Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/697149
14 WHEN controversy erupts over the portrayal of gender stereotypes in advertising – as recently happened in the case of the now infamous 'Nu- mero Uno' ads – one invariably en- counters arguments along the lines that 'political correctness has gone out of control'. Admittedly it is a difficult argu- ment to counter. There can be little doubt that public standards regard- ing the portrayal of specific groups of people – be they ethnic or political minorities, or persons with disability, or any other category of human be- ing – have become more restrictive. With the advent of social media, the propensity for public outrage seems to have multiplied in step with the ever-shrinking pool of what is con- sidered 'fair comment'. From a freedom of speech perspec- tive, this is bound to raise concerns. Have we really allowed our sense of political correctness to run away with us... or is there valid reason to reconsider the traditional stereo- types perpetuated by the media? Taken as a microcosm of this glob- al reality, the Numero Uno advert itself seemed to attract the attention of both sides. Deemed as 'sexist' for presenting a young attractive wom- an purely as an object of male sexual desire, the ad was nonetheless de- fended – among others, by women who felt the response was exagger- ated. Dr Brenda Murphy is a lecturer in gender studies at the University, and her department will be launching two separate Masters programmes which both specifically touch on the issue: an MA in gender studies, and one in Gender Culture and Society. What does she herself make of the contrasting reactions to that advert? Did it surprise her to see women speaking out in its defence? "Not entirely, no. In general terms, we haven't been taught to be critical about such things. It's not surprising to hear women arguing that it's not such a big deal… that it's not affect- ing me, or that 'I don't mind because I like dressing up that way.' This is not surprising because we are all products of the same social context. It's a little bit like the hamster on the wheel… it's difficult to criticise the wheel till you step away from it and look at it …" Part of the problem, she continues, is that the use of gender stereotypes has a long history that cannot be erased from one moment to the next. The ad in question, while deemed to be offensive, was in no way unique or unprecedented. Dr Murphy sees it as an extension of a motif that has been in place as long as 'the media' itself has existed as a social construct. But how damaging is this motif in practical terms? Is there any research that attempts to evaluate the actual impact of this kind of objectification? "When we talk about the way women get portrayed in the media, the first question that arises is one of visibility. We know statistically – regardless whether it's small or big screen, print media or radio, or any other form of media – that there is more invisibility than visibility. There is an absence of women taking part in 'the media world', so to speak. Media statistics repeatedly find a 'one third rule' which is universal: for every woman visible in the me- dia, there will be two men. It is true for both representation in the media, and for participation. Whether it's on the screen, having a speaking role, working behind the scenes, or taking decisions within any media compa- ny… it will generally work out at two men to one woman as a best case scenario. So even just starting with visibility, we already know there's a big problem." The problem only gets worse when you look at the little that is visible. "Even when women are visible, there is invisibility built into that as well. The absence of speaking parts or active roles, especially in advertis- ing, is a good example. Advertising breaks all the rules when it comes to healthy representation of men and women. Apart from physical ab- sence, you get ideological absences in the way women are symbolically portrayed. In advertising, for in- stance, women are often reduced to being just the 'object of the gaze': the Numero Uno ad was a classic case in point. Clearly, this positions all the readers/viewers as men. All the audi- ence (males and females) are invited to look through an exclusively male lens…" Another issue is that the portrayal of women is such that it often sym- bolically 'silences' them. "Media critic Jean Kilbourne has a lovely example of this: she spotlights all the adverts that show women with their hands over their mouths, or wear- ing a polo-neck pulled up to their noses… all subliminally imparting the message that women are not ex- pected to speak. And those were the examples where the women's faces were actually visible. In other exam- ples, you only see parts of the wom- an: her hands, her legs, her breasts, and so on…." This brings us to some of the de- fensive reactions. Some people sug- gested that this sort of response is 'extremist', on the basis that… well, the reality is that many men look at women precisely that way. So why (runs this argument, which I repeat only for argument's sake) should ad- vertising not reflect what is ultimate- ly a reality? "The argument is: 'if it ain't broke, why fix it'? But that is at best a short- sighted vision. Take a look at today's market, and the segments of the public that are purchasing. They are more diverse than ever before. Women in particular are actively purchasing more than ever before: whereas the traditional model was always that women tended to buy only the household products, while men took care of all the 