Category Archives: Feminism

A new show has been launched on Danish television. The idea of the show is that women walk on in a bathrobe, stand in front of two men, take their robe off and stand there silently, completely naked, while the men discuss, praise and disparage the various parts of their body. That’s it.

Blachman claims that he is doing the women a favour because ‘the female body thirsts for the words of a man’. I wonder what woman wouldn’t be positively throbbing at the thought of being gawped at and criticised by two such fine specimens of manhood?!

…Or perhaps not. Do they do it for you ladies? No?! But of course that isn’t the point: it’s the women who are there to be judged, examined, measured up, approved of or found lacking. It doesn’t matter what he looks like: middle-aged, overweight, bald, mop-headed, double-chinned – women will be grateful to be looked at, the show implies, just because he’s male. Women will accept his authority to judge and validate or invalidate them as a person, or, more accurately, as a collection of body parts.
Blachman, who named his show the imaginative, descriptive, and not at all narcissistic title Blachman, has remained ‘humble’ about the achievement of this obviously important creative endeavour. At the deluge of criticism the show immediately faced, he fled to his home in New York and claimed ‘Ungratefulness is the only thing that can really wear down the few genius who reside in our country.’ And I’m sure Denmark is anguished by the loss of the genius who invented the idea of giggling at breasts and marking them out of ten.

Of course, one of the reasons Denmark and the rest of the world hasn’t been wowed, and hordes of naked women haven’t started begging their co-workers, shop assistants and neighbours to sit on a leather sofa looking smug and remarking on their labia, is because of how distinctly unoriginal this show is. Women are objectified and judged on their looks and bodies all the time. Despite the outrage, this is hardly a new way of thinking, damaging and sexist as it is. Blachman’s assertion that the female body – not the woman, but her body – longs for male approval is hardly a new idea – women have been being encouraged, to view themselves as an object to please the male gaze for centuries. Mainstream porn is a key genre where women are meant to get their satisfaction by pleasing and serving men. Female porn stars are often surgically enhanced and ‘perfect’ and the men performing in the films (beer belly, hairy crack, socks and all) are often unattractive.

The idea that men can have other features – wealth, power, a good sense of humour – that make them attractive irrespective of their appearance is common, whereas for women these things alone are never enough: they can instantly be disregarded or mocked if they don’t shape up to standards of female beauty. That’s why this show, far from being original, creative and avant-garde, almost seems like a parody. It makes explicit a vague, shifting but pervasive idea that we all recognise and encounter – in newspapers (page three girls), on television (in adverts) on such archaic events such as Miss World and just walking down the street (builders first started to wolf whistle me when I was 11).

In my films I enjoy turning existing (gender) stereotypes upside down. I often try to subvert exactly this kind of objectification of women by handing the power to women and making men the ‘objects’. In The Female Voyeur we shot a sexy, tongue-in-cheek male talent show called XXX Men, where the boys had to parade in their underwear and perform a sexual talent for our all-female judges panel, such as pole-dancing, masturbating and giving oral sex.

The shoot of this unconventional scene empowered the female as well as the male performers: The guys enjoyed being the object of desire, and ‘prey’ instead of predator for once. And the women loved having the power, being the voyeurs and judging jury for once. When the female jury ‘marked’ the men it was fun, flirty and approving, and of course in some contexts – like this one – consensual objectification can make people feel sexy and appreciated.

Some people have criticized this XXX Men scene as ‘too simple’. I feel that sometimes we have to turn existing patterns upside down to make us aware how engrained gender-patters are. It rubs us up the wrong way when suddenly the women do to men what is the male prerogative. And that exactly is the point. We need images that show women in control and men to be passive and/or submissive as a counterbalance to the flood of images that empower men and objectify women. I would like to live in a world where we can chose how we express ourselves and our sexuality – independent of our gender. The choices are not just black or white but there is a kaleidoscope of colour out there for all of us to be experienced and enjoyed. Maybe one day we want to be looked at and the next day we enjoy being the voyeur. What matters is that we can choose.

But this is not what’s happening on Blachman: the clinical examination of different body parts (Blachman is reported to have asked his friend ‘how’s that pussy working out for you?’), the enforced silence of the women, and the sneering, chuckling smarminess of this self-proclaimed ‘genius’ demonstrate just how chauvinistic and dated this programme is.

