SEXISIM IN THE MEDIA INDUSTRY

You know what they say: “Girl it’s hard being a female in this industry.” Well is it? It certainly is, well at least at times. We all are aware that Trinidad and Tobago is a very small place where everyone practically knows one another, or knows of someone who knows someone. Get what I’m saying yet? Well to put it more simply, trying to get through with what you want to achieve in life in this country can be a b$#@h sometimes.
For as long as the Golden Ages women have been having to put up with the subjection from men and even other women in society. If you think that this may not be happening, believe me, it definitely is. Every single day a woman is rejected just by the mere fact that she is a woman. And to be in the media industry it is even worse. Constantly women either locally or internationally who are in the industry have to always prove themselves, to show that they are of good quality because there always seem to be a ‘fight down’ from the opposite sex. When this occurs, we have to think to ourselves sometimes “Is it because they feel threatened by our intelligence?”

Well, whether or not that is the case we must continue to strive for what we want no matter what. For the past few years that I’ve been exposed to the media industry I’ve heard my share of stories that are really hard to believe, but recently I came upon one that was upon ridiculous.

A friend of mine had to go to a job interview at one of the top radio stations in Trinidad. She seemed to be really excited when she got the call because she really wanted to experience the radio world of media. Little did she know what she was about to get herself into. As any job interview she prepped herself with all of the usual do’s and don’ts and went in with confidence, but the mood of the interview took a turn for the worst when the head of the radio station (who was the interviewer by the way) told her that she was too pretty for the job. WHAT!!!..............right, that was my thoughts as well.

Apparently the boss had a problem with hiring females in the past. His reason, you ask, well he explained to my friend that he ran into problems in the past with former employees having relationships with the male members of staff. I mean, how could you as an authoritative figure, who has over twenty years under your belt in the business, say something like that, especially in an interview. But the reality was that he did in fact say it. She told me he said, she was everything they were looking for, she was young and had the ability to reach out to the station’s target audience, but the only problem was that she was too pretty and she was a female. In his mind he had a fear that she might do something that would portray the image of the radio station in a bad light. I say why not have a very serious conversation with the male employees about their conduct, whenever a new female is hired.

Obviously he is taking sides and is supporting the wrong doing of his male employee’s. It is like when an animal see’s prey, its first instinct would be to prowl and it looks like to me in this situation that, this is what the workers of this industry are frequently doing to the females, but what we have to do is put our guard up and stop the nonsense that is taking place. If we don’t take a stance for what is right situations such as this one it will continue to occur and there may never be a stop to it.

HOW MEDIA CAUSES REAL LIFE VIOLENCE

Researchers are studying the combination of violent behavior and sexuality in film and video. They're asking whether it's creating a climate in which sexual violence is more acceptable in real life. For years, society has been alarmed about the portrayal of sex and sexuality in popular media. Pornography has been barred and society's principles of what is and is not suitable have repeatedly changed. In more recent years there has been added worry about the increasing dilemma of media violence, particularly after television's home screen began to show scenes of murder and turmoil that few families would ever see in actual life.

More than 1000 scientific studies and evaluations conclude that considerable exposure to media violence adds to the danger of violent conduct in certain children and adolescents, numbs them to violence, and makes them think that the world is a "meaner and scarier" place than it actually is. Violence comes in a variety of media entertainment, such as movies, video games, and television news. Research has revealed that news reports of bombings, natural disasters, murders, and other violent crimes have the potential to traumatize young children.

Six major medical factions (American Academy of Pediatrics, American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, American Psychological Association, American Medical Association, American Academy of Family Physicians and the American Psychiatric Association) caution of these effects of media violence on children:

• Children will increase anti-social and aggressive behavior.
• Children may become less sensitive to violence and those who suffer from violence.
• Children may view the world as violent and mean, becoming more fearful of being a victim of violence.
• Children will desire to see more violence in entertainment and real life.
• Children will view violence as an acceptable way to settle conflicts. (Congressional Public Health Summit, 2000)

61% of children’s television programs include violence and only 4% have an anti-violence theme. In shows with violence only 16% showed long-term consequences, 45% of the wrongdoers went without punishment, 71% of criminals demonstrated no regret, 42% of the brutality was linked with wit, and fatal violence was shown in 54% of shows. (Browne, 2005). Exposure to media violence is definitely linked to consequent antagonistic behavior, violent ideas, arousal, and rage, and a pessimistic outcome on helping behavior. Children, ages 8 to 18, spend more time (44.5 hours per week- 61/2 hours daily) in front of computers, television, and game screens than any other activity in their lives except sleeping (Kaiser Family Foundation, 2005).

Ex-army psychologist Dave Grossman, a top American activist, points the finger at movies and video games. He argues that Hollywood films have desensitized kids to the consequences of violence, and video games have taught them how to handle a gun.