Too often, numbers seem to dominate conversation in Singapore. From birth rates and population papers to exam scores and salaries, we seem obsessed as a nation, with things that can be counted: How much do you make? How much does it cost? How much can I save? How many kids? How much time? How near how far how long how old how well how much?

Feminist discourse has long opined the models and methods of traditional economics and its exclusion of gender, power dynamics and non-market activity from its considerations: History has often rendered the work of women – domestic, professional and creative- invisible or without value.

It’s quite clear that in life and on record, what counts is not always counted.

What matters to you? To what do you attribute value? What is that one precious thing that transcends this culture so focused on figure and fact? By what rules do you measure your success?

What Counts? is a literary event organised by AWARE Singapore and Etiquette SG in conjunction with International Women’s Day 2013. And we would like you to be part of it!

1. Open Call // WORDS
We’re looking for emerging, established and closet women writers to fill three more reading slots at our event. If you believe in the cause of gender equality and would like to be part of this event, send us something in any genre, based on the above synopsis by 28 Feb 2013. We’ll let you know by 04 Mar 2013 whether your submission has been successful. Please send up to three pieces in doc. format to both exhibitingetiquette@gmail.com and kokila@aware.org.sg . Please title your e-mail "WhatCounts WordSub: (YOUR NAME)”

2. Open Call // PICTURES
Sick of other people telling you what matters and what doesn’t? Take a picture of yourself with something that matters to you and tell us why you picked it! We are hoping to compile a series of images by 8 Mar 2013 for the purpose of a collective montage that will let the world know what you thinks counts and why. Please send a single jpeg file to both exhibitingetiquette@gmail.com and kokila@aware.org.sg with your explanation in the body of the mail.   Please title your e-mail “WhatCounts ImageSub: (YOUR NAME)”

Please note that content that is offensive, racist, sexist, xenophobic, homophobic or not submitted in good faith will not be entertained. We aim to create a safe, positive environment for the event.


And of course, please free your calendars for the above event!
Friday, 15th March 2013, 7.30pm


YAY!
 

In 2011, Jennifer Siebel Newsom's Miss Representation revealed a barrage of cold, hard, shocking statistics regarding representations of women in the mainstream media. Uncovering the sexism underlying portrayals of women and girls, and how these representations maintain status quos, Miss Representation has evolved from a film into a full-fledged movement.  Fikri Alkhatib discusses her experiences of watching the film and the ways in which she curbs herself from perpetuating sexism on a day-to-day basis.
 

Did you know that in the US, women hold only 3% of clout positions in the mainstream media? This means that 97% of the decisions being made about what we're exposed to every day, in the form of music, TV, etc., are made by men for an audience that's 51% female – and one that is disproportionately young and impressionable.

"In one week American teenagers spend 31 hours watching TV, 17 hours listening to music, 3 hours watching movies, 4 hours reading magazines, 10 hours online. That’s 10 hours and 45 minutes of media consumption a day."

Singapore-specific statistics are harder to come by, but how's this for a start? That is where Miss Representation comes in: a documentary by Jennifer Siebel Newson about how, in the words of Margaret Cho, "the media treats women like shit."

Featuring a wide panel of influential female voices from Condoleezza Rice to Katie Couric, the documentary was equal parts informative, shocking, and painful. Informative because I found it well put together (albeit still an unfortunate victim of the tragically popular "white person has baby, wants to make world better for baby" frame narrative); shocking because it was made eminently clear that things are not good and not getting better; and painful because I related personally to a lot of it as a member of that younger generation who grew up with this particular breed of misogynistic, dehumanising media influence.

