Issue about female genital cutting

This is a post from UNFPA's website.
http://www.unfpa.org/public/cache/offonce/news/pid/5566;jsessionid=D0F6F67C758C369C513CD907BFD39440

Convincing Egyptian Doctors to 'Do No Harm'
Changing minds about female genital cutting/mutilation
7 May 2010

This year, the month of June will be a time of celebration in Egypt. Parties will be thrown for young girls who have reached the age of 13 with their sexual organs uncut, having escaped the age-old practice of female circumcision or, as it is now known, female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C.) Among other things, the month-long festivities will honour the memory of Badour Shaker, a 12-year-old girl from southern Egypt who died in 2007 while a physician was performing the procedure.

But most of all, the celebration will honour the mothers of today's young girls who have taken the decision not to circumcise their daughters. The celebration, which is expected to be repeated in coming years, is being planned by Egypt's Ministry of Health and Family and Population, working closely with the UNFPA-UNICEF Joint Programme on FGM/C towards the total abandonment of the practice. FGM/C is firmly entrenched, but declining FGM/C is still widespread – but increasingly condemned – throughout much of North and East Africa. However, the recent history of the practice in Egypt presents special challenges for those trying to end it. According to the national 2008 Demographic and Health Survey (DHS), 91 per cent of Egyptian married women between the ages of 15 and 49 have undergone FGM/C. In Egypt, it is generally performed around the onset of puberty, and it is practiced for different and overlapping reasons. In a 2005 DHS survey, almost three-fifths said they adhere to the practice to maintain tradition, about a third said the practice reduced sexual desire, another third thought it essential for hygiene and cleanliness, and 12 per cent supported FGM to gain religious approval.

While still firmly entrenched in Egypt, the practice does appear to be declining. Today, approximately 75 per cent of all girls aged 15 to 17 have been cut: two decades ago, the figure was nearly 100 per cent. Education also seems to play a role: 87 per cent of women with a secondary or higher education are cut compared to 98 per cent of women with no education. Perhaps most significantly, the DHS survey shows that in 2009, only 63 per cent of married women believed that the practice should continue, compared to 82 per cent in 1995.

The medicalization of FGM/C
What sets Egypt apart from other countries that practice FGM/C is that more than 75 per cent of female circumcisions in Egypt are performed by medical personnel: doctors, nurses and medical technicians. While the medicalization of the practice began as a way to reduce complications, it had the effect of institutionalizing it.

One of the key messages of the ground-breaking International Conference on Population and Development , which took place in Cairo in 1994, was that a number of traditional practices, including FGM/C, are harmful to women's health. At that time, it was performed in Egypt, as in other countries, by untrained village women, traditional birth attendants or even male barbers using crude implements in unsanitary conditions with no anesthetic. Haemorrhage, infection and trauma were common.

"The conference launched a very intensive, medically-oriented campaign against FGM," says Amel Fahmy, UNFPA's Coordinator for the Joint Programme in Egypt. "They talked about the severe health complications of the procedure. This made people afraid and they started going to doctors so that it could be done 'properly' and 'mildly,' without complications. People wanted to be 'modern' so they went to the doctor." For a fee ranging from around $20 to nearly $100, physicians have been performing FGM/C on a regular basis, under aseptic conditions, sometimes with an anaesthetic, sometimes using a localized spray that numbs the area. So, ironically, instead of fading as women's rights advocates had intended, in Egypt, FGM/C became, in effect, medically sanctioned.

The practice continued in this way without much change for more than a decade until the death of 12-year-old Badour Shaker in 2007. Extensive media coverage and a public outcry changed many people's perception that medically supervised FGM/C was a benign procedure. Mounting advocacy against the practice by international organizations reinforced the message. That same year, the practice was banned in Egypt by ministerial decree and in 2008 the Egyptian Child Law made FGM/C illegal and punishable by revocation of the physician's medical license and/or up to three years in prison.

Nevertheless, it was clear that simply declaring it to be illegal would not be enough to halt the practice. The Ministries of Health and of Family and Population, working with the UNFPA-UNICEF Joint Programme and the USAID-funded Communication for Healthy Living, decided they needed to raise awarewness of physicians to stop the practice.

Egypt launches Doctors against FGM/C
The resulting initiative, Doctors against FGM/C, has trained a core group of 300 physicians in 8 governorates to serve as advocates against the practice. After being trained in the physiological and psychological effects of FGM/C, each of these physicians will conduct a one-day workshop for around 25 other physicians practicing across most of the country. Under the programme, a total of 200 physicians will become master trainers and advocates against FGM/C. Because they will have been trained under the auspices of, and will speak on behalf of the Ministry of Health, the qualifications and authority of these trainer-physicians should be readily accepted by their colleagues in the field. The trainers will then fan out in their communities and work to convince other doctors to give up genital cutting. Over time, the programme will reach most of Egypt's physicians, a majority of whom work in government hospitals and clinics.

The message they promote is that even if it does not directly cause severe medical problems, genital cutting violates the rights of women, can result in significant physical or psychological damage, is not a religious requirement and is not beneficial. These arguments, it is hoped, will persuade physicians to abandon FGM/C and encourage them to recommend that their patients do the same. Patients generally respect their physicians and their recommendations, so advice to avoid genital cutting should be quite influential. The new law also requires doctors to remind patients that such cutting in now illegal in Egypt.

