Unit-3 GENDER IN MEDIA AND MARKET

Media play important roles in society. They report on current events, provide frameworks for interpretation, mobilize
citizens with regard to various issues, reproduce predominant culture and society, and entertain. As such, the media can
be an important factor in the promotion of gender equality, both within the working environment (in terms of
employment and promotion of female staff at all levels) and in the representation of women and men (in terms of fair
gender portrayal and the use of neutral and non-gender specific language).
Participation and influence of women in the media Studies have found that although the number of women working in
the media has been increasing globally, the top positions (producers, executives, chief editors and publishers) are still
very male dominated (White, 2009). This disparity is particularly evident in Africa, where cultural impediments to
women fulfilling the role of journalist remain (e.g. travelling away from home, evening work and covering issues such as
politics and sports which are considered to fall within the masculine domain) (Myers, 2009). The Global Media
Monitoring Project (GMMP) reports that throughout the world, female journalists are more likely to be assigned ‘soft’
subjects such as family, lifestyle, fashion and arts. The ‘hard’ news, politics and the economy, is much less likely to be
written or covered by women.
The level of participation and influence of women in the media also has implications for media content: female media
professionals are more likely to reflect other women’s needs and perspectives than their male colleagues. It is important
to acknowledge, however, that not all women working in the media will be gender aware and prone to cover women’s
needs and perspectives; and it is not impossible for men to effectively cover gender issues. Recent research from 18
disparate countries shows that male and female journalists’ attitudes do not differ significantly (Hanitzsch & Hanusch,
2012).
Media content and portrayal of men and women in the media Fair gender portrayal in the media should be a
professional and ethical aspiration, similar to respect for accuracy, fairness and honesty (White, 2009). Yet, unbalanced
gender portrayal is widespread. The Global Media Monitoring Project finds that women are more likely than men to be
featured as victims in news stories and to be identified according to family status. Women are also far less likely than
men to be featured in the world’s news headlines, and to be relied upon as ‘spokespeople’ or as ‘experts’. Certain
categories of women, such as the poor, older women, or those belonging to ethnic minorities, are even less visible.
Stereotypes are also prevalent in every day media. Women are often portrayed solely as homemakers and careers of
the family, dependent on men, or as objects of male attention. Stories by female reporters are more likely to challenge
stereotypes than those filed by male reporters (Gallagher et al., 2010). As such, there is a link between the participation
of women in the media and improvements in the representation of women.
Participatory community media Participatory community media initiatives aimed at increasing the involvement of
women in the media perceive women as producers and contributors of media content and not solely as
‘consumers’(Pavarala, Malik, and Cheeli, 2006). Such initiatives encourage the involvement of women in technical,
decision-making, and agenda-setting activities. They have the potential to develop the capacities of women as
sociopolitical actors. They also have the potential to promote a balanced and non-stereotyped portrayal of women in
the media and to challenge the status quo. In Fiji, women who took part in a participatory video project presented
themselves as active citizens who made significant contributions to their families and communities. These recorded
images improved the status of women in the minds of government bureaucrats.
There are limitations to participatory community initiatives, however. If unaccompanied by changes in structural
conditions, participation may not be sufficient to foster substantive social change. Baú (2009) explains that the
establishment of a women’s radio station (run and managed by women) in Afghanistan faced constraints in that women
engaged in self-censorship in order to avoid criticism from local male political and religious leaders.
Changing attitudes and behavior Communication for Development (C4D) The approach to Communication for
Development (C4D) has evolved over the years. Initially developed after World War II as a tool for diffusion of ideas,
communication initiatives primarily involved a one-way transmission of information from the sender to the receiver.
This includes large scale media campaigns, social marketing, dissemination of printed materials, and ‘education
entertainment’. Since then, C4D has broadened to incorporate interpersonal communication: face to- face
communication that can either be one-on-one or in small groups. This came alongside the general push for more
participatory approaches to development and greater representation of voices from the South. The belief is that while
mass media allows for the learning of new ideas, interpersonal networks encourage the shift from knowledge to
continued practice.

SOCIO-LEGAL DIMENSIONS OF THIRD GENDER The condition of the third gender across the world varies as different
parts of the world practice different cultures and to follow different norms and traditions. The present scenario of the
lives of the people of this community is unacceptable and in some cases pitiable but again there are a few countries that
are moving towards providing them with equal status and recognition in the society for proper and dignified survival.
