CWA Miss Information Panel

This morning, I attended the Miss Representation panel discussion as part of CU’s Conference on World Affairs. I picked this one because it was the most convenient for me both schedule wise and class wise as I could use it to fulfill this newest blog assignment for this class as well as scoring some extra credit points for a completely different class. Plus, as a media studies major the subject matter seemed really relevant and engaging to me personally so I knew writing about it would be an easy assignment. On the surface it doesn’t appear to have a whole lot in common with the documentary of the same name (which I have now seen at least twice and has evidently become a mandatory outside of class screening staple of any course with the word “gender” or “culture” in the title) but it did breach most of the same subject matter as the main thesis of discussion was based around the film’s central premise of how poorly women are currently represented in a patriarchal media.

The first speaker was Playboy Enterprises CEO, Scott Flanders. What he wanted us to take away was how women are their own “biggest critics” elaborating with “men don’t take as many shots at each other…they’re too busy watching ESPN.” Personally, this is a statement I tend to observe a kernel of truth in and it was nice to see another man with the guts to say this without immediate fear of being labeled as a sexist pig. Sure, you might say that’s a somewhat ridiculous fear in what is supposed to be a university sponsored event meant to promote open and respectful discourse but I actually tend to envision a media double standard where a woman can say this and nobody bats an eye but a man could catch a ton of heat for saying this exact same thing. I don’t know what this says about me and frankly I’m not sure I even want to know.

The next speaker was Willow Wilson, a female author of Middle Eastern descent. Wilson talked about how being a mother has kept her from some of the trappings that surround the business of being an author such as fellowships, grants and meetings with publishers. She also mentioned how she has been writing for both Marvel and DC comics and talked about ways female superheroes are negatively represented. For example, their origin stories tend to involve things like rape, abuse and abandonment; they are drawn to ridiculous proportions and are often shown in outfits horribly suited for crime fighting. These things…well, hopefully only the last two…tend to appeal more to men and she said how they are trying to move away from these things to broaden comics appeal more to women. She concluded her prepare remarks by pointing out how men in all cultures tend to feel so poor, underemployed and underrepresented that they lash out at women. Examples of this she included were the reign of Hosni Mubarak in Egypt and the GOP “legitimate rape” controversy of last year’s election campaign.

Judith Registre, an expert on global development who introduced herself as a “philosopher by trade”, was up next and she bought up points of discussion that I felt made tied her with Wilson as the most relevant and engaged speaker on the panel. She elaborated on Scott Flanders’ claim that women are their own harshest critics by pointing out how both men and women are victims of their own culture anywhere you go and raised the question of how we can all liberate ourselves. One answer she gave was in our appearances. We should just start dressing more for ourselves and not let others influence our appearance or shame us into changing it.

Finally, Ewing Marion Kaufman Foundation research fellow Alicia Robb spoke. She didn’t speak for as long as the others and mainly stuck to talking points such as women earning less than men and being more judged on their appearances and attractiveness. Frankly, these were really just age old issues and it wasn’t the most dynamic or creative way to transition to the Q&A portion. This panel could’ve benefitted from switching around the order of the speakers, if you ask me.

Speaking of segues and Q&As, myself and another male audience member asked some interesting questions. The guy that went before me posed a hypothetical about what might happen if women everywhere just staged a protest and quit working for a whole day. This seemed to stump the panel. Then, I asked a question aimed specifically at Willow Wilson, who I would definitely pick as my personal favorite speaker on the panel if I had to choose. First I asked if the advent of digital media in the age of print being on its deathbed helped alleviate some of the problems she faces trying to write and raise kids (as per her first talking point) and she said it was quite a boon to her line of work citing one instance where she was Skyping with a publisher and was easily able to tilt the screen upwards so he wouldn’t see her nursing her baby. Secondly, I asked how she got into the comic book industry and she said breaking into newspaper writing and foreign press was somehow much easier as it’s less of a “handshake business” than comics where you have to know everybody. That remark somehow made me feel like I definitely found the right career path for me on journey to and through CU. Anyway, this CWA panel was quite the frank and lively discussion which I quite enjoyed.