Only a third of young women voted at the 2001 general election. Recent research by the Electoral Commission into gender and political participation concluded that there is now an ‘activism gap’ between women and men – women, it said, are ‘less likely than men to participate in campaign-orientated activities’. This is especially acute in young women.
Commentators, academics and think-tanks are busy trying to explain this phenomenon. One reason given for the activism gap is the lack of representation of women in political institutions. There are only 119 female MPs to 540 male MPs – a startling figure. In response, political parties are trying to do more to reach out to women, and within the Labour party this is now a clear priority.
However, one explanation rarely explored is how the media’s portrayal of women affects their political participation. A wide-ranging discussion of the media’s handling of ‘women’s issues’ is essential if any of us are serious about trying to re-engage young women in politics.
This should not be an attempt to conveniently blame everything on tabloid journalists. However, it is does feel like today’s media portray women as strange creatures who have used their new-found liberation to ape men at their worst. This is undoubtedly true – especially in the tabloids – of stories about women and alcohol. There is a barrage of disproportionate criticism of female social drinkers. Barely a week goes by without headlines screaming about the ‘loutish’, ‘aggressive’ or ‘irresponsible’ behaviour of women who are often doing nothing more than celebrating after work. Where are the stories about drunken men? Women are made to feel that it is only they who are in the wrong, and that they should – and will – be judged by different standards. Statistically, it’s men – not women – who are most likely to become violent under the influence of drink, and yet it’s women who incur such moral wrath.
The same is true of the media’s handling of abortion and sexual diseases. Women are too often blamed on their own, despite the fact that men are also responsible. Tabloid stories decry the rise in abortions among young women and accuse them of using abortion as a new morning-after pill, suggesting that their ‘careers’ have turned them into cold, childless monsters or, most commonly, that women in the 21st century are sexually – and therefore morally – irresponsible. Few column inches are given to the men in these stories and little thought is given to the sensitivities of abortion being discussed in such an absolute way. Similarly, recent discussions of the rise in sexually transmitted infections have focused on ‘promiscuous young women’, with several commentators talking about ‘loose women’ as if was an accepted sociological term.
Of course, this phenomenon is not new. At a recent Progress seminar, David Aaronovitch expressed his astonishment that the Daily Mail is so popular among women when so much of it features articles criticising and lambasting women. Readers could be forgiven for being confused when the paper follows a picture of a female celebrity on page four who they accuse of being ‘overweight’ with another article on page nine lamenting the rise of anorexia in young women. Nor should be we shocked when considering the media’s attitude towards young single mothers, which has ranged from pity to condemnation over the years. Indeed, today it is mothers with careers who are the target for much of the media’s indignation – how many times have we seen reports detailing how children and society are damaged by mothers who work?
It is the media’s obsession with vilifying women that is partly responsible for women’s disengagement from politics. Scare stories heap guilt and blame on women who are doing nothing more than living their lives. The constant press harangue results in women feeling isolated from parts of society, believing that they are perceived as the creators of many of society’s current ills. Is it then a surprise when young women decide to opt out of debates on these issues, considering the way in which so many of them are framed?
The challenge for politicians is to create a safe space for women to be able to engage in debates about issues that affect their lives. And this requires our elected representatives to rise above the media’s blame game, and even tackle their prejudices head on. Let’s hope they do so before we approach the next general election with even more young women deciding that political engagement isn’t for them because they are constantly castigated by the media.