Hard News by Russell Brown

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Hard News: Women and their representations

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  • Tamara,

    I was wondering why they chose Lorraine Downs for the cover. Pity they couldn’t have featured one of the 10 influential women eh? Great topic for Media7.

    New Zealand • Since Oct 2010 • 115 posts Report Reply

  • Dovil,

    Sian Elias would have been one of my picks, but that is a list to be proud of.

    Very true about women's magazines - nothing but pages and pages of ads tied in together with articles designed to set out reasons why you need to buy from said ads. It's perfect synergy.

    Since Oct 2011 • 4 posts Report Reply

  • Lilith __,

    Why only 10? I would have gone for 100 influential women!

    And why not some who are at the cutting edge now – like Vicki Buck with her biofuel company. She was recently mentioned in the Guardian’s list of 50 people who could save the planet.

    Dunedin • Since Jul 2010 • 3895 posts Report Reply

  • Lilith __,

    Gossip and beauty magazines sometimes do have worthy articles, but those are pretty much drowned out (and often, contradicted) by the tide of anxiety-inducing advertising.

    Dunedin • Since Jul 2010 • 3895 posts Report Reply

  • Steve Curtis,

    Jean Batten ? Celebrity culture wasnt just a recent invention. After the war she only made one appearance in NZ and lived as a recluse overseas- not that there is anything wrong with that

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 314 posts Report Reply

  • JacksonP, in reply to Dovil,

    Sian Elias would have been one of my picks, but that is a list to be proud of.

    I’d agree with that. Would be nice to see a few more in the arts area too. And what about our female broadcasters? Angela D'Audney, for starters.

    As Lilith said, a hundred wouldn’t take long.

    Auckland • Since Mar 2011 • 2450 posts Report Reply

  • Patrick Xavier, in reply to JacksonP,

    ... over lunch...."

    Be fair, JP.

    Since Nov 2006 • 49 posts Report Reply

  • JacksonP, in reply to Patrick Xavier,

    Be fair, JP.

    I was assuming it was a long lunch. For no good reason I must admit. ;-)

    Auckland • Since Mar 2011 • 2450 posts Report Reply

  • Hilary Stace,

    It's very much a list of the late 20th century. What about the missionary wives and the wives of politicians (like Janet Fraser) who influenced the men who were the public figures. What about Princess Te Puea and Elsie Locke? What about those who shape the literary imagination of NZ's children such as Margaret Mahy, Linley Dodd and Beverley Randall?

    Wgtn • Since Jun 2008 • 3229 posts Report Reply

  • Lilith __,

    Well, if you decide to pick 10 politicians, 10 writers, 10 artists, 10 musical performers, 10 scientists, 10 sportspeople, 10 businesspeople, 10 actresses, 10 community leaders and 10 other notables...there's 100 right there. Not a time-consuming exercise! I reckon I could do that over lunch with a couple of buddies easily. Only time would be arguing who to include and who not to!

    Dunedin • Since Jul 2010 • 3895 posts Report Reply

  • Sacha, in reply to Lilith __,

    .. then take that further by approaching those still alive about making themselves available for expert panels for TV shows/conferences and suchlike (as discussed).

    Ak • Since May 2008 • 19745 posts Report Reply

  • Jackie Clark,

    Yikes. There’s more: a similar survey by the magazine earlier in the year found that 86% of women think about their weight every day.

    This isn't news to any woman. The words "weight loss" are so ingrained in our culture. Every one talks about losing weight, and even when women are strong feminists, fantastic mothers, admirable employers/ees - yes, they still talk about the parts of their bodies they hate. Now that's a discussion I'd like to see. How the MSM actively engages in feeding womens' hate of, and disconnection from, their own bodies.

    Mt Eden, Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 3136 posts Report Reply

  • JacksonP,

    TV, radio, not actresses.