Curbing demand is critical
The creators of Doctors against FGM/C recognize that patients as well as physicians must be prepared to give up genital cutting if the programme is to succeed. Thus, participating physicians are trained not only in the medical reasons for not doing the procedure; they also learn how to counsel parents about the negative effects of FGM/C and how to dissuade those who want to go ahead with it. "The parents must be convinced," says Ms. Fahmy. "Otherwise they will just leave this doctor and go to another one. That's why we need doctors who are active advocates against FGM." Some doctors have initially questioned the programme, arguing that if they refuse to perform the procedure parents will simply resort to untrained midwives where the risk of infection is far greater. "Our argument is that this is not an excuse for medical personnel to perform FGM," says Ms. Fahmy. "The doctor is the highest authority in the village, he is looked up to as somebody who is well-educated, who is respected. So if the doctor practices FGM it sends the message that it's a good practice and people should do it. But when doctors stop practicing this, it sends the message that it is wrong."

Wielding influence as well as scalpels
All of the initial 30 trainer-physicians are influential members of their local communities. Many practice in rural areas where FGM/C is most widespread. Some were already opposed to the practice. Others, who previously accepted FGM/C simply because it was tradition, have become convinced that it is unnecessary and harmful. Other doctors (along with millions of their countrymen) have learned that, contrary to long-held assumptions, the practice does not reflect the teachings of Islam. In July 2007 the Al-Azhar Supreme Council of Islamic Research, the highest religious authority in Egypt, issued an official statement that FGM/C has no basis in Islamic law.

Moreover, training of the anti-FGM/C physicians emphasizes that the practice is not medically sanctioned and violates the internationally accepted medical code of ethics embraced in the words, 'First, do no harm'. "The doctors have been taught that each organ has a necessary, natural function," says Ms. Fahmy. "Organs should not be cut because that is a violation of medical codes." Since FGM/C is now illegal, there is no discussion of compensating the doctors for loss of income for not engaging in it.

To date, several Egyptian physicians reported to be practicing FGM/C have had their medical licenses revoked, and many cases have been taken to court.

According to Ms. Fahmy, it turns out that many physicians have a poor understanding of female genital physiology. "They were not properly trained in the first place," she says. "We found that many of the doctors are unclear about the function of the different genital organs," says Ms. Fahmy. "They lack basic information that they should have had and the programme training has helped them. Many are now on board because they now have knowledge they didn't have before."

The Doctors against FGM/C training is designed to address and dispel – both in the minds of physicians and of parents – the age-old myths that justify and have entrenched FGM/C. Although the Koran explicitly states that a woman should have pleasure in her sexual life, many who favour FGM/C believe that removing the clitoris will remove the temptation to engage in illicit sexual relations.

The trainer/physicians are taught to explain that this is not the case and to point out that sexual arousal is a function of the brain and can occur whether the female sexual organs are intact or not. They also remind their listeners that the vast majority of prostitutes and women in adulterous relationships in Egypt have been cut, and that this has not deterred them from having these relationships.

Upholding the law
The UNFPA-UNICEF Joint Programme on FGM/C and the Ministry of Health are establishing mechanisms to detect and prosecute continuing incidents of FGM/C inside government health facilities. It is believed that fast, vigorous prosecution of health professionals who violate the FGM/C law early in the programme show that the government is serious about ending FGM/C in Egypt.

The Joint Programme has also been training the staff in the Ministry of Health that is responsible for inspecting hospitals and private clinics and reporting violations to the District Attorney. But monitoring the practice is very difficult. Most cases are discovered after the fact because the girl is rushed to the hospital with severe bleeding. Inspectors must then trace the case back to the doctor who performed the procedure.

A holistic approach
Even the participation of nearly all of Egypt's physicians will not by itself eliminate FGM/C entirely. The issue of demand must also be addressed. Changing such a deep-rooted cultural practice will require the commitment and efforts of many sectors of society. "Our initiative will at least enable doctors to say no," says Ms. Fahmy. "But our programme is also working with the general population, helping them to understand the effects of this practice. We're working with communities, with the media, doing a lot of things parallel to this initiative. So there are a lot of other interventions."

For example, the Joint Programme has been supporting 17 community-based organizations working to eliminate FGM/C in 19 communities in four governorates. To date, 4,355 girls in these communities have reached the "safe age" of 15 to 17 without being cut and have been celebrated by local authorities. In 2008, 5,850 families of girls at risk declared their abandonment of FGM/C. In 2009, they were joined by an additional 9,027 families. Although, numerically, these are small victories in a country with approximately 12 million girls under the age of 15, they have taken place in a short time period and represent signs of a shifting consensus, which is a key element in dismantling deeply lodged social conventions such as FGM/C.

Other anti-FMG/C-related activities include local action plans for the creation of 11 Child Protection Committees now being implemented at the national, district and community levels. The committees are responsible for overseeing and resolving child protection issues, including monitoring FGM/C and reporting incidents that violate the ban.

But ultimately, it is public awareness and consensus that will end the practice. This is why the Joint Programme proposed the idea of a month-long celebration against FGM to the Ministry of Health. "We are working with doctors to decrease the supply," says Ms. Fahmy, "but we are also working with the population as a whole to decrease the demand."

Hafiza-Indonesia
Gender and media workshop
Greifswald International Students Festival 2010

the little mermaid: a thought on the flight home

It might be a mistake to watch The Little Mermaid on my flight home. Probably it is because I was eating fillet of cod. Or probably because I have just attended a workshop talking about media and gender.

