"The Sexist State of the Media" was the title of a panel discussion held on 8 March, the International Women's Day. Academics and journalists scrutinized the positioning of women in a world of male-dominated social laws where the women's body is being reduced to an object regarding their representation in advertisements, series and movies.
The panel discussion was hosted by Assoc. Prof Hülya Uğur Tanrıöver from the Galatasaray University Faculty of Communication and joined by actors Yeşim Büber and Asiye Dinçsoy as well as journalist and writer Nadire Mater.
The event was part of the activities organized by the Yıldız Technical University Faculty of Economy and Administration Department for International Relations to mark the International Women's Day.
Prof Tanrıöver claimed, "Sexism in the media has many facets and reflects a grave situation. This ideology rules all areas of social life and we are encountering it in the media too. You can come across sexism in news items or columns in newspapers and even on internet sites. The media is also using women to convey contents that are not directly related to social gender".
"Women journalists are walking on a floor of glass"
Journalist Mater emphasized the low number of women representatives in society and particularly in parliament even though half of the life was constituted by women. "Women are used as eye-catchers on the newspaper pages. They are either shown on the first or last page. We see that also news about violence, even though written in good faith, contain violations. These news aim at making violence visible but they do not focus on the actual reasons".
Mentioning the news written by Emine Erdoğan, the wife of PM Erdoğan, after her visit to Uludere, Mater commented, "The media in Turkey published news about the Roboski Massacre 12 hours after it actually happened. After this visit, the massacre was taken to the front page for the first time. Emine Erdoğan took the place of the mothers. This is also a way of representation".
Mater drew attention to the underrated number of women in the media. "We are walking on a floor of glass. When we advance we will fall".
"Sexist scenarios in series"
Actress Büber said, "The number of women in cinema and series production teams is low. We see women on the set in the field of make-up or arts".
According to Büber, the actual problem was the scripts of the series that usually are considerably sexist. A woman being introduced with a good character is perceived honourable whereas a woman introduced with a bad character is assessed as a disreputable woman, Büber indicated.
"Male characters are being ruled by the feeling of male dominance brought by a patriarchal order. In addition, the scripts mostly use a male language", Büber explained..
"Ads place women in second row of society"
Actor Dinçsoy highlighted the fact that women were used both as objects and consumers in advertisements. "Beauty is constantly imposed on women and product marketing is being sold upon women and their bodies. Ads are being based on female sexuality". Women are being placed into shorn roles in the second row of society (...). (RDY/ÇT)
