depicting a scantily clad woman pushing a car, has come under attack by NGO Gender Liberation, which seeks to question gender norms in contemporary culture. Gender Lib- eration reacted to the advert by saying the "objectification of human bodies is never acceptable – we need to dif- ferentiate between healthy sexuality that allows for authentic intimacy, and sexualisation that exploits female bod- ies for profit." Though the advert appears to play- fully subvert gender norms – by placing the female in the tradition- ally 'masculine' role – by putting the focus on the mini-skirt clad woman's backside, it still plays into historically pervasive (and lurid) sexualisation of women in the media. It's a fact that Josann Cutajar, senior lecturer in Gender studies at the Uni- versity of Malta, recognises as all too familiar. "The objectification and dismem- berment of certain bodies through the media – for example the focus on different parts of the body – helps to depersonalize that body, and therefore renders it easier for those who want to denigrate women, racial minori- ties, and other subordinate groups in society. Women are not butts, they are human beings with feelings – not the superimposed image that some of the media want to promote," Cutajar said. Mary Gaerty from the National Council of Women was unequivocal in her condemnation of the advert, asking: "Is Vodafone so short of ideas for adverts, that they have to revert to sexist images to attract the attention of their customers?" The Vodafone advert is perhaps yet another indication of just how nec- essary feminism remains in today's world, despite the scepticism – and downright scorn – with which the term is sometimes met, even by other women – as many casual conversa- tions will doubtless attest to. "The misconception with regard to feminism and women themselves, is a result of the society we are born in, and it all shows that our work as women's organizations is in no way done," Lor- raine Spiteri of the Maltese Corpora- tion for Women's Organisations said. She added that the reason why there are so many women's days and confer- ences to this day is not because "we feel the need to be marked as different as a gender, but that there are people out there, including women them- selves who insist that we do not need feminism and support a very negative view of feminists in general." Meanwhile Commissioner for Equal- ity Renee Laiviera said that feminism, "is not about seeking to be treated more favourably than men or about being aggressive, but it is about being placed on an equal footing". She added that although this might be difficult to understand in the local context where feminism has had a somewhat peaceful history, the work and efforts of women's organisations is still widely needed. MATTHEW AGIUS PRIME Minister Joseph Muscat yes- terday told the women's branch of the Labour party, the Ghaqda Nisa Laburisti, that the feminist agenda is a priority for his government. Addressing the group on the occa- sion of International Women's Day, being marked today, Muscat referred to his government's appointment of women to important positions in several public entities and leadership positions, including that of President of the Republic, as proof that his gov- ernment acts on its beliefs. "While the government is announc- ing initiatives and measures to main- tain this agenda, it is also seeking long term solutions to a number of chal- lenges which are faced by women in this country," he said. However there is much ground yet to be covered, says human rights NGO Aditus Foundation. In a statement marking the occa- sion, Neil Falzon, the foundation's director, concluded that "stereotypes continue to obstruct women's access to their fundamental human rights. When women do not feel free to ex- press all of who they are and what they aspire for, they become submissive in their own lives. By overcoming stere- otypes comes the true achievement of the principle of equality enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights." The NGO quoted the UN's com- ments on the prevalence of stere- otypes in the Maltese psyche. "The Committee remains concerned about the persistence of patriarchal at- titudes and stereotypes regarding the roles and responsibilities of women and men in the family and in society. Women continue to be stereotyped as mothers and caregivers, while men are stereotyped as breadwinners. Such stereotypes undermine women's so- cial status, as reflected in their disad- vantaged position in areas including in the labour market and in access to political life and decision-making po- sitions, and affect women's choices in their studies and professions." The Malta Confederation of Women's Organisations called on authorities, decision makers and po- litical parties to do their bit towards women's human rights and gender equality. "On this historic day we commem- orate women's struggles and achieve- ments in areas of social justice, equal- ity, peace and development. As we do so, we also need to look at the many gender gaps and evaluate what needs to be done in order to close the gap between women and men," the Con- federation said. The Gender Equality Index shows that in spite of the fact that gender equality is considered as a fundamen- tal value in all EU countries, this is still far from reality. While the overall average score of the 27 other EU countries is 54.0, Malta scores 41.6. When it comes to female participation in the labour market Malta's score is just 55.0 com- pared with the average of 69.0. When it comes to the gender gap in the political and economic sphere, there again Malta scores badly with just 18.7 compared with the average of 38.0 of all EU member states. "As a country we need to continue working in order to ensure that fami- lies who are in paid employment and have caring responsibilities continue to be supported in a holistic manner," Lorraine Spiteri, MCWO chairperson said. "Similarly, the number of women in politics, and in government boards also needs to be improved." The MCWO also said that Inter- national Women's Day is a day to remember thousands of women who are suffering silently because of do- mestic violence. "One in four women in Malta are affected by this, which is certainly un- acceptable. We need to continue to work together, women and men, to bring about a more equal and humane society, which strongly condemns all forms of violence," Spiteri said. Don't let me be misunderstood: feminism is not a dirty word Stereotypes still obstruct women's access to fundamental human rights On the occasion of International Women's Day, MARTINA BORG looks into how popular culture continues to sideline the role of women, and why feminism is far from just a shrill cry of the over-privileged Actress Patricia Arquette used her Oscar victory as a chance to rail against the gender pay gap A recent advert by Vodafone arguably reinforces negative gender stereotypes