Okay, first thing first. I am aware that the Disney version of The Little Mermaid, the very movie I watched, was an adaptation from a fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen. And Disney is famous for its happy ending cartoons. Given that fact, I should initially expect that there will be some alterations in the story. And they were there, indeed.

Originally, the mermaid in Andersen's story dies because she fails to meets the terms and conditions set by the sea-witch. The little mermaid supposed to win the prince's heart and marry him in order to be a human for the rest of her life. However, being mute (as her voice became the tool of trade with the witch), she did not manage to convince the prince that she was the one who saved him from a shipwreck. Instead, the prince thought that it was some other princess from some other neighbouring country, whom he ended up married to. The mermaid's sisters fell pity to her, and said that the only way for her to escape from being the sea-witch's slave is to kill her prince charming before sunrise. But she loved him too much, and the rest is history. More or less, everything is about this unfortunate little mermaid and her unrequited love, with several lines from insignificant supportive character to spice up the main dish.

In the movie, every conflict was solved. The sea-witch is dead – thanks to the help of the prince, regardless he is a human being with limited strength to survive the mighty sea. The little mermaid is later a human being, got married to the prince and lives happily ever after. The king, which never been told in the original story but described as a stern father in the movie, gave his bless to the little mermaid. There was no "other princess", but instead the disguised sea-witch who bewitched the prince to marry her. There were even songs performed by a musically skilful crab.

But then I did question several things. I remember to read somewhere about how Disney and its idea of happy ending can be somehow disturbing. When the Beast regains his formerly handsome face, for example I wonder why it is found necessary. Remember, it was the Beast with whom Belle fallen in love with, even though I am quite sure she did not mind to have such bonus: the fairy tale image "prince charming" to "live happily ever after" with. Therefore, I was glad to watch Shrek II and Fiona rejected Shrek's offer to have a physical beauty divine. Instead, she wants to stay being an ogre, "with the ogre I married".

Anyway, the disturbing alteration I found was about why should the little mermaid who morphed into human being and not vice versa. I mean, why does she need to do any more sacrifice? She saved the prince's life already, lost her voice risked her life on an agreement with a sea-witch, even her King father had his throne given to the sea-witch in order to save his daughter from being her slave. The King's advisor also risked his life being hunted by the prince's cook, who was obsessed to cook stuffed crabs. Well, the prince did some things that ended up with the death of the sea-witch, true, but why didn't it occur in his mind that, "Okay, she loves me so very much and has done so much for me as well, I think I can do her a little favour to live happily ever after by her side as a merman."?
Plus, the little mermaid herself was not an ordinary mermaid – she was a princess under the sea, so the prince would not really experience a lowering status. Well, probably he wants to keep his throne on the land, instead of marrying a Princess (with little possibility to be a Queen because she is the youngest). That consideration sounds very much like the villain in Princess Diaries 2 (another movie by Disney, fyi) said to his nephew, "Everything is planned to have you as a King, not to marry a Queen!"

I also perceived the alteration as an effort to mild the prince's lack of contribution to the mermaid's happiness. Compared to how the original story simply said that the prince treated the mermaid as nice as treating his own sister, the Disney movie showed that he did some sort of heroic act to exterminate the sea-witch. And then, oh well, the man saved the day, and what missing was only the cliché line, "Oh, my hero!".
Recalling a previous discussion about "real men" and "real women" in my workshop, I remember someone from the workshop "Life is a Role Play" (they visited us to share a guest lecturer who talked about Star Trek in gender perspective) said about "men are supposed to be the protector". Well, that simply fits the picture perfect – men are there to protect, and women to be protected. But it is not simply about who is stronger therefore (s)he is the one who should protect another, because remember, the mermaid saved the prince at the first place. If it was not because she loved him madly at the first sight, he would be there under the sea with the remains of his ship. I assume that the Disney version is trying to make a "fair trade" in terms of sacrifice done by the main characters, but yet again, the mermaid remained sacrificing more. Living on the land as a human being means no more contact with her underwater family and friends. At least that is what I can assume, because the King said to his advisor something about how he will miss his daughter very much, before he put a spell on her and made her a human.

Another thing is about the sea-witch. I always wonder why it has to be a witch: a wicked female villain with magical power and obsession to rule the world (or in this case, the sea). One thing I like about Harry Potter series is that it puts a wizard instead of a witch as the antagonist – at least to give refreshment on how it is not always women who can be evil and put a spell on the main characters. The visualisation of the sea-witch was also altered; in the original story she was a mermaid (apparently there is no such word as "merwoman"), yet in the movie she has eight tentacles instead of fin. Nevertheless, the sea-witch was described living in a dark abyss with her sea-snake assistants, showing that she is somewhat a lonely woman with no partner to share life or make love to; and being exiled, to some extent, create the evilness. Well, I have no problem on the loneliness issue, for that also happens to Lord Voldemort. But let me emphasize this: we need more evil wizards. Not all witches are evil (like Ursula); some can be very motherly (like Molly Weasley), very clumsy (like Nymphadora Tonks), or even very clever (like Hermione Granger).

That is about it. I write no conclusion – at least for such rambling.


[PM]

June3:MorizTV interview & Gender Walk

First,let's welcome our guest for today,Stephanie Napp and Tobias Ruch from MorizTV!
They were joining our workshop for an interview, both from us & to us!


We prepared some questions using the 4-R(Representation,Resources,Reasons,Rights) Organization Analysis model for Stephanie, to kick off the interview between us!

