Sexualisation in the media

While sexism still exists in the media industry, things are slowly changing as awareness about gender stereotypes increases in society. Photo: Pixabay

Though sexism still prevails in the media industry, there are an increasing number of industry players who are trying to steer things in another direction and give women the dignity and respect they deserve.

Marketing agency Gushcloud Singapore’s co-founder and group CEO Althea Lim truly believes that things are changing, albeit slowly.

“A lot of consumer goods companies have taken that first step forward towards gender equality and respect for women.

“There are a lot of Gen Z and millennial female workers and they are from a ‘woke’ generation so companies are more careful these days,” says Lim.

She adds that her company has also made an effort to offer more diverse working opportunities to women in areas that a lot of entertainment companies don’t, such as work related to parenting and wellness.

A lot of consumer goods companies have taken that first step forward towards gender equality and respect for women, says Althea Lim. Photo: Women Of Our Time

Lim was among the speakers at the recent Women Of Our Time virtual conference organised by the South China Morning Post in conjunction with International Women’s Day.

The event featured speakers from all over the world who shared their personal struggles and stories in smashing boundaries, shattering stereotypes, and overcoming gender equality and promoting women empowerment.

She shared examples of sexism that she’s encountered in the course of her work.

“Companies would reach out to us asking if we could get them female influencers. When we asked them them how they (influencers) would be paid, they said by virtual gifts and stickers.

“Some of the executives actually asked if the girls we hire would say ‘cheekily’ to the audience, ‘If you give me RM1,000, I might blow you a kiss or take off my top’.

“This is (the point) where we said no,” shares Lim.

“I told him, ‘If you had a daughter, I don’t think you would want your daughter to be part of that kind of content. So why would you take other people’s daughters and put them on a platform like this?’” she adds.

Lim, who has been in the media industry since 2010, says that while the industry still does sexualise people, especially women, brands are now more careful with how they treat women.

“We live in an era of self-sexualisation. It’s a common trend to see models dressing in a particular way – bikinis and skimpy clothing – as this drives up the hits. This is because social media platforms like Instagram are driven by data and artificial intelligence (AI).

“When people like something, they keep clicking ‘like’ on the same kind of content, and that drives the data and AI to optimise that kind of content,” she explains.

“While this puts forward a kind of self-sexualisation agenda, I think there are brands that do take a step back and treat women with respect,” says Lim who was featured in the 1st Encyclopedia Edition of “Most Successful People in Singapore” by Britishpedia Media Group.

Lim reveals that because there were certain lines her company wouldn’t cross, they missed out on some jobs.

“There is a ‘cancel culture’ (a form of ostracism where someone is thrust out of social or professional circles – whether online, on social media, or in person) for not doing or going along with what is requested, and that’s very real,” she adds.

Sexuality isn't a bad thing and we shouldn't judge it, rather we need to represent women truthfully, and not as a device for a man’s journey, says Min Lim. Photo: Women Of Our Time

For, Double Vision (Malaysia) head of production Min Lim, film and television have always sexualised women but while sexuality isn’t necessarily “a bad thing”, women should not be cast in stereotypical roles.

“I think women, and men too, like to feel sexy. That’s not a bad thing. We don’t need to judge it, we just need to represent women truthfully and not as a stereotype, and especially not as how rom-coms do where the woman is just a device for a man’s journey.”

Min has writing, directing and live venue producing experience under her belt but showrunning is her passion. Some of her credits include being Executive Producer of the highly acclaimed Asian adaptation of The Bridge, as well as award-winning sitcoms and dramas such as Kopitiam and Beautiful World.

Graphic designer and award-winning filmmaker at Nika Vision Limited, Hong Kong Nicola Fan says that the increased awareness in society about gender roles is changing the way women are perceived in the industry.

There needs to be a true representation of women and not an unrealistic standard of us, says Nicola Fan. Photo: Women Of Our Time

“Society has advocated for many, many changes so there have been advances in beauty, fitness, work opportunities, rights and life choices.

“In fact, when (actress) Chloe Zhao won the Oscars in April 2021, she became the first Chinese woman and second woman to ever win the Oscar for directing, In September 2018, Marvel Studios hired her to direct Eternals, and when she took centre stage, she was without makeup,” says Fan.

“There are many other roles that have opened up for women because of supply and demand. Women are complex creatures, full of contradictions, likes, wants and needs. That’s the whole beauty of what makes a person.

If there is a demand from viewers for a wider female spectrum, content creators will provide that. It’s a reaction to the algorithm because the more we watch, the more we will see.

“There needs to be a true representation of women and not an unrealistic standard of us,” concludes Fan.