'bigger' pur- chases – the car, the house, etc – now we are seeing independent women with their own disposable income, taking decisions that were previously seen as the domain of men. This is today's reality, yet if we look at how it is portrayed in the media, you still see things mostly positioned from a male perspective." Advertisers flatly ignore such reali- ties at their own risk, she adds. "Re- cently, Cynergi had an advert show- ing a close-up of a girl's backside, with her butt-cheeks hanging out, that likewise attracted controversy. A lot of women reacted by publicly say- ing they would boycott the gym. So women are clearly acting with their feet. And within a very short space of time, Cynergi acknowledged the reactions and negative comments by taking down the advert. This is a fantastic example of consumer sov- ereignty in action." Nor does criticism (of this or any other ad) come only from women. "There are many men out there who are equally well-informed, and are also voicing the same objections. But the advertisers haven't caught up with them, because there isn't the critical mass… yet." The aforementioned reactions nonetheless suggest that mentalities are indeed changing, even if not eve- ryone has caught the same bus. This in turn raises the issue of what can be done – if anything at all – to speed up the process. "As a priority, I would say we need media literacy training in schools. Children as young as four should be able to watch TV and say,' I know why they're doing that… I know how that cartoon was made'. And we need gender equality to be built into that. Children should ask ques- tions like, 'why are the mice in this cartoon all male? Why are there no girl mice?'…" It turns out the example wasn't incidental: most cartoon characters, Dr Murphy explains, are in fact male. "As a general rule, in cartoons, the ratio works out at nine out of 10 car- toon characters being male. This is especially true of all the non-human characters…" Exposure to gender imbalance in the media, then, starts at a much younger age than most would im- agine. And it has a direct impact on how young children perceive gender roles, too. "The message they are getting is that this is normal. And the message extends to the billboards seen by lit- tle children as they drive past in the back seat of cars. The message is the same for both girls and boys: 'this is how women are meant to be viewed'. The girl accepts it; the boy accepts it; and both of them position them- selves in relation to those values. So a four-year-old boy may turn to his sister, or his female cousin, and say: 'You look nice today'. He's already got the discourse of acknowledg- ing the girl's appearance… and the girl will already be waiting for the compliment. It's as early as that that the rot sets in. Because immediately, from that moment, the young girl becomes a construct that is validated only by the way she looks. The mes- sage both girls and boys are getting is that girls are only valued for their appearance." Is it only on girls, though? It's not as though advertising generally por- trays men on the strength of their brains or their maturity, either… "Yes, undeniably. Men are also told they have to conform to a cer- tain body ideal: to be hairless, have to have a proper six-pack and so on. And that is equally problematic, for all the same reasons…" But it's a different type of pressure from that faced by women, she adds. "I'm not saying it's not damaging, or less damaging; and I certainly don't condone it, either. But the psy- chological message sent out to men is not the same. At its most basic, the difference is that women are told to 'reduce', while men are told to 'build up'. Symbolically, then, men are told they should take up space in the world… while women are told not to. I know it might sound like a hard- core rant… but that is how it trans- lates in practice. And it does have an impact on how women occupy space. If a man and a woman sit on the same seat on a bus, in most cases the man will, in fact, be taking up much more space. Not just because he is physically bigger; but because of the way he positions himself natu- rally…" The typical male posture (and here I must confess I find myself automat- ically closing my legs under the table) tends to be 'expansive'. "A woman, on the other hand, will sit with her knees closed, consciously trying to occupy as little space as possible. And that sense of contain- ment – of holding yourself in – is physical; it's psychological; it's social; and it's cultural. So it flows out in everything else…" Speaking of psychological effects: how much truth is there to the view that this sort of pressure gives rise to psychiatric problems? One reads of a correlation between the so-called 'body ideal', and cases of depression, self-harm and even suicide. "There is a correlation between media representation, and certain issues such as body dysmorphia. We know, for instance, that social media brings about a lot of pressure, and that not everyone can cope. There are studies which show that young women – and not just young wom- en, but we are talking about gender issues here – will look to social me- dia platforms and interpret what they see as 'reality': even if people only post the pictures they want oth- Interview By Raphael Vassallo maltatoday, SUNDAY, 26 JUNE 2016 Education is by far the most important tool to challenge stereotypes CHANGE Invisible women Ultimately, the strongest argument for change is that it doesn't really make economic sense to perpetuate gender stereotypes. There will always be backlash BACKLASH