There's lots more to be explored in this intersection between media and feminism, starting with, importantly, discourse that goes beyond the constraints of US media. It's important to think about the question of "what else?" but in pondering what I personally feel could be done about all this, I decided I wanted an answer to "what now?" instead. So I've gone back to three pretty fundamental things I find make a real difference in my own world and could do the same for you:

1. Reflect on the ways you accept or perpetuate sexism.

We more or less accept as a Tragic Fact of Life that men are socialised to hate women. What we find harder to acknowledge or come to terms with is that women are also socialised to hate women. This happens to all of us, me included, which is why I believe in questioning the assumptions we may not always know we hold.

There is an easy way to start doing this: genderswap everything you see in the media in your head, including advertising. Actually, especially advertising.

Think of it both ways: would a woman be portrayed the way this man is? (Sometimes the answer is yes.) Now would a man be portrayed the way this woman is? (Rarely is the answer yes.) It's far too often a one-way street, thrown off balance by our skewed valuation of masculinity and femininity.

Then take it beyond just socialised gender expectations. Think about whether the character being presented to you is a complex, multidimensional one. That's usually where the biggest difference lies: men get characters, women get archetypes.

Always ask yourself: am I okay with this? Why am I or am I not? If you don't identify as one yourself, would your closest angry feminist friend be okay with it? Why would they or would they not? (I'm quite confident everyone has at least one, but in case you don't, I'll gladly volunteer for the role.)

It doesn't have to lead to Real Concrete Action (campaigns, letters, etc.) and it might not even change your mind in the end, but what's important is that you're always ready to question the status quo and your own assumptions because these affect how you think about things and relate to other people.

2. Don't be afraid to speak out and/or call others out

So much sexism (and racism, homophobia, etc.) continues to exist simply because no one points out that it's wrong. This allows the people who perpetuate these prejudices to think that it's okay or that it's okay to say it even if they're fully aware the sentiment is wrong. Sometimes this happens because most don't notice that something is amiss or dismiss it as yet another Tragic Fact of Life that can't be helped, but this is where you come in!

I know that it's impossibly hard to say anything because there is possibly no woman more vilified than the one who dares to speak (out). The UK-based panel discussion that followed the screening I attended brought to my attention the case of Miriam O'Reilly, who made major progress for older women in the media when she won a case against the BBC challenging age-based job discrimination – but who continues to be pariahed as the one who stood against the status quo.

This is what you will inevitably face: people will attack your personal circumstances (most of all your physical appearance – if I had a dollar for every time I've heard "but you're not like other girls"...); people will tell you that they're "just joking!" or that it's harmless banter; and people will resort to presenting binary sexist biological myths as fact ("no offence, but that's just how girls are"). Often you will be shut down/out and it can be extraordinarily frustrating and demoralising.

But you will also find that there are people who stand with you.

You will find looks of relief on the faces of people who'd been thinking the same thing but weren't sure how to or didn't dare to say it, and you will rid yourself of that niggling feeling of guilt born of going along with something you aren't comfortable with. You will find that you are not alone. People will have your back. I will have your back.

It's important to keep in mind that sometimes you will be wrong. Actually, a lot of times you will be wrong. This is okay! This is good. You've contributed to the discourse about important issues and there will be tensions and emotions (and often stupidity) but everyone, most of all you, will come out better for it.

3. Embrace your power as a consumer

The capitalist societies we live in mean that we are most valued as consumers. This is not ideal, obviously, but working within the system means recognising the power that lies in our wallets: what we choose to do or not do with our money matters.

I am acutely aware that the current market does not meet the needs of people like me (and probably you), and the way to signal this to the people who produce what we consume in ever-increasing quantities is to think about what I'm taking in. That's why a lot of my day-to-day activism revolves around the choices I make as a consumer. I choose not to purchase factory-farmed meat products and I choose not to give my money to corporations that pass that money on to homophobic organisations. Similarly, I choose not to watch shows that perpetuate worldviews I do not support (looking at you, Twilight, and just about all of reality TV/celebrity-centric "news" ever) and my life is so much better when I choose to watch shows that do reflect the world I do or want to live in. Shows that reflect diversity, shows that tackle issues that matter to me, shows that bring in perspectives like mine.

