Challenging the Lion in Its Den: Dilemmas of Gender and Media Activism in South Africa

Abstract

Media activism groups work to bring about change in the mainstream media, but their gains are often limited. Drawing on theories of the political function of news in a democracy, media sociology, and feminism, this article focuses on the specifi c experience of Gender Links, a Southern African gender and media organization founded in 2001. An analysis of institutional materials and 25 in-depth interviews shows that Gender Links is using a professional-technical approach to feminist media activism that is insuffi cient in bringing about deep and long-term change on an ideological level. It is suggested that Gender Links could benefi t from more emphasis on political and countercultural approaches. The research also highlights some of the other dilemmas posed by issues related to funding, networking, the grassroots, press freedom, the profi t motive, and the strong backlash from a patriarchal culture.

Feminist approaches and the South African news media

“…Research on gender and the media in South Africa has generally focused on how gender and women are represented in the media (Gadzepo 2009;Geertsema 2008Geertsema , 2010Lowe Morna 2005;Steenveld 2007) or on the ways in which gender shapes newsroom cultures and experiences (De Bruin and Ross 2004;Gadzepo 2009;Lowe Morna 2001, 2007a andb;Lowe Morna and Shilongo 2004;Opoku-Mensah 2004). Specific research has looked at the linkages between these areas, particularly in terms of how journalists perceive their role in framing gender and gendered relationships within their news coverage.…”

“…Parity in the representation of women as news professionals and news sources has enjoyed significant activist attention in this country (Geertsema 2008(Geertsema , 2010. In research, too, there has tended to be a focus on quantifying gender representation in the media, rather than examining content qualitatively through a feminist lens (Bosch 2011).…”

“…Discourses invoking the media's role in serving the 'public interest' or the 'national interest' within a post-apartheid democratic context have been very influential (Wasserman and De Beer 2006). The news media play a significant role in supporting and promoting full citizenship within a democracy (Geertsema 2010). In many senses, then, the South African media have been cast as more than 'objective' observers, but rather as vital (if complex) social and political agents.…”

“…As is becoming apparent to researchers and activists within the field, however, the progress made in transforming the South African media industry in terms of gender has been limited (Geertsema 2010) as well as irregular (Buiten 2010). This pertains to both the ways in which newsroom cultures are being transformed, and how this Denise Buiten Feminist approaches and the South African news media impacts on the production of gendered media texts.…”

“…Feminist media activism and media monitoring groups have worked to promote change within the mainstream media in South Africa (Geertsema 2010) and despite a relative dearth of feminist media research (Bosch 2011), work in this area is progressing in various ways. In addition, feminist perspectives and an awareness of gender are increasingly, if not yet fully or effectively, being mainstreamed within the media industry (Buiten 2010).…”