The paper shall discuss the conditions of these people in various countries and this particular section will be mainly
dealing with two important countries, namely, Germany and Thailand.
As it can be stated, in order to know how to solve a certain problem a community faces, you must know what the
position of the community in society is. In this section, we will try to address how the third gender is across various
societies and also in different spheres of society like education and sports.
Australia Australia, one of the most advanced and liberal countries in the world have attempted to integrate the third
gender with society by giving them legal recognition. The government has taken many steps in the last decade in order
to give them more recognition in society. One of the first steps Australia took was in January 2003, Australians can use
“X” as their gender in many government documents, including the passport and birth certificate. Alex MacFarlane is
believed to be the first person in Australia to obtain a birth certificate recording sex as indeterminate, and the first
Australian passport with an ‘X’ sex marker in 20031 which was issued by the state of Victoria and the Australia passport
office respectively. Regarding issuing passports to people belonging to the third gender has been in a progressive
evolution in Australian law. Firstly, Government policy towards issuing passports between 2003 and 2011 was to issue
passports with an ‘X’ marker only to people who could “present a birth certificate that notes their sex as
indeterminate”.
After this, In 2011, the Australian Passport Office introduced new guidelines for issuing of passports with a new gender,
and broadened availability of an X descriptor to all individuals with documented “indeterminate” sex. The revised policy
stated that “sex reassignment surgery is not a prerequisite to issue a passport in a new gender. Birth or citizenship
certificates do not need to be amended
India When speaking about the third gender with regard to India, we see there is a unique position here. Here is a
society that has accepted the third gender, or Hijra’s as they are commonly called in mainstream society. People here
have thought of Hijra’s as normal and it has gone upto the extent where some people consider them as sacred. The
Indian position becomes unique as compared to the rest of the world whereby although society has accepted the third
gender, for a long time, there was no legislation which recognized them unlike in most other cultures. Due to this Hijra
social movements have campaigned for recognition as a third sex5. Due to this increasing demand, in 2005, Indian
passport application forms were updated with three gender options: M, F, and E (for male, female, and eunuch,
respectively).6Furthermore, In November 2009,with the intention of ensuring further recognition for the third gender
India agreed to list eunuchs and transgender people as “others”, distinct from males and females, in voting rolls and
voter identity cards. These steps are some of the ways in which the Indian government has tried to integrate The Third
gender in Indian society but this has not been a complete success as there is still a section of society who fail to
understand the third gender which leads to discrimination. Some people fail to understand them as they fail to
recognize them as a separate gender and instead think of them of them of either being a male or a female. Many
activists and people belonging to the third gender feel that this is the main reason for discrimination.
Germany Germany has seldom been criticized for its approach towards the LGBT community as the country takes pride
in itself as it believes its people to be tolerant, open-minded, easy-going and progressive. However, its attitude towards
the intersex population or the third gender earned them a lot of appreciation and respect. On the first of November,
2013, Germany became the first European country-and the first country in the world as well-to allow the parents of
babies without “clear gender-determining physical characteristics” to register them not as male or female, but to
choose a third blank box instead7. This new policy of the country was initiated as it became important to address the
ethical issues that were raised when the parents of the children born with indeterminate sex were asked to choose
whether they wanted their child to be male or female within a week of the birth of the child so as to get them registered
at the registry office called the standesmat. This so-called disorder was then “rectified” through surgical procedures
which resulted in the baby being forced into operations in the genital area and these decisions were in most cases made
in a state of panic and haste by the parents due to the deadlines. In recent years, this problem was understood by the
public and many of those who had undergo these ‘normalizing’ procedures felt cheated and disrespected. They said that
they felt as though they had been subjected to mutilation at the whims and fancies of others and that they would never
have agreed to undertake any such surgery as adults. Since the beginning of this policy, German parents of ‘intersex’
children are able to choose to avoid choosing. Alongside the categories of ‘M and ‘F’, is a new category: ‘X’.

The Third Gender and Education First we need to look at the level of education given in school regarding the third
gender and secondly, the level of education being provided to the third gender.
