The year Misogyny came into the open.

[penguinpaperback]

Hi, I posted this article by Hannah Betts on gransnet, it's from The Sunday Telegraph.
www.telegraph.co.uk/women/womens-life/10553284/Misogyny-came-into-the-open-during-annus-misogynis-that-was-2013.html
I have looked here to see if it's already been posted and I don't think it has.

Hi, I saw this too, and probably midguidedly posted it in the 'Telegraph article on gender bias in toys' bit lower down.

But yes interesting piece. Nice to see the issue being discussed.

D

The comments section can be boiled down to "What about the Menz"

Good article.

It is all rather grim. It's reminding me of stuff from another thread where the subject of male violence came up in relation to equality.

All this feels like male violence exerting itself so that women are intimidated into not being able to occupy our gains in terms of equality legislation.

There are men who are not going to take us making rightful gains, in terms of our human rights and status, lying down. What is worrying is that there seem to be so many of them. That plus the onlookers who don't make threats of violence or act violent themselves, but look away whilst others do, makes me concerned for the decades to come.

It is a good article, although I don't understand what she is trying to say in the case of '12 Years a Slave'. I have just watched this film. It portrays the brutality of how white plantation owners treated black slaves. If Hannah Betts thinks that this is portrayed merely for entertainment or voyeurism, she has missed the whole point of what is a wonderful, thought-provoking and shocking film. On a wider point of portraying violence and mistreatment in films and plays, is she saying that directors and writers are doing it wrong, or that they should ignore it altogether?

Well writers and directors are trying to provide entertainment aren't they? Otherwise they'd be campaigners or historians and use the facts to shock and educate in journals etc. You can't ignore that important aspect of film making, it doesn't necessarily negate the other side. Though it often does. And it's true that there is a trend for portraying sexual violence very graphically.

I don't think it's necessary because it's far far too easy for it to slip towards titillation. Which is not necessarily the directors fault , there are viewers who are quite capable of being titillated by scenes of sexual violence regardless of intention.
I don't think it adds much tbh. Over exposure of anything in the media tends to desensitise imo - others take a different view.