Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/697149
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 26 JUNE 2016 15 Interview Dr BRENDA MURPHY, of the University of Malta's Department of Gender Studies, on why the media has some catching up to do with society when it comes to gender portrayal PHOTOGRAPHY BY CHRIS MANGION ers to see. The 'reality' you get when you look at sites like Facebook tends to involve lots of 'friends' looking their best, and always looking happy. It's the only type of social reproduc- tion that takes place on social media. And that can be exceptionally stress- ful, especially for young adolescents who are going through more than just that in their lives. The message they are getting is: everybody else is happy; all their friends look happy, too. Yet they themselves may be less happy…" From there, it is a small step to conclude that they are the excep- tions; the only ones with problems, in a world where everyone seems problem-free. "The psychological impact can be profound. And social media is only a sliver of the media world – much of which is equally 'unreal' – to which people are exposed all the time. Ninety percent of the images you will see in the media, in advertising, on TV, are likewise 'unreal': they will have been photoshopped to remove blemishes, or the actual subjects themselves – the models, the actors – will present an image of perfection that is equally unattainable. And that is the standard that many people feel they have to live up to. The vast ma- jority of the world that doesn't look anything like those models, will feel they are themselves falling short… like they are exceptions to the rule." This impacts not only people's self- perception… but also how they are perceived by others. "Apart from getting that message themselves, the men in their life will get it too. 'This is how women are supposed to look… so why don't their partners, or their wives, look like that?' This expectation from partners and potential partners is likewise built on unrealistic stand- ards. There is a shortfall built into the system: and ultimately, it only sets people up for really bad relation- ships, and for really flawed beliefs about themselves and others. This breeds a highly toxic environment for everyone." Given that there is plenty of evi- dence to confirm these harmful effects… shouldn't these known dangers be addressed through leg- islation? Should gender representa- tion be regulated through legisla- tion… as after all, the advertising of other products like cigarettes or gambling is already regulated at law? "Ultimately, the strongest argu- ment for change is that it doesn't really make economic sense to per- petuate gender stereotypes. There will always be backlash… you will get consumers voting with their feet. And there are more creative, inven- tive ways to get a message across than simply resorting to the same old template that was invented in the 1950s… There is, in fact, an irony in the fact that old stereotypes are still relayed through advertising. "Are we to un- derstand that the 'creative industry', of all things, hasn't moved on? As I see it, that's a classic case of not being creative at all." As for direct regulation, Dr Mur- phy favours a multi-directional approach. "Rules and regulations can definitely play a part; but there are other ways for change to come about. I don't think it should be a top-down or bottom-up approach… ideally, it should be both. There is need for changes in policy, and changes in regulation. Legislation, if properly enforced, does drive change… we know that, from expe- rience in other areas. Just a few years ago, no one wore seatbelts in this country. When legislation came in, this changed. People do wear their seatbelts nowadays – not necessarily to avoid smashing through the wind- screen in the event of a crash, grant- ed. Some might only be concerned with not getting a fine. But the cul- ture did change, and the prime cause was legislation…" On top of that, however, there is also a 'bottom-up' approach. "Education is by far the most im- portant tool to challenge stereotypes. Media literacy is a language like any other… so it should be taught in schools as a language like any other, alongside French, German, Maltese and English. At other levels, train- ing can be provided for journalists, media administrators, and anyone involved in broadcasting. The EU already provides an abundance of training resources for the media in this respect, (and we in Malta have been part of EU projects which de- veloped these training kits); there is room for local initiatives, too. Ulti- mately, the more educated the gen- eral public, the likelier it will be to develop an advocacy approach to is- sues: for instance, to object to things which don't sit comfortably with their values."