One of the worst things is that this is state-sponsored sexism. DR2, the channel that airs Blachman, is a publicly funded station. Sofia Fromberg, the producer of the show, has attempted to justify the show by saying that DR2 ‘is a society channel. Our main focus is what’s going on in society and we debate it.’ Well, she’s right about one thing: Blachman does show something that goes on in society: sexism and female objectification. But she’s very wrong to call it a debate. On the most basic level, the women are being silenced and we just hear and see the male perspective. All this show does is to replay and condone the objectification of women in the most blatant and unashamed way, and it deserves every bit of ridicule it receives.

Oh and Mr. Blachman, just so you know – the male body thirsts for the words of a woman, and if you have a quick look through The Female Voyeur you’ll see the proof…

I salute the courageous women who are Pussy Riot and all their supporters. Here’s to freedom of speech, uncensored art and gender equality!

One year on the fact is that we still have a long, long way to go to achieve full gender equality all over the globe. The burning issues remain: violence against women, including genital mutilation, sex trafficking and rape as well as inherent sexism that denies women fundamental human rights such as getting an education or having the freedom to live their lives and express themselves without the supervision or judgement of men. In Western societies equality is theoretically written into the law but there still is a glass ceiling preventing most women from gaining positions of power even if they are equally qualified as their male competitors. Women also still receive less pay than men for the same amount of work. Economically women are usually less well off than men and find it harder to borrow money to invest into projects or a business.

We have to continue our fight for true equality but also do ourselves what we can to support other women. This could be through donations of time or money into your local women’s shelter or by helping other women to make their dreams a reality. Sometimes a little goes a long way.

Eight years ago I met a woman who changed the course of my life. Emma C was one of my photography customers. When I met her I had shot a few erotic scenes but had no funds to shoot more, edit and publish them. Emma believed in my vision of erotica from a female perspective and chose to help me to get my film seen and my message heard. She paid for two more shoots and the postproduction and this is why “Sexual Sushi” ever made it into the shops. Emma was not worried about making a profit with her investment. She told me that to her it was enough satisfaction to help me getting started. I will be eternally grateful to Emma – without her my films might not exist and my life could have taken a different direction.

I would like to empower other women to express their fantasies on film – this is why I created the Petra Joy Award in 2009. For years I have been looking for a sponsor for the prize money so I could run the short film competition again. A trophy is great and it is fab to get your film published but money goes a long way, enabling you to keep on working and shoot more films. I have decided to put my money where my mouth is and will donate the prize money for the second competition for emerging female filmmakers myself. The topic is “female fantasies” and you can get all info on the award here: www.joyawards.com

If you want to help other women to set up a business and make a living, there are various fantastic microfinance charities set up such as www.kiva.org

which enables you to give loans. You can lend £5 or £500 – even small amounts make a huge difference in countries like Africa. For example 56 year old Kisaru who has five children needs to borrow $500 to buy maize and sugar for her small retail store. She has already raised 75% of that loan and only needs $125 to be able to invest into her business. So if only 5 people lend her $25 she will have succeeded. The loans will be paid back once the business is writing black figures. You will not gain interest in financial terms but in the satisfaction that comes with helping other women (or men) that are less well off than you are.

Make International Women’s Day 2012 – a day for giving…

A book called “Maggie goes on a diet” has just gone on sale on Amazon, aimed at 6-14 year olds. The sales blurb reads:

“This book is about a 14 year old girl who goes on a diet and is transformed from being extremely overweight and insecure to a normal sized girl who becomes the school soccer star. Through time, exercise and hard work, Maggie becomes more and more confident and develops a positive self image.”

It think it is important to combat a wave of obesity in young people and adults with education about healthy nutrition and by making exercising fun but to just target teenage girls and promote dieting as a “quick fix” is a step too far.

Pre-teenage and Teenage years are exactly the age groups when girls are most vulnerable to anorexia. What girls need are books that celebrate diversity of body types and a wide variety of beauty. A book that equals skinny with beautiful and popular can be really harmful to self-esteem of insecure girls and might set them up with a life-time eating disorder.

Sadly it seems some go even further in their ideas of how attractive young girls should look. Skinny is not enough. They are also meant to look beautiful and sexy and if this means styling the girls with heavy make-up and selling them adult style underwear – so be it.

I could not believe my eyes when I saw the promo shots on the “Jours-Apres-Lunes” website. This company is selling exclusive underwear aimed at girls from three to twelve and features lots of Lolitas, some of them styled like a miniature version of Brigitte Bardot. The photos make it look as if after school girls like nothing more than cavorting round in tight knickers and tiny bras, stroking themselves seductively with plume feathers or cuddling their bear toy whilst looking seductively into the camera.