We see that in most societies if not all there is very little education being provided to students about the third gender,
even if provided portrays them in a negative sense. Students are not told that it is a biological effect and are rather told
that is more of an abnormality. This can be stated as one of the main causes for discrimination against the third gender.
Most curriculums across the globe don’t even mention anything about the third gender. One of the reasons for this
might be the fact that the needs for recognizing third gender has not gained necessary political attention like the
problems of other communities like the gay community where people are now being about them and the need to
accept them into society like normal people from a very young age. There is need for both governments and people to
recognize that the third gender is an important section of society and the need to be educated about them should be
thought of seriously. This is now slowly being recognized by governments. The Nepal government recently in their
recommendations recommended the following all staffs should be educated about gender and sexual minorities, and
prevalent terms in the areas where they work.
Coming to the second issue, there has been a lot of discrimination regarding education for the third gender. In Most
societies, both east and west, there has been a huge discrimination against the third gender in the field of education.
Many educational institutions hesitate to give seats to the people belonging to the third gender for reasons such as
“other students feeling uncomfortable etc.” Such discrimination is not beneficial for any society where a certain section
of society is discriminated against in the field of education. Many people feel that this is an important reason for such
despicable living conditions for people in the third gender. This need for ensuring education for the third gender was
first recognized by Bangladesh November 11 2011 where the government made a pioneering move in extending official
government recognition to people who identify as Hijra or the Third Gender. Recognition means the extension of several
state benefits to hijra communities, including priority access to education12. Although this is a small step in a small
country, it gives us a hope that more countries might follow the example of Bangladesh thus ensuring proper education
for the third gender.

Unit 4 Emerging Trends with Respect to LGBT Community 6th of September 2018 was not an ordinary day. Something
momentous happened on the day that “blew a life of “constitutionality” in the dead members of the LGBTQIA+
community, who have been subjected to centuries of mind-numbing toil. What marked the day special for the LGBT+
community was that the Supreme Court of India delivered a historical verdict decriminalising homosexuality by partially
striking down Section 377 of IPC.
The LGBT community all across the country erupted in the jubilant celebration enjoying their victory against the 200-
year-old British-era law that criminalised same-sex relationship. The significance of this whole judgement can be
surmised in the light of the statement made by Justice Indu Malhotra while reading her 50-page verdict that “History
owes an apology to the members of this community and their families, for the delay in providing redressal for the
ignominy and ostracism that they have suffered through the centuries”
So essentially speaking, the same-sex couples now have the legal right to cohabit and conduct their personal affairs
without any fear of persecution but are still denied equality of treatment in various aspects. Thus, it is imperative to
take the conversation forward and talk about the various laws that continue to discriminate against the LGBT+ persons.
It includes antidiscriminatory laws such as no recognition of same-sex marriages, no rights for adoption, surrogacy etc.
Evolution of LGBT Rights Section 377 of IPC which criminalised all kinds of non-procreative sexual intercourse was
enacted in the pre-independence era by the British colonial Government. The despotic law was not only directed against
the homosexuals but also covered all other forms of nontraditional sexual intercourse even in the course of
heterosexual union. So this law was nothing but a residue of the orthodox Victorian morality which had no place in a
democratic country like India./ However, it took more than 70 years and almost 2 decades of the long legal battle to
scrape down this old age law that had become a weapon to harass and exploit all those who didn’t conform with the
traditional binary of sexuality and gender. But before proceeding to understand how the current laws in India, even
after the scrapping of Section 377, are insufficient in securing basic human rights to the LGBT+ community in India. Let
us first trace back the history of the LGBT rights movement in India, discussing some landmark Judgements and their
impact on the LGBT Rights movement to have a comprehensive discussion further. /Though the beginning of the LGBT
rights movement can be traced back to the early 1990s but all the major developments that happened since then can be
discussed in the reference of the following key judgements and their aftermath.