It's interesting to find the Greifswald University student TV team consists of 15 females and 5 males.Jobs are divided by a principle of "Do whatever you like!" They try to be objective while reporting,but a more female-like perspective is hard to avoid according to the team structure. Most you can see from the way they portray the people and the stories.
Almost all of them join the team because of the interests in reporting or moving pictures. It's also interesting to find that more males are joining for the written part and more females are interested in the moving pictures. The reasons remain unknown.

For about seven minutes we finished up all the questions for Staphanie,thanked her for the information for study,and went on with our workshop about gender and media studies.

Subversive Strategies of Media Guerilla

Today we had a look on two examples of information guerilla activism related to media and gender. We watched a short video of a funny change in genderroles of toys. GI Joe and Barbie changed their roles and the related needs.

The second example was about unreachable ideals of beautyness, created through wild performances with Photoshop. We saw the postproductional abilities of modifying photographies in the following video and got an impression of the perfect lie.

Activists busted the ad with streetart and brought some very important toolkits from Adobe Photoshop on it. Ad busting can open eyes and minds and make people start thinking about the beauty-industrie, ideals and images of genderroles.

Be creative but careful, because ad busting is not really legal. Its always the best, not to get caught!

jckl

Country-representations

To see how gender can be represented in national promotion videos we looked at two such videos, one from Austria (link) and one from Sweden (link). By the representation of people in the Australian video we could see Austria as a white, Christian and heterosexual society. Women were high represented at the Austrian video, but often with little or without clothes.
The Sweden video also showed a lot of women, but they were mostly with clothes and in lots of different ways. The society represented in the Sweden video is multicultural, differently aged and different sexualities were shown.
I thank very much Elly and Christian Scambour who I got the idea and first analysis about the national promotion videos from Sweden and Austria from at a EU-Workshop at the Genderwerkstätte Graz. http://www.genderwerkstaette.at/

Andrea Bettels

June 1st: Gender issues in Star Trek!

First of all, let's welcome all participants/instructors from the other workshop to join us! First time to have so many people in our workshop venue,exciting!


Next, welcome our beautiful enthusiastic guest for the lecture about STAR TREK:Annette Brauer!
She's a Trekkie and she teaches Native American Studies, Cultural Studies and Gender Studies at the University of Greifswald.


First, a Symbolic Interaction Model was introduced:


Ideas meanings-Symbol codes-Ideas meanings.


As a way we will see how ideas meanings are conveyed by symbol codes in the movie STAR TREK.


Statistic studies in the movie:
Only 1(+3) female characters in the movie while there were 13 male parts?!
Only 1 female in the production crew?!
"What's going on there?!"


We were watching the movie clips along the lecture, to see how women were portrayed through the story.

We had a closer look at the female characters in the movie:

1)Kirk's Mother: Winona Kirk -by the scenes of Kirk's birth


2)Spock's Mother: Amanda Greyson -by the scenes of the mother touchs her logic-only(no emotions) son


3)Uhura-emotional and sympathetic


4)Gaula-sexy and objectification


6)Enterprise (the spaceship!It's regarded as a female character due to its obedient characteristics)






Then we came to discuss about a new term:The Male Gaze.


"Stereotyping and objectification of women on screen comes about through the way cinema is structured around..."


Meaning in a movie made most by male producers, the ways they portrayed women were more from a male perspertive. That's an entertainment for male only, at they get the control.


Later after going through all the female characters and loads of observations, we had a discussion about the women roles in the movie and reflection to the society.

We admited that nowadays women are more frequently regarded as "objects" in this male dominat society, while only few women are involved in the techonology & production areas.
But we don't think women are weak at these certain parts, as we still have our best female director in Oscar Awards 2009 and we see more women are also doing good in sports and else professions.

It was a fruitful day with in-depth discussions and critical thinking!



Reported by Terri (Hong Kong,China)

Collage:Faces

When composing the report for Festival Times, found the captured athrill moments of Gender & Media workshops from May28 to June1. And formed the collages.

The workshops have involved some in-depth discussions & unexpected arguments.

You can see different faces,but same seriousness in common.
As the person behind lens,I saw the real beauty resting in responsiblity, passion, and wisdom.

Enjoy!

Terri

Statement for May28-29

Culture and biology affect each other in more ways than we can imagine and their influences on the society are so deeply ingrained, that it is close to impossible to break gender barriers and modify what is regarded as normal within the perspective that there can only be two genders. Culture and biology therefore are the foundations of what we consider and recognize as our earned or unearned advantages and disadvantages. - Dorothy Quimora (Philippines)

Monday, 31st “Gender + Media Analysis”

Monday, 31st “Gender + Media Analysis”
· Changing the room. We moved to the new working place.
· Refection day 1+2 → Statement. We discussed first two days, determined what we have learned during these days, and then created a statement of these days.
· Media. We discussed what media was and how gender was represented in media. We watched some commercials.
· Gender representation. We discussed why it was so difficult to understand and defined what gender means. How male-female genders are represented in the pop-culture.
· Media analysis. We analyzed gender representation in the Welcome party concert, the first edition of GrIStuF newspaper and posters of 550th Anniversary of Greifswald University.
· Methodology of gender analysis in social systems. We listened to a lecture about 4 R-Model of Gender Analysis.

