PREJUDICED

In Fuenlabrado and Madrid, you will notice that half of the stick figures and road signs at pedestrian crossings and traffic lights are now wearing skirts!!

It is said that these images around us can shape our attitudes and that our discriminatory attitudes must change. They are not the only ones who believe this. In other countries like Austria and cities like Atlanta in the U.S.A., the street signs are changing too. In the Austrian capital, half of the baby changing signs now shows a pictogram of a man changing a baby.

It is believed that this is part of a campaign against gender-based stereotypes and sex prejudice.

Some people think that these changes won’t really make a difference if the biggest myth-making machine (the media and society) continues to reinforce gender stereotypes.

Adverts usually present women only as a ‘decorative object’ to sell items for the household; on the other hand, men figures are rarely shown doing housework.

Indeed, an analysis of a teen magazine for girls recently revealed that 46% of the pictures and content were about appearance. By contrast, the same study proved that many magazines show boys as ambitious, successful and competitive. Boys are encouraged to achieve whatever they want, while girls are told that –in order to be successful- they must look good all the time.

It is thought that if this difference doesn’t change, stereotypes will persist. However, if we look back to the treatment of men and women by the media fifty years ago, it’s CLEAR that progress has been made. Gender equality has a lot to do with the way we transmit information…and signs just do that.

In Argentina, we have progressed in certain aspects: we now have a law that reinforces the possibility of getting help in case a woman has problems getting pregnant; we have given homosexuals the right to marry who they love; we even have risen together as citizens to ask for special protection towards women harassed by their husbands or boyfriends, trying to stop the unrestrained murder of females.

Nevertheless, every time we turn on the T.V. and watch the news, we learn that things did not change and are even getting worse.

The first step is the recognition of men and women EQUALITY. A way to show this is, as we have stated, through public images and signs.

Will we ever adopt this idea too?

Sorrentino, Cáceres and Carreño – 3rd Year

REALITY SHOWS

When we talk about reality shows, we often think about people exposing their lives and letting everyone know what they think and feel. We often relate it to the first reality that was shown here: Big Brother.

But, was it really the first one? The only one? Can we consider 'Showmatch' a reality show? What about MasterChef? 

What makes a reality show what it is? How does this kind of entertainment affect young people and teenagers?

Big Brother

This is one of the most popular reality shows. It is a franchise created by Jon de Mol and was originally based on a tv programme from The Netherlands. The premise of the show is that there is a group of people, dubbed as 'house mates' or 'house guests', living together in a specially constructed large house. During their time in the house they are isolated from the outside world and are not aware of outside events or have access to any electronic devices. Contestants are continuously monitored by television cameras as well as personal audio microphones during their entire stay.

The show gained such popularity that it started to expand overseas. Today, we can turn on the tv and watch our own Big Brother; this was what gave us the idea of writing this article. 

The goal of the show is to portray different people, with deep personal stories. Among this year's participants we can find a gay man, a womanizer, a raped woman, an engineer, a transexual woman, a boxer and a cumbia singer, among others. 

Big Brother 2015 - Argentina

The participants are young people, they share the ambition of winning the general prize and during the process they win fame, money and followers.

The goal is to avoid fiction. Reality shows that are based on this concept, are undoubtedly the most discussed ones and are in the eye of the media because they represent the invasion of the private lives of those portrayed in the show.

But, is it a good thing to turn on the tv and watch someone else's life live? What do we learn from this? Is this constructive? 

One of the reasons why people are against reality shows is the extreme exposition. Media should keep a balance between portraying people's lives and their rights. They must respect people's privacy and freedom, which is not done when taking part in a reality show. 

A blogger, Lucy Maher, wrote the following about the issue:

Parents need to know that the contestants on this voyeuristic reality show are 14 adults who live together in a house. Their close proximity leads to various iffy situations, including excessive drinking and hooking up. What's more, the contestants manipulate each other (lying, flirting, etc.) to get a leg up on their opponent.

We agree with Lucy. 

We think that reality shows are a bad influence to teenagers and younger generations. Big Brother is clearly among the worst of them since it displays an unnnecessary amount of explicit content, having their participants, both men and women, exposing themselves with nudity and live sex. This phenomenon does not end there, it gets worse when they show their 'inhabitants' consuming alcohol and drugs like it's a socially accepted trait. 

Our culture has been invaded by this kind of shows. Does this mean the decadence of good tv has finally started? Is this the ONLY thing we will be forced to watch in the future? 

It depends on every person, to support these formats or not. But it's in our hands, we have the power: we can choose not to watch it, lowering the so call 'rating' battle and asking -silently- for a change. 

Luna Méndez, Agustina Varela, Thomas Lepera, Jonathan Meneses and Facundo Guajardo - 3rd Year.-