SABC 2 7de Laan 17/01/2019

ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION
Name of monitor: Your name Mpho Pitsi
Name of Television station: Channel where you are getting the scene 7de Laan
Name of programme: Name of News programme SABC 2
Date of broadcast: Date when the news item was broadcast 17 January 2019
Time: Time of broadcast 18h00 – 18h30
Genre: Type of programme
Drama series Continuous Drama Series
Theme: Which topic category is this? List all the topics that relate to this scene SOGI
GBV focus explicit or implicit? Please ensure that the examples you chose either explicitly or implicitly concern GBV Explicit
Gem Classification: Gender and Media Classification
Gender Aware
Gender Blind
Subtle stereotypes
Blatant stereotypes Gender Aware
Provide a link: Link to where this scene can be accessed https://youtu.be/eP1pvcRMk-s
6:38 – 8:06
If no link provide the artefact upload on drobox

Brief description of scene:

Emile approaches Connie about money he owes her after she used him and offended him by forcing him to crossdress when he did not want to. She assumed that all gay men crossdress and tries to apologise for her damaging assumptions and manipulative behavior.

Context
Connie is suffering from low self-esteem and is treating the people around her badly because she suffered an injury on her face. She coerced Emile into dressing up as a woman and going on a date with a man. She assumed this would not make him uncomfortable as she was motivated by an assumption that all gay men like to wear women’s clothing.

Why it has been given this GEM classification: Connie clearly doesn’t understand the difference between a gay person and a cross- dresser, she thinks that being gay is default for cross dressing. Not all gay men like to wear women’s clothing. Connie’s problematic assumption is addressed and she apologises profusely for her damaging and coercive behavior towards Emile. Thus, the scene can be considered gender aware.

Focus: Discrimination against the LGBTQI+ community is the focus of this scene. Connie manipulated Emile into dressing up as a woman and going on a date with a man because she believed that as a gay man, he would be comfortable with this. This is an incredibly problematic and coercive thing to do and Connie’s belief is motivated by stereotypes that are harmful to the LGBTQI+ community as this stereotype homogenizes gay men.

People in the programming. Both women and men speak in the scene. There is a reasonable balance between male and females. Connie apologises for her treatment of Emile and seems to recognise that her assumptions were problematic and harmful.

Language. Connie’s misunderstanding is harmful to the LGBTQI+ community as she makes assumptions about Emile’s sexuality and gender expression that are incorrect. She does attempt to apologize but her apology is more focused on her own struggle than on Emile, the man she coerced and exploited. The language could have been more sensitive and shown the extent to which Emile was harmed.

Visuals. The women and men portrayed with dignity in the visuals. The images (video footage on television convey stereotypes for example, in a separate scene, same episode, Emilie is seen wearing a wig and make-up posing as a woman called Emily. ‘She’ is on a date with Willem. This is a misrepresentation of Emile’s gender expression based on harmful stereotypes.

Angles and perspective: Connie’s voice and viewpoint is heard in this scene. It is the predominate voice in the scene. There is no reasonable balance of viewpoints presented in this scene. Emilie’s voice is present but not heard by Connie. If she hears him out, then she will realise that he is uncomfortable with dressing up as a woman. This scene tells us that being a victim of violence does not give you the right to abuse others.

Intersectionality: Patterns of oppression are reinforced when Connie uses her status quo to abuse Emilie who is desperate for a job because he is homeless. Intersectionality is addressed well here. Intersectionality is more tolerated than understood in this scene. Emilie’s gender identity is misunderstood, and he is abused because of his sexual orientation.

Conclusion:

Connie’s blatant abuse of power based on harmful misconceptions about gay men was unacceptable. 7de Laan attempted to rectify this in Connie’s apology and thus the scene can be considered gender aware. However 7de Laan could have used this opportunity to further explore common misconceptions about sexuality and gender expression and the harm that these misconceptions can do to people’s identities.