Men should have it all

“As long as she thinks of a man, nobody objects to a woman thinking”.

— Virginia Woolf, Orlando

In the beginning, babies and toddlers were usually dressed in white, and wore dresses regardless of their gender. In the XIX century, pastel colours started to arrive at stores as colours for baby clothing. In 1927, Time magazine published a chart with the colours appropriate for little girls and boys, according to several stores. Blue was a colour more suitable for girls, because it was a softer and calmer; while pink, considered a lighter shade of red, was more appropriate for boys because it showed more courage and bravery. Culture evolved and the same happened with colour preferences.

Today, a little boy who likes the colour pink, plays with dolls or likes Disney princess movies or My Little Pony is called a ‘fag’. A little girl who doesn’t like wearing dresses, plays football or enjoys watching Pressing Catch is called a ‘butch’. Everything in our society is gendered: toys, clothes, media products… Gender roles in our culture influence the ones portrayed in media, but media has the power to promote them… or promote a change.

Sex and gender

Sex refers to a biological aspect determined by our chromosomes. Gender is a social and cultural construction. ‘Masculinity’ and ‘femininity’ are constructed, and different signs associated with them. Because of that, gender is being studied as a practice. Judith Butler developed the gender performativity theory, according to which gender is a result of daily actions and attitudes. We don’t behave according to our assigned gender, but determine our own gender through performance.

This is especially relevant when it comes to understanding and recognising non-binary genders. In our western society there’s this conception of gender linked strictly to sex, thus recognising only women-femininity and men-masculinity. Anything that doesn’t fit in one of those little boxes is not understood, and that results in discrimination and bigotry.

Two women walk into a bar…

Gender studies entered the communication field during the second wave of feminism (1960’s). History was revised, stereotypes denounced and the promotion of equality in media representation and production started. Since then, it’s been over 50 years, but there’s still a long way ahead.

Let’s start simply with female presence in media. The Bechdel test is a simple three-rule test that identifies gender inequality. In order to pass this test, a movie has to:

1. Portray at least two women
2. Who talk to each other
3. About something besides a man

When looking for examples of contents that passed the Bechdel test, I immediately thought of many TV shows, but I found surprisingly difficult to list a few movies off the top of my head. TV shows are extended in time, and therefore develop more complex storylines and also more complex characters, so it’s not hard to find examples. But when I finally came up with movies that passed the Bechdel test, I didn’t find any movie in which creation (direction, production, writing…) hadn’t participated at least one woman: Harry Potter series, The Hunger Games series, Little Women, Brave… That’s one of the many reasons why it’s so important to have women in the creative process.

Virgin or whore

Now, onto representation. Although in advertising we can speak of objectified men (in underwear adverts, for example), women have always been more objectified and stereotyped. Men are often shown as strong, confident, dominant and successful (in regards to women too), while women are shown as… hot. If only we had a penny for every meaningless shot of a female butt or boobs we saw in any media content…

Actress Natalie Dormer said: “male writers — and I say this with all love and respect — often want to make a woman either the angel or the whore, make her the witch, or put her on the pedestal”. That’s, in my opinion, the perfect reflection of how women are usually treated in media and, sadly, often in real life too. This binary, oppositional representation originates characters like femme fatales, seductive women who use sex as a weapon and are punished at the end. One can easily see how this kind of representation promotes sexual repression.

Another interesting case is the ‘avenger’, a woman who gets raped and then seeks revenge. We get to see sexual violence twice, and female sexuality is once again considered dangerous A woman standing up to defend her own body and sexual freedom? Witchcraft!

Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct, an example of a femme fatale. Source: http://www.ilgiornale.it/news/spettacoli/basic-instinct-stone-mi-hanno-fatto-togliere-mutandine-1038428.html

Thelma and Louise

This movie was criticised for bashing and degrading men. OK, I admit that setting that guy’s truck on fire was a bit too much. But actually I found this movie shockingly realistic. Women are catcalled like that (or worse) even nowadays. The way Thelma is treated by her husband is familiar to me too, I’ve witnessed (especially older men) expecting their wife or girlfriend to obey, stay quiet and fulfil all their wishes. And the fear of not being believed if they told the police thar Thelma was about to be raped… Things like “she was looking for it”, “she shouldn’t be dressed like that”, “she shouldn’t have drunk” and “boys will be boys” are still repeated nowadays.

On top of that, the fact that Louise’s boyfriend (or ex-boyfriend) was a good man, loved her and wanted to help her cannot be overlooked. Same goes for the policeman, he’s trying to do his job as well as he can, wants to protect the two women, and it’s obvious that he wouldn’t approve how Louise’s husband treats her.

So why was this movie actually uncomfortable to see for those who criticised it? Because it features two women in a movie genre usually related to men. Because it doesn’t submit to traditional gender roles or stereotypes. Because it shows women who think, act and make decisions for themselves (even if those aren’t always good decisions). Because instead of giving up, they do everything their own way, until the very end.

Iconic final scene of Thelma and Louise. Source: http://www.screeninsults.com/thelma-and-louise.php