by Khrista Davis
De Montfort University held a research-based talk yesterday(MonFEB17) which aimed to re- represent cover girls and showcase the misrepresentation of women in magazines.
Sponsored by the Association of Journalism Education and the British Academy, Senior Lecturer in journalism at University of Derby, Dr Ivana Ebel, and journalist and media researcher, Dr Gabrielle Bittelbrun, orchestrated the talk with their credible research and admirable dedication to the misrepresentation of women in Brazil and the UK, which is far beyond a black and white problem.
Dr Ebel said: “What we do in this talk is just try to show how bad the ‘old magazines’ are doing”.
Magazines such as UK, The Lady and Brazilian, Claudia, highlighted issues from the lack of sexuality to disabled women in magazines alongside noticeable race inequality.
She added: “I believe the future will be bright for women because the students who are studying journalism now will make a difference.
“I think there will be a shift, but it doesn’t mean that the change cannot start happening now.”
Both women are still researching and taking feedback from audiences from every talk for solutions to move forward.
Dr Bittelbrun added: “I think it’s very important to have this conscience of misrepresented women because we can start to question it and try to change the system.
“Maybe by questioning it we may have more power by not buying those magazines and looking for other ways to feel more represented.”
The future goal is to impact the media practitioners to promote changes.