Naz Foundation Govt. v. NCT of Delhi Background: In July 2001, eager to press charges under Section 377 of IPC,
Lucknow police raided a park and detained a few men on the suspicion of them being homosexuals./ The police also
arrested nine more men associated with “ Bharosa Trust”, an NGO which was working to create awareness amongst
people about safe sexual practices and STD’s. These people were then accused of running a sex racket and were denied
bail. It was then that The Lawyers Collective, a legal aid organisation, came forward and established that the charges
pressed against these people were false and finally they were released./ After the Lucknow incident, an NGO Naz
Foundation along with Lawyers Collective went ahead and filed a petition before the Delhi High Court in 2001
challenging the constitutional validity of Section 377 of IPC. /Arguments: The petitioner argued that Section 377 of IPC
violated the fundamental right to life and liberty, right to privacy and dignity, right to health, right to equality and
freedom of expression. It was also submitted that the law undermined the public health efforts that aimed at reducing
the risk of transmission of HIV/AIDS, as the fear of prosecution under the Section prevented people from talking openly
about sexuality and lifestyle./ Judgement: Finally, In 2009 in the case of Naz Foundation Govt. v. NCT of Delhi, the High
Court of Delhi held that Section 377 of IPC imposed an unreasonable restriction over two adults engaging in consensual
intercourse in private. Thus, it was in direct violation of their basic fundamental rights enshrined under Articles 14,15,19
and 21 of the Indian Constitution.
Suresh Kumar KoushalvsNaz Foundation Background: Various Individuals and faith-based groups vehemently rejected
the idea of decriminalizing homosexual relationships, in light of India’s rich history bathed in ethics and tradition. They
further appealed before the Supreme Court of India to reconsider the constitutionality of Section 377./ Judgment:
When the community, after eight years of a long battle, was just letting out a sigh of relief, the Supreme Court on 11th
December 2013, overturned the judgment of the Delhi High Court and re-criminalised homosexuality. A bench of Justice
GS Singhvi and Justice SJ Mukhopadhaya Court held that LGBT+ persons constituted a ‘minuscule minority’ and
therefore did not deserve constitutional protection and further observed that Section 377 of IPC did not suffer from the
vice of unconstitutionality. /Aftermath: But the silver lining was that the Suresh Kumar Koushal V. Naz Foundation
judgement, instead of putting a halt on the LGBT movement has rather rekindled a new wave of activism in India. The
Supreme Court’s iconoclastic judgement faced immense criticism from every nook and corner for erasing basic human
rights of homosexuals. The result was that public discourse about LGBT rights witnessed an upsurge in India.
Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2019 Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2019 was enacted
with an objective to protect the rights of the Transgender Community by prohibiting discrimination against them with
regards to employment, education. healthcare, access to government or private establishments. But in the name of
empowering the community, the bill further exposes them to institutional oppression and dehumanises their body and
identity. /The trans community in India has vehemently rejected the bill citing following provisions of the bill as they
infringe their fundamental rights and do not comply with the NALSA judgement. /The bill snatches from an individual
the right to determine his/her sexual orientation which is an integral component of the right to privacy as pronounced
in the NALSA judgement. As per the bill, the change of gender identity in documents can only be done after proof of sex
reassignment surgery which must be certified by the District Magistrate. This takes away from the Trans community the
basic human right of autonomy and privacy and further exposes them to harassment in the hands of authorities./
Another discriminatory aspect of the bill is that the punishment prescribed in the case of ‘ Sexual abuse against
Transgender’ is only of two years while a similar kind of offence if, happened against women attracts a serious
punishment extending up to 7 years. Thus, stipulating different levels of punishments for the same nature of crime only
on the basis of gender identity is inherently discriminatory, arbitrary and against the equal protection clause.

The way forward After having such a comprehensive discussion about the evolution of the LGBT rights movement in
India and understanding the relevance of various judicial pronouncements, we are in a position to proceed towards the
understanding of how these judgments will shape the future of the LGBT rights movement in India. /Therefore it
becomes important to consider here that the significance of the NALSA judgement and Navtej Singh Joharjudgement is
not only limited to the recognition of third gender identity and decriminalisation homosexuality. But these judgements
are also progressive because apart from deciding upon the issue in hand, they even laid down the basic groundwork to
confer a host of other civil rights which were earlier not available to the LGBT community but are ordinarily enjoyed by
the heterosexual persons and cisgender persons./ It is submitted that although the landmark 2018 court ruling and 2014
NALSA judgment were a huge leap in the advancement of LGBT+ rights movements in India. But still, the LGBT people in
India are not equal and don’t have the same rights as those available to a heterosexual person. Further, they are still
subjected to violence, discrimination in all spheres of life.