Negative stereotypes of women in TV series

Negative stereotypes of women in TV series

By Ida Indawati Khouw

JAKARTA (JP): Turn on the television and you'd likely see an
episode of local TV series, which are shown everyday at different
times. Or, if you are watching other programs, you might see the
trailers of those series. And you will see the same scenes: women
(of all ages) weeping, crying, having a bad temper, being slapped
or beaten or other kinds of negative portrayals you can list.

If you don't have time to follow the whole episode but are
curious about the female figures, you can easily guess; the women
would be weak, dependent, powerless or submissive. Or even bitchy
and dominant.

Since years ago, women have been portrayed negatively in
television series.

Hundreds of seminars discussing the general portrayal of women
in local TV series may have been held, sharp criticism may have
been uttered many times but whether they were heard is another
matter.

So far, such "scientific" discussions with their noble appeal
toward TV serial producers to change the stereotyping of woman in
our society have had no impact.

In fact the portrayal of women got even more negative.

"Actually there have yet to be any improvement. What is clear
is that the number of TV series is more now and most of them
maintain such stereotyping of women," said Veven Sp. Wardhana, a
television observer from the Institute for Studies on the Free
Flow Information (ISAI).

This is supported by a research conducted by Veven.

Polling shows that one of the most popular series is
Tersanjung 5 (Flattered 5). It portrays a frail woman. This
series, according to ACNielsen Indonesia's July 9 to Aug. 12
poll, which is always top-rated, centers around a woman who is
loved by her father-in-law, left by her husband and forced to
marry a widower for the sake of wealth.

Some series indeed picture strong women but still negatively.
For example the leading actress in Misteri Gunung Merapi (The
Mystery of Mt. Merapi), which is also highly rated, is a
antagonistic woman with good martial art skills called Mak Lampir
(the Witch).

The question is why a lot of TV viewers are fond of watching
sequences full of such stereotyping. Head of education department
of Kalyanamitra (a women's organization), Ruth Indiah Rahayu,
said because it is the representation of women's image in the
general society, the audience sometimes try to identify
themselves with those on TV.

"I once chatted with women who love such kinds of series and I
found out that the plots have similarities with what they
experience in their daily life, that's why they like it," she
said.

Both Veven and Ruth admitted they have yet to see an example
of a TV series which promoted the status of woman. They pointed out that even producers who tries to show a new
paradigm of women are still trapped in male-dominated values,
like in the series titled, Bukan Perempuan Biasa (No Ordinary
Woman), which portrays the struggle of a rape victim, Menul, in
living with her only daughter Sri.

The series still maintains old values that a woman's place is
at home, like when Menul was raped after she fled her home
because she did not want to be married. "It is signaling that if
a woman leaves her house she will face dangers of sexual
harassments," Veven said.

Head of the public relations department of Multivision Plus,
the well-known producer of Indonesian TV serials and films, Abdul
Azis, admitted that the most important thing in producing TV
series is following the so-called market demand.

"Now we see that the public's taste is more on entertainment,
that's why it is always given a big part in our TV serials," he
said.

He admitted that TV series producers are not paying attention
to women stereotyping issues.

The company has indeed made women the power of attraction.
"Having a good looking face is a requirement for an actress. It's
not a problem if their acting is not very good as we can train
them later.

"We can't deny public taste on beauty. I think people wish to
see beautiful people when watching TV serials because if not they
will easily switch to other TV stations. Remember that we are in
a tight competition with other producers," Azis said.

It showed that TV series producers have what Ruth said as
"lack of gender awareness" and stressed more on the business
aspect.

"There should be serials which, for example, depict women who
are struggling against their fate without being too dependent on
men," she said.

Veven added that film makers have yet to really try making
such series and thus there is no evidence that audience don't
like productions which don't maintain the stereotype woman.