Watch movies that are written, directed, and produced by women and that feature women as actual women, with all the contradictions and complexities that come with that, and not just as decorations or fighting fuck toys. There is absolutely no real basis for the claim that "women will watch movies about men, but men will not watch movies about women" and yet it guides so much of popular filmmaking decisions. I for one know that I'd rather shoot myself in the foot than watch another movie that looks like a 5-year-old playing with toy cars save for ramped up special effects.

If you live in the US, this is important because ratings matter. If you live in the UK, this is important because complaints (especially by unions and campaigns) are listened to and do influence policy change. If you, like me, can't really participate either way, it still matters because of how much the media we consume shapes how we think, and your media consumption choices influence that of those around you (friends, family, etc.) more than you'd expect.

(Another side to this, by the way, would be to embrace your power as a citizen and vote. While this is not an option available to me and hence not one I can speak about with any credible authority, I whole-heartedly support asserting your influence at the ballot box. Vote for women – whose views you agree with, of course – and encourage more political activism and ambition among your peers. Sadly it is true that "men vote for men, and women also vote for men" and this needs to change.)

I would strongly recommend watching Miss Representation if you can. I don't want to comment too much on the film specifically because it's one of those things that's way better if you make your own mind up about it (as is true of most things really), bringing your own personal experience; knowledge into the mix; and also because there is no way I can begin to cover everything that it brings up.

Hosting a screening is expensive so it might be out of reach to most of us as individuals, but they seem to be pretty widespread and gaining traction. You can learn more about the movement here. 

Fikri Alkhatib studies politics in the UK, navigating spaces that used to belong to old white men and making them her own. She says yes to too many things and is particularly fond of planting trees, travelling on impulse, taking photos, and writing the occasional thing on the internet. Read the original entry that sparked this piece, as well as more of her writing on her blog: http://conventionally.wordpress.com



ED: A screening and discussion of Miss Representations is takes place at SMU, Tuesday Nov 6 and will be followed by a discussion. And if you are a educator looking to address issues of sexism in the media, Etiquette, AWARE and SchoolAsia have come together to create a curriculum to help you do just that.  


 

They’ve been around for almost three decades, fighting sexism, racism and tokenism in the art world, and have taken on everyone from the Metropolitan Museum of Art to international biennales. Having established themselves as arguably the most (in)famous feminist art group in the world to date, they have maintained anonymity, an international fanbase and a steady practice comprising posters, taglines, actions, protests, interventions and of course, their signature gorilla masks, since 1985. This month, Etiquette catches up with the Guerilla Girls and gets some insight into their lives as masked avengers....

Name/ Age/ Occupation/ Location 
Guerrilla Girls/ Feminist Masked Avengers/ formed 1985/ based in New York with supporters and members all over the world.

You are probably the most widely known feminist guerilla art group in the world today. How do you feel about the fact that your practice as a collective, has reached such levels of visibility? Did any of you foresee this happening?
In 1985 we were annoyed and pissed off by the state of women in the art world so we put up a couple of posters that started a dialogue that is going on to this day. We never intended that it would be a life’s work. But it keeps getting more and more interesting so it’s hard to ever think of stopping.

That's awesome. And based on the initial goals you set for yourselves back in the 80s, what would you say you have achieved and what would you say you are still working towards?
When we started in 1985 there was so much conscious and unconscious sexism in the art world. No one even questioned the accepted notion that the art world was a meritocracy: if women and artists of color were not included in shows and collections, it was because their work was not good enough. Now it’s a no-brainer that you can’t write a full history of any visual culture without all the voices of that culture included. Bringing that idea to light was very important to us. Now we’re looking at systematic corruption in the art market, in the world of art collecting and in the museums where visual art gets validated.