Saturday, 29th “Gender, media and us”

Saturday, 29th “Gender, media and us”
· Introduction sex and gender. We discussed differences between female and male sex and gender, determined biological and cultural features of each gender.
· Other hyrarquies. We defined our inborn and acquired (dis)advantages.
· Producing media. We discussed making of blog and had small photo session for blog.
· Strange dancing. We learned a dance of four exercises for cheering up.

Instructor:Andrea

Name:Andrea
Country:Germany
City:Berlin
Fields:Gender Studies

Friday, 28th “You and us”

Friday, 28th “You and us”
· Participants. We introduced ourselves
· Group + space. Playing the game, we located ourselves according to geographical positions of our home-countries and afterwards estimated our role in media consumption/ production. Also we expressed our interest in the media focusing on gender issues.
· Expectations, needs and wishes. We discussed our expectations from the workshops and work out the main aims of the seminars.
· Experts. We did some teambuilding exercises. There were formed three groups. Each group developed and presented a project of Production Company.
· Producing media. We decided to create a blog. It should represent our group and the workshops.

WANG Minjing,Terri

Name: WANG Minjing,Terri

Country: China

City: Hong Kong

University: Hong Kong Baptist University, School of Communication

Major: Digital Graphic Communication, Bachelor Yr2

Minor: Business-Marketing

Living through lens & with mind of gender equality in communication, I feel obligated to convey the message of media ethics especially for sexuality abuse in media use. Based on the sign-and-symbol communication theoretical model, images used in media should be chosen with greater care. Furthermore, objectification of women should arouse more public attention and be overly against to.

Puji Maharani

Name: Puji Maharani
Country: Indonesia
University: Padjadjaran University, Bandung
Major: Journalism, Bachelor Degree

She believes that there's always something in between thing as "real men" and "real women"; because if such things exist, there should be also the "surreal" and "unreal" ones. She joins the workshop to indulge and share her curiosity and interest on how media represent gender-related issues. After attending GrIStuF 2010, she will put her study on hold to have an exchange semester in Communication Management at Chulalongkorn University, Thailand.

Yulya Gubareva

Name:Yulya Gubareva
Country:Belarus
University:Belarusian State University

I'm interested in the workshop due to my professional point deal with demographic transition and wonder how gender can influence on processes in the society.

Ivana Urosevic

Name: IVANA UROSEVIC

Country:Croatia

University:University of Dubrovnik

Major:Journalism (MA)

Quote:"Be the change you seek in the world."- Gandhi

Iwona Wilk

Name:IWONA WILK
Country:Poland
University:Queen Uargaret University in Edingburgh (Scotland)
Motto:"Success consists of going from failure to failure without the loss of enthusiasm."--Winstou Churchill

Hafiza Elvira Nofitariani

Name:Hafiza Elvira Nofitariani
Nick name:Fiza
Country:Indonesia
University:University Indonesia
Faculty:Faculty of Nursing (Bachelor's degree)

I'm really interested to get into the workshop concerning about gender and media due to my background in university. I wanna know more about gender case related to media, because I was pretty much keen on discussing about women. So, by joining this workshop, I expect that I 'll get informed more about the issues pertinent to gender and media.

Dorothy Leonor Piñon Quimorav

Name: Dorothy Leonor Piñon Quimora

Country: Philippines

University: University of the Philippines (Diliman)

Focus of Study: European Languages

Description:  I swear that I am completely aware of my own gender,

but many times I forget what it is, and in that case, I make doomsday appear glorious.

Catalina Ene Onea

Catalina Ene Onea (Romania)
Germanystudied Germanistics and Romanistics

University of Bucharest

She finished her Masters in Interculturality both in Bucharest and Berlin at the Humboldt University, where she is currently a PhD student in the field of New German Literatur/Interculturality. During her study she won several competitions and scholarships which gave her the possibility to take part in diffrent worksops, seminars or studying programmes abroad, for example in Heidelberg, Rostock or Berlin. She also participated in many cultural exchange programmes, representig Romania in international projects such as The Enescu Festival in Germany, Romanian's Accession Treaty to European Union in Luxemburg, The Workshop for Creative Writing UmLinzRum in Sibu/Linz etc.Since 2008 she lives in Germany and works as a press officer for the Romanian cultural magazine Axioma. She coaches and supports international projects of young people from Central/ Eastern Europe and Central Asia as a mentor in Theodor-Heuss-Kolleg Berlin, a programme of the Robort Bosch Foundation and the MitOst e.V.She writes poetry, essay, prosa and theatre. She already published several books in Romania and recived many awards and distinctions.Statement for the profile: " The workshop Gender and Media at GrIStuF 2010 focuses on a new topic of the modern society of which each one of us should be awere. However, the way we relate to it depends on the cultural enviroment where we spend our daily existence. I chose to participated in this workshop hoping to learn about new facets of the subject and get as many diffrent perspectives on the topic as possible. I am happy to work and share thoughts, wishes or fears with international participants coming from all over the world, knowing that the art of intercultural communication is not only my field of study but also a modus vivendi that belongs to the profession of life in the 21th century..."

