Sexuality in Media: Emerging Issues in Africa - Africa Regional ...

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Sexuality in the Media: Emerging Issues in Africa Summary And Conclusion The most significant finding to emerge from the researchers' analysis of print media coverage of sexuality issues is the paucity of newspaper coverage of sexuality issues. As discussed in the introduction to this report, there has been a virtual explosion of sexual imagery, display and debate in South Africa in recent years. One might expect that explosion to be reflected in the stories and features of daily newspapers. However, our review of mainstream media presentation of matters of sexuality during the first half of 2004 would suggest that daily newspapers were generally conservative and did not wholly reflect the markedly increased national engagement with sexuality. It would appear that most of the print media coverage of sexuality issues during that time period focused on the country's grappling with two important agendas. Firstly, the need to develop legislation and build legal frameworks in which to consider matters of sexuality from the perspective of a democratic constitution and respect for human (including women's) rights. As previously discussed, with the demise of apartheid and the 'opening up' of South Africa, sexuality as an issue has come to the fore as never before. This has brought with it many changes including easier access to materials and services such as pornography, abortions and contraceptives, as well as rising rates of child abuse, sexual assault and rape. In addition homosexuality has become more visible. Homosexuals are also demanding not to be discriminated against by the existing laws of the land. The implication is that the South African legal community is kept busy deliberating on new legislation and the drafting of new laws. Perhaps the peculiar interest of daily newspapers in carrying reports on sexuality from other countries (6 articles of the 20 were foreign-based stories), may reflect a national interest in keeping abreast with latest trends in sexuality legislation around the world. However, it could also be argued that focusing on these potentially contentious issues in a context foreign to South Africa, may reflect the newspapers' reluctance to delve or explore too deeply local phenomenon that may be anathema to the powers-that-be, and may also possibly tarnish South Africa's international reputation as a 'modern' state worthy of foreign investment and tourism. Stories about sexual health, sexual rights and legislation, and sexual violence were most often written with reference to the currently high rates of HIV infection. The linkages between these various dimensions of sexuality are Media Coverage Of Sexuality In South Africa clearly drawn in many of the articles. Magazines are more inclined to explore sexuality as a topic, including the more sensitive and controversial issues around actual sexual behaviour. This is certainly the case when it comes to reportage on sexual orientation or homosexuality. Interestingly, there was not a single newspaper article on sexual orientation that could be found in the surveyed media during that six-month period. The only mention of homosexuality occurred in an article advocating condom distribution amongst prisoners. Perhaps the most 'risk' reportage of sexuality is to be found on the back pages of the Sunday Times, the country's leading English-language weekend newspaper. Featured as 'The Back Page', readers can count on finding salacious stories about the rich and famous from around the world. The sexual romping of rock stars; fashion models and Hollywood stars are described in detail in a number of short and medium-sized articles. These stories usually contain vivid descriptions of the sexual prowess and quality of orgasms reported by the men or women supposedly interviewed for the tattle-tale exposes. Along with spicy gossip, the 'Back Page' is always replete with a full-length color picture of an especially busty woman with a seductive smile in the mandatory bikini-clad pose on the beach. It is notable that the Sunday Times 'Back Page' has been a major feature in the South African media well before the dawn of democracy in 1994. It is interesting that such a blatant display and reproduction of media's debasement of women has been allowed to make such a smooth transition into the democratic era. One has to ask whether the continuation of women's oppression and patriarchal privilege is or is not part of the agenda of the 'new' South Africa. While individual journalists and writers do clearly challenge gender and sexuality stereotyping, the same cannot be said for the South African media industry as a whole. In this regard, the words of Mtintso and Lowe-Morna at the top of this report need to be heeded; 'that more often than not the media has perpetuated rather than tried to challenge the gender stereotypes that render women as bodies without minds and voices (The Sunday Independent, April 25, 2004). Although journals are not mentioned in the terms of reference, it is worth noting that the feminist publication, Agenda - which publishes a quarterly magazine
Sexuality in the Media: Emerging Issues in Africa catering for a largely academic audience and was referred to several times in this report, published a special issue at the end of 2004 (No.62) entitled 'Sexuality in Africa'. The issue contained a compilation of articles on topics ranging from sexuality in Uganda, the liberalisation of homosexual rights, changing public discourses on sexuality in South Africa, and the globalisation of sexuality and sexual imagery. This journal has recently expanded its scope to include a radio outreach programme targeted at thousands of ordinary, poorly educated women and transmitted in a number of African languages. No doubt such initiatives by a well known and well respected organisation supporting gender justice will help to make South African media more progressive in its handling and representation of sexuality issues. Agenda's work dovetails in some ways with the well-financed media supplements that appear from time-to-time and are aimed at making young people aware of the dangers of HIV/AIDS. Sponsored by large national health/AIDS communication and social marketing initiatives such as Love L ife and Soul City, these glossy newspaper supplements assist young people in making sense of their HIV/AIDS-affected world as well as making sense of all the 'in your face' sexual imagery around them. These newspaper supplements commonly provide advise and information on all manner of issues related to sexuality. With names such as thetaJunction and Y-magazine these occasional supplements aim to help South African youth make sound sexual health decisions. As previously discussed a more comprehensive perusal of some smaller, indigenous language newspapers would be of great value to any future research agenda. Included in this should be a few of the specifically black popular magazines that have long been serving African readers from the first half of the th 20 century. In this category would be magazines such as Drum, Bona, and Pace. In general these magazines tend to present issues of sexuality more often in the cultural idiom, as is not the case with the larger more 'multicultural' and therefore more 'generic' magazines. For example, tales of unseen spirits or angry ancestors not uncommonly feature in stories about child molestation or homosexuality. An anthropological analysis and comparison of selected ethnic or language-based media would no doubt yield some significant and valuable findings. Media Coverage Of Sexuality In South Africa In conclusion, I would suggest that while the newspaper coverage of sexuality issues in South Africa during the first six months of 2004 was not especially wide, it did, with some marked exceptions, cover a range of themes. Sexual health in the context of HIV/AIDS, sexual legalities in the form of current legislation both here and abroad, and sexual violence were all explored. Perhaps not dissimilar to coverage of other issues, print media themes, including the theme of sexuality, are often knee-jerk reactions to particular local or international events. That is, should a particularly heinous rape be reported in the media one day, there will follow a week or so of stories related to rape. Again, if it is World AIDS Day (December 1), or if the United Nations declares 16 Days of Activism Against Women and Children Abuse, the media can be expected to carry a wave of stories and feature articles related to these forms of abuse. While this is to be expected, it may have the negative effect of ensuring that the issue of sexuality is not a regular everyday theme of the newspapers. In a country where much still remains to be done to move the agenda for sexual justice and sexual rights forward, there is a need for sexuality issues to be more closely woven into the day-to-day fabric of the print media, rather than be relegated to special sexuality supplements or featured as a 'specialty' issue on particular days.
Page 1 and 2: u y n t e M Eme i g I s f i a Sex a
Page 3 and 4: Sexuality in the Media: Emerging Is
Page 7 and 8: Introduction Writing as guest edito
Page 13: Sexuality in the Media: Emerging Is
Page 17 and 18: Introduction Kenya like many other
Page 65 and 66:
Sexuality in the Media: Emerging Is
Page 67 and 68:
Page 69 and 70:
show all

Sexuality in Media: Emerging Issues in Africa - Africa Regional ...

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?