KUALA LUMPUR: Many Malaysians love to spend their free time watching local movies or drama series. However, many are unaware of how easily influenced they are by the characters or values advocated by such media.
The way a gender is represented in local movies and dramas can greatly affect a community’s view on gender.
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) Film Studies researcher Assoc Prof Dr Jamaluddin Aziz said gender representation in the Malaysian media has so far been positive, but there was still room for improvement.
“The transgender community, for example, is usually associated with the ‘mak nyah’ community. They are usually portrayed in comedic roles or as prostitutes.
“We need to stop such stereotyping. Movies need to cast them in a more positive light as many from the transgender community have contributed to society’s well-being,” he said.
Jamaluddin, who is also a lecturer at UKM’s School of Media and Communication Studies, said local dramas and films, particularly those in Malay, have been slow in promoting more positive gender representation. The public is still being fed with negative representations of certain gender groups.
WHAT IS GENDER REPRESENTATION?
The definition of gender is normally associated with being male or female and their biological characteristics.
However, gender research scholars say that today, it is no longer tied to a biological definition but more towards a social construction.
He said gender representation is defined as the image, symbol and language used to represent gender construction in the media. The term gender does not necessarily carry the same meaning as the term sexual orientation.
“For example, male and female fall under the category of gender. Meanwhile, homosexual and bisexual are categories of sexuality or sexual orientation,” he explained.
EFFECTS OF GENDER REPRESENTATION
Gender experts say that Malaysians still do not understand the ideology behind images broadcasted on the silver screen or television. This is despite studies showing that viewers do not accept media representations blindly, due to their varying levels of education.
This can affect a number of things, including the expectations we have towards the role of a gender.
In citing an example, he said Malaysian men generally felt challenged by the socio-economic progress made by women.
Government policies have also been more sensitive towards the betterment of women.
“The mass media’s inclination towards highlighting the frailty of women has also inspired the government to become more sensitive towards women issues,” he said.
Jamaluddin said gender equality should not be limited to the rights of amale and female, but needs to cover the rights of all existing genders so that each can realise their true potential.
STUDY GENDER REPRESENTATION
He said that it was important for a developing country like Malaysia to study the effects of gender representation in the media, as the values portrayed in the media could influence the nation’s gender-related policies.
It is these policies that would assist the government in making budgetary decisions and programmes towards better gender equality in Malaysia.
He added that the community was also unaware that gender representation in the media reflected existing policies.
“There was furore over a local Muslim gymnast’s outfit which was deemed revealing, despite her winning gold for the country but applauded the men’s football team when the latter won a match, although they too revealed their “aurat” (modesty),” he said.
Why are only certain images of a gender allowed while others are censored, and who decides which images to be censored?
These are the questions that need to be looked into to help Malaysia reach the status of a developed nation, as progress is not only defined in economic terms, but the maturity in the treatment of its people as well. -Bernama