These highly stylised images seem to suggest that girls are sensual and sexy, “ripe for picking” and I can imagine how these shots could give many adults looking at them the wrong idea. Of course even before puberty many girls are discovering their sexuality but it is for them to explore by themselves or with equals rather than to be exploited by adults on pictures or in reality.

I wonder how the girls will grow up that even at 4, 8 or 12 years old they think they are only beautiful if they are skinny, wear make up and sexy underwear?! Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and girls are brainwashed at an early age to conform to an adult and often male idea of what is attractive and desirable. It is all about pleasing others and fitting the mould. When or how will they develop their sense of individuality and self-worth – independent of what their body shape is or what clothes, make-up or hairstyle they wear? Maybe never. And that makes me sad.

The New York Post discredited the maid Strauss-Kahn allegedly raped with the headline “DSK Maid Hooker”. As usual in a rape investigation, the press – and sadly often investigating police as well – open the witch hunt to discredit the victim, rather than making the rapist face up to his crimes without excuses.

Even if the maid had been a hooker (something she and her solicitor strongly deny, so much so that they are suing The Post and five journalists for libel) – does this mean she could not have been raped?

Do prostitutes not have the right to say “No”? Can a prostitute not be raped simply because she sometimes choses to sell sex? Surely a “no” means “no” – no matter what profession a woman has? Can the press and law representatives not see the difference between a consensual paid or unpaid sexual act that is beneficial to both and the non-consensual, enforced, violent act of sex used by one person to humiliate and dominate another?

But even though sex workers provide a relevant social service to society they are seen as cold and calculating individuals who have no emotions and do not provide more than a physical service.

The Muslim “Obedient Wives Club” recently hit the headlines by promoting to train wives to be as skilled as prostitutes in the bedroom, “so that men do not have to go and see hookers”. The clubs representatives then quickly explained that of course rough “hookers” are in a different category than sacred “wives”.

Fauziah Ariffin, the Malaysian OWC chapter’s national director, told the Malay Mail: ” We are not putting wives on the same level with prostitutes. We are talking about first-class elite types, not street hooker types … Ordinary prostitutes can only provide good sex, but not love and affection, which only a wife can provide.”

What about the prostitutes that listen hour after hour to those punters that want to chat as much as having sex? What about the wives and mothers that earn a living as prostitutes? It is all two sides of the same coin.

No matter how hard the press or religious organisations try – the enforced dichotomy between “normal woman” vs. “prostitute”, aka second class citizen does simply not work. To hell with the stereotypes of the sacred Madonna and the dirty whore. I am a woman. They are women. We are both citizens with the same hopes, fears and feelings and human rights. A woman is a woman. “No” means “No”. Fullstop.

I just read that in Germany, the country I grew up in, the share women have on corporate boards and executive committees is only 2%. This is the same low figure as in India, that we still arrogantly call a “developing nation” – as if we are so far ahead of them in economic, political and cultural matters. In the UK and US the share of women in these positions is 14%. The maximum input women have at this level of management world wide is still only 20%. Women are over 50% of humankind, so to be represented so poorly in top positions where crucial decisions are being made, is shocking and disappointing.

Quotas that would guarantee more women access to prime positions are hotly debated in Germany right now. The Deutsche Telekom has chosen to have at least 30% of female candidates on its job short lists. So now many men cry “murder” because they consider this move reverse sexism and feel disadvantaged (as if ?!). I think it is obvious that women will not get a job just because of their gender. They need to be at least just as qualified as the men who applied to do the job. The truth is that women are often more qualified than their male co-applicants but are often not even invited for an interview due to their female gender. The least that can be done is drawing up fairer shortlists that represent applicants of both genders fairly, rather than just men. Chances are it will still be a man who is picked for the job because he will be interviewed by an all male panel and will be working for male bosses.

Whenever I got a chance to make my mark or do a sale within the industry it was facilitated through another woman who was in a position of power and understood and supported my vision that most businessmen still are blind too.

Somewhere, somehow gender discrimination has to end – and in order to achieve this we have to temporarily create more windows for women to be seen, and open more doors for women to step through. We need to be given the chance to be seen and heard rather than hitting the glass ceiling over and over again.

I want to encourage women to go for an interview and possibly even a high-powered job based on the new quota (as well as their obvious qualifications), rather than being left out in the cold jet again – just because they are female. If there is an opportunity, take it ! It is your right.