Speaking about feminism to the media is hard. You’re often misquoted, what you say is taken out of context and you’re rarely able to relay the messages that really need to get out there. After all, how can you relate the nuance of something like feminism in a 10 second (if you’re lucky) sound bite? It’s just not possible.
So is there a point? Is doing media even worth it?
I know feminists who refuse to do mainstream media appearances – they stick with doing interviews with publications and shows they know are on their side and won’t try to water down or misrepresent their message. While I respect this position, and certainly understand why one would take it, I think that preaching to choir is only going to get us so far.
Yes, it’s likely that the mainstream media will always screw feminists over. If we’re older we’ll be called stodgy; if we’re younger we’ll be called do-me feminists or be otherwise sexified. Our messages will be edited out, or mocked. Only some of us will get called on to give quotes or do interviews because we’re perceived as more “mainstream friendly.” It will continue to be an unfair system. But we should participate in it anyway.
If we abandon mainstream media we’re abandoning the idea that feminism is for everyone, and that people outside of Women’s and Gender Studies classrooms and nonprofit organizations could be interested in social justice and equality. If we give up on shows and publications that reach the masses, we’re giving up on making feminism for the masses.
The truth is, most women have feminist values – they just don’t call them ‘feminist’ – and perhaps a reason for that, outside of all of the negative stereotypes that surround feminism, is that feminists just aren’t in the public eye enough for most people to identify with.
So while I’ll still cringe every time a reporter misquotes me or I see an article about young feminism being all about “pole dancing,” I’ll continue to do mainstream media and encourage my feminist colleagues to do the same. That said, this doesn’t mean we can’t subvert the system while we’re at it. Tomorrow I’ll blog about strategies for feminists who want to do mainstream media, and how we can make the most of an imperfect (and sexist) medium.
Twitter
Facebook
MySpace
YouTube
9 Comments
Of course feminists should participate in mainstrem media. We are never going to change anything or empower anybody if we exist in a feminist-media only bubble. What if Gloria Steinem never gave an interview or Djuna Barnes didn’t undergo force feeding for a mainstream paper? Not everybody has access to feminist-only media outlets. Not doing anything w. the mainstream media makes feminism a function of class, geography (I grew up in a 900 person town. I didn’t have the luxury of checking out bell hooks at the library or browsing Bitch at my local B + N) and access. Also, how are we going to be held accountable to our ideas of they aren’t challenged by the “mainstream”? We can’t exist in a vacuum.
I’m glad the answer you came to on this one is “yes”.
While I can appreciate the frustration some feminists feel when it comes to MSM, I can’t imagine *not* engaging with it. You just need to pick your medium/s (personally, I prefer to converse with the convertible than battle it out with the completely opposed) and modulate your message so it speaks to the intended audience.
I also think it helps to think of it less as “writing about feminism” and more “applying feminist – and other personal-is-political – frameworks to issues that matter to the people you’re talking to, in a voice and language they can relate to. This is exactly what I do for women’s mags, and I’m getting plenty of work.
I agree that feminism should get as much attention as possible, despite how hard it is to be understood. What I’m more interested in is the question of how to do so effectively. How can one challenge the system from within the system — that is, challenging patriarchy within one of patriarchy’s largest sources of propagation, the media? So I’m looking forward to hearing you get more specific about *how* to do media appearances.
As someone who doesn’t have access to spreading the word via mass media, however, I’d love to hear your thoughts on more common, every-day opportunities for spreading feminist consciousness. Trying to communicate feminist ideas in a way that leads to understanding rather than rejection is difficult everywhere, not just in media appearances.
If we give up, then all we’re doing is just sitting in front of our computers, talking to each other on the internet. We’re not the ones who need convincing, so yes, even though it’s hard, we should keep being heard in the mainstream media.
AGREED! *obviously*
I have crafted a career specifically about subverting, educating through example and merging with mainstream media outlets, campaigns, and enterprises that are designed to reach the masses. I feel it’s like a Trojan Horse theory when trying to make media social change – you must come in a snazzy, shiny package but carry a mighty and nutritious center (go warriors!)
While sometimes I wish there were more voices aggregated together in louder chorus out there – I value the bold I do see and hear and know we are planting seeds for one day the peripheral to become the mainstream – or at least occupy their right place side by side.
There is enough room for EVERYONE’S view (contrary to popular belief) and we need it. So keep raising the voice and stepping in front of the camera. The real and lasting change happens from the inside out – whether we are talking about personal or corporate transformations.
I think just about any person who deals with the mainstream media would have the same complaints, it’s not unique to the feminist issue. More opportunities for sexism, certainly, but mainstream is mainstream. I agree about staying in there and keeping the issue in front oof people. But until there are more feminists in positions of power, as publishers and editors, nothing’s going to change much. We just need to keep plugging away.
having spent a good chunk of my “other” life writing about feminists’ uses of the media in various social movements, I have to say my response is “very carefully, but yes.” The whole “bra burning” myth is an excellent example of how an effort to use the media backfired into a epic fail. Some feminists in the 1970s became adept at manipulating the media at events (banners or placards for example visible in every shot angle so that the message cannot be distorted), but in terms of interviews it remains difficulty. One always runs the risk of being misquoted.
I’m a student at the S.I. Newhouse School at Syracuse University – one of the top communications schools (so they say), and I’ve been thinking about this issue from a slightly different angle. With my advertising (and women’s and gender studies!!!!!!) degree, I could easily go into a mainstream ad agency and fit right into the system that Newhouse expects me to – but I really don’t want to do that – I wan’t to work for women’s orgs and women’s media orgs and NGOs and feminist magazines and…you know, the good stuff
When I think about the opportunities at a big non-overtly-feminist agency, it makes some sense to me – but would I be compromising my beliefs? I don’t know, I’m not there yet. But is my feminism needed more in those place, as opposed to at Planned Parenthood or Bitch? It’s really complicated to think about. Good thing I have another year and a half before making any real choices…
Sammy, my feeling is that you’re needed more at a place that isn’t full of people who think the same way as you. Sure, those places are great places to work, but you’re just preaching to the converted. I’m a broadsheet journo working at a tabloid, choosing my battles carefully and gently pointing out the sexism in the writing, or the images used.