Irina Goroshko

Name: Irina Goroshko
Country: Belarus
University: European Humanities University (Lithuania)
Major: BA Visual & Cultural Studies

I think that decenstruction of meanings in media is one of the most interesting & funny things!=)

Olena Herman

Name:Olena Herman
Country:Ukraine
University:Sumy State University
Status:Postgraduate student
Major: Journalism + Languages

It's my first time here in Germany and participating in the festival. I really enjoy it!:)

Workshop material: definitions and explanations

Information’s from: GenderCompetenceCenter (Berlin)
http://www.genderkompetenz.info/eng/gendercompetence/gender/index.html


What is “Gender”?
The term Gender comes from Anglo-American and is now established as a technical term in German as well. The English term has been adopted because there is only the one word, “Geschlecht”, in German, meaning both ‘sex’ and ‘gender’, which most people associate only with biological sex. The use of the German word has therefore been linked with the risk of losing sight of gender as a social and cultural set of conditions that changes over time. Modern research starts with the assumption that “Geschlecht” always includes social, cultural, political and biological components, which can change over time (Becker-Schmidt / Knapp, 2000). This is why in German-language contexts the term ‘gender’ is preferred. The term “Geschlecht” (in the meaning of biological sex) can also be used, however, in the same way as the term ‘sex’ is used in English-language contexts, if clarity is required as to the meaning involved or the particular dimension of gender that is being discussed.Gender was for a long time a category that was discussed mainly in academic women’s and gender studies research. There are a great many universities worldwide which scientifically study and teach the development of gender relations in Gender Studies courses. The Humboldt University in Berlin was the first university in Germany to offer such a course, setting up its transdisciplinary Gender Studies major in 1997. Since then, a great many more Gender Studies courses have been set up. In the course of implementing the strategy Gender Mainstreaming, the term gender has been freed from purely academic contexts and can be found today in many political and everyday discussions. There are four dimensions to the practical and political characteristics and impacts of Gender, to which the European Commission refers with reference to the OECD:
representation in political and social spheres (e.g. participation in decision-making and public and private division of labour between the sexes)
living conditions (e.g. affluence, poverty, being victim to violence and exclusion)
resources (e.g. distribution of time, money, mobility or information) and
norms and values (e.g. stereotypes, role assignment, images, language).
Political measures have a direct or indirect impact on women and men in their diverse life situations. Policy must therefore take the diversity of ways of life into account in planning and implementing measures and laws, otherwise it will miss its “target groups”. It can use various means to achieve this. Existing discrimination must be corrected by using compensatory measures, for instance (e.g. promotion of women). There must also be incentives for those who want to free themselves from restrictive role models (e.g. using parental leave models). At the same time, causes and effects of the present gender relations must be analyzed, in order to change them (e.g. using a gender analysis). The ways of dealing with gender must therefore be as diverse as gender itself.


Definition of "Gender"
While German only has one word, “Geschlecht”, meaning both “sex” and “gender”, English distinguishes between biological sex and social gender. “Gender” is therefore meant not biologically, but in all the wide diversity of its social contexts. Consequently, Gender is also affected by origin, faith, age, physical capacity or disability, sexual orientation and other structural factors. Gender roles and gender identity are thus socially learned and culturally constructed. Gender also describes men and women in their social relationships with each other and among themselves. It thus involves hierarchies and discrimination. Gender is subject to historical and cultural change. It is therefore open for change and shaping. Women and men are traditionally assigned to different and unequal social positions because of their sex assignment. They are stereotyped as typical “women” and “men” and perceived accordingly. The actual diversity found in the real world stands in direct opposition to this. Gender equality therefore means breaking the restraints imposed by traditionally assigned positions and giving both women and men opportunities for giving their lives individual shape.A few aspects of “Gender”
Human beings are born with biological characteristics which are situated along a spectrum of characteristics between male and female. Human beings are assigned to two categories at birth on the basis of these characteristics, either as “boys” or as “girls”. This determination of biological sex, to a certain extent arbitrary, is also, in most societies, the basis for social behavior. Gender-specific socialization follows on from biological definition. The human being is “made” into a girl / woman or a boy / man in a complex process of rearing involving social norms and stereotypes, self-identification, images and traditions, and by means of practices and institutions. Gender is thus “socially constructed”. So the term “Gender” emphasizes the fact that sex and gender are not so much a natural as a social phenomenon. This also means that our ideas of “masculinity” and “femininity” are constantly shifting. The sex-and-gender system has traditionally been associated with a hierarchical (or “patriarchal”) idea of the superiority of the man. Today, however, the idea is increasingly coming to the fore that such ideas of dominance are no longer tenable. In order to respect changes, including those involving people’s life decisions, it is necessary to allow human beings to lead the lives they wish, as freely as possible from the assignment as girls or boys. This means departing from the notion that there are “natural roles” for men or for women. It also means ensuring at social and legal levels that the sex of a human being does not have a decisive effect on her or his life.
Gender focuses on the fact that being a Woman and being a Man are not equal categories standing side by side and of equal value. Sex is not only an individual characteristic, but is also at the same time a structural category integrated into hierarchical and discriminatory social and structural gender relations. This means that the removal of discrimination and the demolition of gender stereotypes must be undertaken on many levels and with various means. Existing discrimination must be corrected in part using compensatory measures (e.g. by the promotion of women). In addition, causes of the present gender relations must be analyzed so that they can be changed (e.g. thinking through the impact on gender relations as part of planning processes). There must also be incentives for those who wish to extricate themselves from problematical role models (e.g. by means of parenting leave models). Dealing with Gender must be as diverse as Gender itself.
Gender relations are closely interwoven with categories of social diversity such as age, sexual orientation, ethnicity, class and individual ability or disability, and are determined in part by them. Gender therefore means the sex-and-gender system in all the diversity of these social characteristics. It is necessary to observe concrete situations precisely and to think in terms of complexity.


