Documentary not surprising, but necessary

PALMER — On Thursday I attended a screening of the film “Miss Representation” and loosely participated in a panel discussion hosted by Alaska NOW (National Organization for Women). I thought it would be good to get some relevant statistics and hear some personal stories — even if told by celebrities in a film studio — to file away for future reference.

While I did gain some new numbers and anecdotes for my virtual, feminist file cabinet, I can’t say that what I saw or heard was, on the whole, anything new. It didn’t even anger me that much, though it did make me want to present the so-called “gender gap” a little bit differently than the loudest voices often do.

First of all, blaming “the media” for all our country’s problems — violence, sexualization, objectification, gender-based wage discrepancies, etc. — is not helpful. If you want to change something, you have to be specific. I personally think it’s very important to differentiate between news outlets and the entertainment industry in this discussion of gender bias and double standards — not because one is necessarily more at fault than the other, but because the reach is entirely different. Youth don’t read newspapers; they watch TV.

According to stats provided in the movie, more than half of female 13-year-olds are “unhappy with their bodies,” and that number shoots up to 78 percent by the time girls turn 17.

No kidding? I could’ve told you that without any scientific, grant-funded research. Everyone doubts themselves in a variety of ways in the early teenage years, in part because that’s the time of life where our bodies are changing quickly and most of our minds have developed enough to really internalize “otherness.” The variability among teens in individual growth can be so dramatic that we don’t even need to see doctored images of men and women on TV to be temporary alarmed by our differences.

This, actually, is how it was for me in middle school, and really into college. I’ve never really read mainstream magazines, I don’t watch much reality TV, and I rarely wear makeup because I think it’s an unnecessary — and expensive — hassle. In a lifetime, the average U.S. American woman apparently spends $15,000 on “beauty products” (which I’m guessing includes shampoo and conditioner, though I would consider those hygienic products). If we’re talking about makeup, I’ve probably spent $100 total to date, and most of that was on nail polish (which doesn’t significantly alter your physical appearance the way other makeup does, I think).

But in college, especially among my cross country teammates, I found myself probably more self-conscious than ever. I was more influenced to try and change my appearance and my weight by the real people around me — male athletes included — than anyone I saw in a movie or advertisement.

You might counter that it was the insecurities of some of my teammates, fed by the entertainment industry, that resulted in my self-consciousness. But it’s the more immediate, humanized behavior of our peers that drives the nail in the coffin of our self-doubt.

I also want to dissect the idea that there should be an equal number of male and female CEOs, or an equal number of men and women in political offices (or any office, for that matter). “Miss Representation” presented the number of women in executive positions at big-name companies like Disney and Fox, which according to my findings were 3 of 14 and 5 of 21, respectively. My thought was, “sure, we could probably use some more women in there,” but only if there are women who want those positions and are actually being denied them based solely on their gender.

My advice? Don’t put women in leadership positions; encourage them to think. If they want to become politicians and CEOs, let them decide that for themselves, and not because they think they have an obligation to contribute to the ideal of more women in business and power for the sake of increasing the numbers. It’s the same with “diversity” — no employer, I think, should feel the need to hire a bunch of non-white employees just to say their company is more “diverse.” If an Asian man is more qualified on paper and in person for a position than the other applicants, hire him. If a black woman is more qualified on paper and in person for a position than the other applicants, hire her. It should be that simple.

I could go on and on about these issues and the content of the movie, but I think it should speak for itself. With quotes like “You can’t be what you can’t see,” by activist Marian Edelman, and quips from comediennes and actresses like Margaret Cho — “The network told me I was too fat … and they replaced my show with Drew Carey, because he’s so thin” — “Miss Representation” is worth a watch. You can stream it on Netflix and Amazon, or rent it from Vimeo, iTunes and Virgil Films.

For more information on the movie, visit therepresentationproject.org. To learn more about Alaska NOW, visit facebook.com/NOWAlaska