wfn.org | Forum on Women in the Media

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG>]

CONTACT: 	Linda Bloom
(10-21-71B){148}
		New York (212) 870-3803			       March 12,
1998

Forum calls for more positive
portrayal of women in media

by Shanta M. Bryant*

	NEW YORK (UMNS) -- The negative images of women in the mass
media prompted an international panel of women here to call for a
balanced and more accurate portrayal of women and girls.
The call came March 6 during a forum on media and violence against women
at the Church Center for the United
Nations. The forum was held during the United Nations' 42nd session of
the Commission on the Status of Women. 
Panelists objected to the media's use of violence against women,
particularly sexual violence, and sought to develop a code of ethics for
media coverage of women.
The United Methodist Office for the United Nations, the National Council
of Churches' International Justice and Human Rights Office, United
Nations Fund for Women and Isis International-Manila were sponsors of
the forum.
Panelists also addressed directives from the Platform for Action of the
United Nations' Fourth World Conference on Women, in which governments
committed to increasing the participation of women in the media. 
Music videos, films, television shows and news broadcasts frequently
depict violent acts against women in a sub-human fashion, according to
Mia Adjali, a Women's Division executive of the United Methodist Board
of Global Ministries.
"The media often focus on the legs, breasts and mouth of a woman, so in
essence women are looked at in pieces," she said. "If this happens
continuously it makes it legitimate, and also acceptable, to do violent
things against women."
The daily bombardment of violent and negative images of women in the
media may desensitize people, said Lois Clinton, program director of the
United Methodist Board of Church and Society, who attended the forum.
Glory Dharmaraj, the Women's Division executive secretary for justice
education and a forum panelist, said consumers need to be able to
analyze critically who controls the media, as well as who is telling the
story.
Asserting that advertisers, sponsors and scriptwriters control the
media, Dharmaraj said television isn't free. "Viewers may not pay to
watch TV but they buy the advertised products," she said.
Emphasizing that the mass media is big business which depends primarily
on advertisers and corporate sponsors, she "Its first responsibility is
not to the truth, or even to readers, but to corporate America."
In the late 1970's, the Women's Division studied the impact of media on
women and concluded that women are under represented in prime time
television and less represented in leading roles.
     Almost two decades later, in 1995, United Methodist Women (UMW)
participated in a Global Media Monitoring Project, in which women
worldwide on Jan. 18 monitored television, radio and newspaper coverage
of women. The UMW survey found that women are still largely
under-represented and women's issues and
concerns often go unmentioned.
As a follow-up to the survey, Dharmaraj said, religious organizations
used their leverage as shareholders in media companies and television
networks to engage network executives in conversations about programming
and advertising.
Lillian S. Mercado Carreon of Isis International-Manila pointed out that
although statistics show more women are working in the media, the
figures are deceiving because women have not gained parity in the
participation and decision-making of news organizations.
"Because of the continuous predominance of the male perspective in
media, media policies and codes of conduct tend to focus only on taste,
morality and decency values that, depending on the society, can be very
discriminating against women," said Carreon, whose organization monitors
the media's portrayal of women in Asia.
Isis International is advocating for a code of conduct for media
organizations, which would consist of principles to guide media's
coverage and reporting on victims and survivors of violence against
women and girls and those accused of prostitution. 
The Board of Global Ministries has produced a short video that looks at
the impact of music videos on children and youth. To order "Empowering
Viewers for Music Videos," (No. 2507), call the board's Service Center:
1-800-305-9857.
#  #  # 
*Bryant is associate editor of Christian Social Action magazine.

United Methodist News Service
(615)742-5470
Releases and photos also available at
http://www.umc.org/umns/