Gender as a “socially constructed category”
Our conception of what women and men are and what they are supposed to be is produced by the society in which we live. Thus many people say that gender is “socially constructed”. The day-to-day, continuous production of gender has been called doing gender (West/Zimmermann, 1987), meaning that gender is “made” by us in everyday lives in our interactions with others. Processes of doing gender are not only carried on in our society by individuals, but also through socially-standardizing practices such as legislation or the institutions of the family and marriage. “Doing gender” thrives on continually establishing a dual order of two sexes. At the latest after birth, and often even before, people are divided into two sex categories – boy or girl. From these categories, gender characteristics are derived, like blue and pink....... In the course of her or his life, the human being is then “made” into a girl or woman or a boy or man in a complex process of rearing and education, social norms and values, stereotypes, identification, images and traditions.What is noticeable is that conceptions of women and men are subject to change over time. What is supposed to be feminine or masculine is historically defined. What is more important, however, that the one same difference is put forward time and again, and for this reason alone becomes important. The differentiation into two sexes is politically relevant, because evaluations are linked with it, which assign different modes of action to the genders.On the other hand, it is often the case that it is not the one difference between the sexes which is most decisive, but that other social differences are far more important. It can be assumed today that women and men are not homogeneous groups, but that differences within the groups of women and of men can often become relevant. For instance, the social status or ethnic origin or skin colour can be a deciding factor for people who then also differentiate according to gender. On the other hand, clear-cut inequalities between women and men are hardly effective any more. In other words, it is not a matter of two colours, but of the entire colour spectrum.Modern medical definitions of gender are also multidimensional. Gender is defined in the standard (German) medical work in five dimensions; chromosomal, genital, mental and social. It is pointed out that there is a broad area of overlap in behavioural tendencies between the genders. Deviations from the two-gender norm, such as “transsexuality” or “intersexuality” are medically classified, however, according to the International Classification of Diseases (ICD 10) as gender identity disorders. People affected by these conditions, however, experience the unambiguous classification into woman or man as social compulsion and discrimination. Intersexuals, previously called hermaphrodites, possess both male and female physical attributes. In one out of every two thousand births, the sex of a new-born baby cannot be unambiguously determined. Since the 1950s gender assignment operations have been carried out on infants and children in which ambiguous genitals are changed surgically to fit in with traditional conceptions of female or male genitalia. Transsexuals have unambiguous physical attributes, but do not feel that they belong to the gender represented by their bodies.“Transidentities” are scientifically discussed and researched in Queer Studies. Queer Theory sets itself the task of analyzing and questioning social discourses of normality concerning sex, gender and sexuality. The beginnings of Queer Theory are closely connected with movements in social politics which have the aim of de-pathologizing people with a transgender identity and are fighting for diversity in gender lifestyles.

Gender as a “structural category”
Gender relations are today an important part of the social order. Therefore, gender is also described as a structural category, because it influences structures. What this is emphasising is the fact that gender is not just an individual characteristic describing individual people, but that ideas about gender are inscribed in organizations, social relations and legislative systems. So one hears “gender orders” or “gender relations” being talked about.Traditionally, gender relations are associated with a hierarchical notion of the superiority of the man (patriarchy) and a male norm (androcentricity). Patriarchy describes a social order in which a patriarch has the power to make decisions; this is closely linked with the idea of “paternalism”, in which a father (pater familias) makes decisions for the family, albeit well-meaning, but nonetheless alone.Androcentricity defines the way in which thinking, feeling and acting are not gender neutral but, in our culture, relate primarily to men and take absolutely no account of the life situations and experiences of women. In other words, the male subject is the paradigm for the human race, which is enshrined in language in the term “mankind”. Along with this, values and norms in thinking and acting in society, politics and culture are implicitly encumbered with gender specific values. The family is thus the feminine place, while politics is masculine. Emotions are feminine and thinking is masculine. Caring is feminine, aggression in masculine. Et cetera. These are not just personal opinions, which mostly do injustice to individuals, but are stereotypes, which guide actions and are deeply rooted in our cultures.

Gender as an “analytical category”
Gender is not just a structural element of society, but gender is also an analytical tool with the aid of which social relations can be studied. This is why we often find the term “analytical category”. If gender is used as an analytical category, supposedly gender neutral areas can be investigated as to the manner in which gender is constructed and what impact this has on the life situations of women and of men. Various dimensions of gender – representation, living conditions, resources and norms and values – can be rendered visible. Gender knowledge gained in this way serves as a basis for gender equality policy work. In practice, suggestions have been developed as to how specialist work or a policy field may be meaningfully analyzed. These include, for example, impact assessments in legislation which are oriented to gender equality, or other forms of gender analysis.