    Angela D'Audney
    Judy Bailey
    Carol Hirschfeld
    Kim Hill
    Melanie Reid
    Anita McNaught
    Karyn Hay
    Cathy Campbell

    I got to 8. And I haven't even had lunch yet. (timezone trick)

    Auckland • Since Mar 2011 • 2450 posts Report Reply

  • Lilith __, in reply to JacksonP,

    Yeah, I realised I'd left out journalists and broadcasters. Maybe we'd better make it 110, or 120! Interesting to note Sylvia Cartwright made the WW top 10 but not Sandra Coney.

    Dunedin • Since Jul 2010 • 3895 posts Report Reply

  • Lilith __,

    Oh, and 10 lawyers and judges!
    130.

    Dunedin • Since Jul 2010 • 3895 posts Report Reply

  • Jackie Clark, in reply to Lilith __,

    I'd say Sandra Coney changed the medical game completely.

    Mt Eden, Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 3136 posts Report Reply

  • Russell Brown, in reply to JacksonP,

    I got to 8. And I haven’t even had lunch yet. (timezone trick)

    You left out the greatest of them all: the amazing Shirley Maddock, who produced the first NZ TV documentaries --- and made the bloody tea.

    Also: she's Jolisa's late mother-in-law. Jolisa will complete Shirley's unfinished memoir one day ...

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

  • Lilith __,

    Who remembers that bumper sticker from the 1980s, "Girls Can Do Anything!" ?

    I remember Dale Spender saying that it should be, "Girls Have Done Everything!”


    This is why I’d rather have a long list: because high achievement isn’t some freakish thing. All kids should be aspiring to it.

    Dunedin • Since Jul 2010 • 3895 posts Report Reply

  • Jackie Clark, in reply to Russell Brown,

    And she was an alumni of my old school, Marsden. She came and spoke to us once about her work. As did another alumni, Shirley Tonkin, who should also appear on a list somewhere.

    Mt Eden, Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 3136 posts Report Reply

  • Graham Dunster,

    Ummm... it's 11, not 10 unless the Topp Twins have been recently co-joined.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2009 • 184 posts Report Reply

  • chris, in reply to Jackie Clark,

    The words “weight loss” are so ingrained in our culture. Every one talks about losing weight,

    It's horrifying the way this ideal pervades, I got so self conscious I had to stop reading Graeme Tuckett's reviews:

    "flabby-minded thinking of the worst kind".

    some flabby direction and uncommitted support work

    The twists are flabby and often pointless

    Some names I'd have liked to have seen: Norma McCulloch, Frances Hodgkins, Robin Hyde and Keri Hulme. I'm pleased Georgina Beyer was involved, and yes to Margaret Mahy Hillary!

    Mawkland • Since Jan 2010 • 1302 posts Report Reply

  • Russell Brown, in reply to Graham Dunster,

    Ummm… it’s 11, not 10 unless the Topp Twins have been recently co-joined.

    Yes. They note that in the mag.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

  • Russell Brown, in reply to Jackie Clark,

    Now that’s a discussion I’d like to see. How the MSM actively engages in feeding womens’ hate of, and disconnection from, their own bodies.

    The thing is, of course, that most of that happens in the so-called "women's magazines", which are universally edited by women, almost always overseen by women publishers, and purchased in huge numbers by women.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

  • Lilith __,

    Awesome celebrity profile headline. Punctuation does matter!

    Dunedin • Since Jul 2010 • 3895 posts Report Reply

  • Deborah,

    A lot of the body policing also happens in movies and on TV, where only certain types of bodies get shown.

    I think that there’s something to be said about the kyriarchy (patterns of lordship and dominance that structure our societies i.e. roughly the patriarchy, but using a term that acknowledges the interweaving patterns of dominance – class, sex, gender, sexuality, race, ability/disability – rather than focusing on just one aspect of dominance). Kyriarchy is pervaisve, and hard to escape, and we’re soaking in it. I don’t buy “women’s magazines” for precisely the reason that they are full of body-policing (breaking down the kyriarchy, one step at a time), but it really pisses me off when the “lifestyle” section in my daily newspaper starts in on the body policing as well.

    New Lynn • Since Nov 2006 • 1447 posts Report Reply

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