At the recently concluded Asia Pacific Feminist Forum held in Chiang Mai, Thailand, a feisty bunch of resisters, persisters and sisters (as the participants of the forum proudly called themselves) got together for a workshop. Titled ‘Strengthening Feminist Media Literacy’, the session had participants from a dozen countries including India, Myanmar, Bangaladesh, Kirgizstan, Philippines, Fiji, Indonesia, Malaysia, Cambodia, Laos, Mongolia and Singapore.
As we sat there for over two hours talking about the media in our respective countries we were all first surprised and then not surprised that we all had the same problems - that the media was not so different and the portrayal of women was just about the same. The issues were largely the ‘isms’ — ageism, sexism and chauvinism and what we could call the Big C’s: censorship, conservative nature, and content.
When we realised we were fighting similar battles, it was only logical thereafter to put our heads together to come up with solutions that were similar too. And that’s how a Feminist Media Manifesto came about...and it’s a work in progress. We need media consumers, connoisseurs and content creators to keep adding to it as they learn and unlearn. Here’s the manifest...
Keep the media you watch in check. Remember to brickbat and bouquet in equal measure.
Never stop talking about unreal portrayal of women in the media or calling out the patriarchy.
Encourage more women to consume media (as misrepresentation is often justified as content created for the male audience)
Enable more women to take up media careers
Building safe workplaces, with enough space for self-care for women.
Talk about the pay gap.
Battle ageism, sexism and chauvinism on and off screen, on set and in offices.
Combat misogyny with feminist content. Refer to point 4.
Dismantle stereotypes by calling them out and creating real, believable content.
Develop indigenous feminist lenses to analyze the media.
Fight the good fight against censorship and clamp down on women’s voices.
Demand sensitivity over sensationalizing from all media.
Actively support feminist artists and media makers
Build women’s capacities in the media and outside to strengthen their voices as commentators and informants.
Say No to Manels or all male panels
Say never to ‘mansplaining’ or men explaining women’s issues
Extend solidarity to women in the media, to dream big and dig trolls
Respect privacy. Period.
Advocate for policies to safeguard women in the media
Resist and persist if and when needed. Or always.
Archanaa Seker
seker.archanaa@gmail.com
(The writer is a city-based activist in-your-face feminist and a media glutton)