Gender – always relevant?
Not least with the implementation of Gender Mainstreaming, the question is raised as to whether gender plays a role everywhere. This is also a matter of some contention from today’s point of view in Gender Studies. In reply to the question as to what relevance gender still has today as a category of social order, either on the one hand reference is made to tendencies to persist, or, on the other hand, it is claimed that everything here is in a state of flux. Either gender is seen as the most effective structural category in society, as a “social mechanism for showing people their places” (Brückner, 2004) or else its “loss of meaning” is criticized (Knapp, 2001).The first of these positions assumes a pluralism of both life situations of women and men and of social discourses about gender. In spite of the continued existence of structural inequalities (such as in working life, or in gender-hierarchical division of labor), a shift in gender relations can be observed at the level of social structure. A different position is taken with the hypothesis of “non-simultaneity” in the development of social life situations and discourses about gender. While changes have taken place in discourses, such as flexibilization and decentralization of the category gender, it still continues to have meaning in the context of social inequality.As this debate within Gender Studies shows, a distinction must be drawn when asking about the relevance of gender as to whether it involves describing social conditions (such as are shown in data and statistics regarding gender relations) or normative views as to how it should be (i.e. interpretations derived from the data material in relation to gender equality).In view of the undisputed fact that gender mostly plays a problematic role because it is used to reduce people to certain clichés, some people now take the view that it is more a matter of “undoing gender” instead of “doing gender” (Lorber, 2004). “Undoing gender” does not mean making gender superfluous, or again that gender neutrality should be introduced. To “undo gender” aims in the first instance at becoming aware of the construction of gender difference and the concomitant stereotyping evaluations. As a second step, it involves removing categorizations and evaluations that create gender hierarchies and changing society to create an orientation to gender equality.

Gender competence
Gender competence is the ability of people to recognize gender perspectives in their work and policy fields and concentrate on them towards the goal of gender equality.Gender competence is a prerequisite for successful Gender Mainstreaming. At the same time, new gender competence is produced through the implementation of Gender Mainstreaming.Like other competences, gender competence consists of the elements of intention, knowledge and ability.
1. Intention:
The motivation is there to work towards the goal of gender equality and make a contribution to the implementation of Gender Mainstreaming. This requires sensitivity to gender relations and (potential) discrimination structures.
2. Knowledge:
“Gender” is understood in all its complexity and fundamental findings of Women’s Studies, Men’s Studies and Gender Studies are known. Specific specialist knowledge and information on gender perspectives in the subject area or policy field in question are in place, or data gaps are identified and plugged.
3. Ability:
Gender Mainstreaming is identified as a strategy and is applied in your own work context. Gender perspectives are integrated into policy fields and related to subject areas with the aid of Gender Mainstreaming tools with the goal of implementing gender equality.

Literature and references links

Literature and Links referring grrrlzines
Aapola, Sinikka, Marina Gonick und Anita Harris (2005). Young Femininity: Girlhood, Power and Social Change. New York: Palgrave.
Carlip, Hillary (1995). Girlpower: Young Women Speak Out! New York: Warner Books.
Schilt, Kirsten. (2003-1) "A little too ironic": the appropriation and packaging of Riot Grrrl politics by mainstream female musicians. Popular Music and Society, Feb. 2003. Online: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2822/is_1_26/ai_106473999/pg_1
Schilt, Kristen (2003-2). ’I'll Resist With Every Inch and Every Breath: Girls and Zine Making as a Form of Resistance.” Youth & Society. 35 (1) 2003. 71-97.
Spencer, Amy (2005). DIY. The Rise of Lo-Fi Culture. London: Marion Boyars.
Zobl, Elke (2004-1). Persephone is Pissed! Grrrl Zine Reading, Making, and Distributing across the Globe. In: Hecate: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Women's Liberation. Hecate Press: University of Queensland, Australia. 30.2 2004, 156-174.
Zobl, Elke (2004-2). The Power of Pen Publishing: International feminist zines and distros. In: Feminist Collections: A Quarterly of Women's Studies Resources. The University of Wisconsin, USA. Vol. 26, no.1, Fall 2004, 20-24. Online: http://www.library.wisc.edu/libraries/WomensStudies/fc/FCZinesZobl.pdf
Zobl, Elke (im Druck 2007). Grrrl Zines. In: Girl Culture: An Encyclopedia. Claudia A. Mitchell and Jacqueline Reid-Walsh (Hg.). Westport: Greenwood Publishing Group.

Green, Karen und Tristan Taormino (1997) (Hg.). A Girl's Guide to Taking Over the World: Writings from the Girl Zine Revolution. New York: St. Martin’s Press.
Kearney, Mary Celeste (2006). Grrrl Zines: Exploring Identity, Transforming Girls’ Written Culture. In: Girls Make Media. New York: Routledge, S. 135-187.
Kennedy, Pagan (1995): Zine: How I Spent Six Years of My Life in the Underground and Finally ... Found Myself ... I Think. New York: St. Martin's Press.
Vale, V. (1997). ZINES! Volume One: Incendiary Interviews with Independent Publishers. San Francisco: Re/Search Publications.
Vale, V. (1999). ZINES! Volume Two. San Francisco: Re/Search Publications.

Links
Grrrl Zine Network
Annatitude Magazine, Germany
Bamboo Girl, USA
Bitch Magazine, USA
Bitchcakes Girlzine, Australia
Bunnies On Strike, The Netherland
Bust Magazine, USA
Clitrocket, Italy
Culture Slut, Canada
Cuntstunt, Austria
The Fence, Canada
Fiber, Austria
F-Word: Young UK feminism, UK
The World's First Cyberfeminist Hyperzine, Australia
Girlistic, USA
Girl On Girl Productions

hermana, Resist, USA
Hip Mama
It's not just boy's fun, Germany
Lola Press, International
Ovary Action, Norway
Pretty Ugly, Australia
Reassess Your Weapons, UK
Riot Grrrl Online
Scooter, Australia
Shebytches, Canada
Strength & Courage, Spain
Subtext Magazine, UK
Uplift!, UK
Venus Zine, USA
Women space, Canada
Yellohgirls, Philippines