The policing of museums - we like that idea! Over the course of your career, did you encounter any setbacks that you thought might do you in? If so, how did you deal with them?
Over the years we have been harassed by the sanitation department for putting up posters on private property, criticized by art critics who thought our posters were publicity stunts, mocked by art dealers like Mary Boone who thought we were making excuses for the weaknesses of women artists, and frustrated by curators who asked us to create projects and then were upset by the provocative projects we created. We have even had new members come into the group who thought the humor in our work was inappropriate. Through it all, we knew we were on the right side of history and that any struggle worth winning is difficult along the way.

The right side of history. A very relevant way of looking at all activist work. Speaking of which, given that you have created art protests around the world via your stand-ins and posters, from your research and/or experience, have you come across art industries in any countries that fair pretty well in terms of equal representation?
In Spain there is a gender equality law that requires public institutions like the Reina Sofia to collect women artists. Tate Modern in London has a specific program to collect and show more art by women. The Pompidou Center in Paris organized a huge show of work by women from the collection that told a different story of the history of contemporary. And it broke all attendance records. Finally, the Museum of Modern Art in New York did a survey and publication of the work of women artists in it’s collection. Things are changing at the institutional level but are still really dismal at the level of the art market and especially auctions. There is a huge economic disparity between what women and artists of color earn and what white male artists get for the same kind of work.

Yes. We are constantly confronted with appalling statistics pertaining to the visibility of women and people of colour working in creative fields – do you have any advice for women artists and artists of colour with regards to how they can fight their own invisibility?
On a positive note, until women and people of color are accepted into the mainstream on an equal footing with white males, they have the freedom of whatever they want without worrying about achieving and maintaining a level of conventional success. It’s only a matter of time until they are discovered as the cultural “other” that is a necessary piece of the historical pie. Until then they have a certain freedom to be outrageous and innovative. The down side of this optimism is that one needs to have access to the means of production to make work and it is frustrating to have to work so hard to get what is given so freely to certain white males. 

And you have worked very hard in both your anonymous and non-anonymous careers. We have read that The Guerilla Girls comprises women in various stages of their careers and that anonymity has helped you as individual artists, avoid what would otherwise likely be career suicide. On the flipside, has anonymity hindered your practice as a collective in any way?
Sure, it’s not easy to work for years and years without getting any public credit. It has made some of our past members crazy. And because certain members over the years have done very specific things like author our books and design our posters, we have to be careful who talks about what in public. On a personal level, sometimes it’s hard in our private lives to answer that question, “So, what have you been doing lately?” In the end, having two artistic lives, as a GG then as yourself, is ultimately liberating.

I am starting to think that we need some anonymous voices here too. In Singapore, there are strict laws regarding street protests as well as guerilla-based street art. Even silent protests comprising two people or the act of placing small stickers on public property, can land one in jail. Do you have any suggestions for street/protest artists working in such climates?
We’re lucky to live in a culture where making provocative art is not a dangerous activity. On the other hand, in the US it’s easy to dismiss and then forget about important protests. We are shocked and outraged by what has happened to Pussy Riot, but look at the instant global attention it has brought to the issue of intellectual freedom in Russia? Every culture is different and we know what to say to those who resist in the US. But it’s hard to know what to say to artists who live in repressive cultures, except to stay strong and look forward.

 

We at Etiquette are crossing our fingers: Any plans to come to Southeast Asia in the near or distant future?
We would love to come to Southeast Asia but we have no plans of yet. How can we get invited? Will we end up in jail? Should we line up our best feminist lawyers before we get on the plane?

Haha - good point. Perhaps things will change over the next decade. I for one, am willing to wait! That aside, tell us, how would you sum up your personal feminism/s into three sentences and how does this translate into the work you do?
Every Guerrilla Girl has her own definition of feminism: some of us want a piece of the pie; some of us want to smash the whole pie and start over. But we all agree that women, people of color, gays, lesbians and trannies do not have equal rights and equal opportunities in our culture and we want to figure out how to make that fact explicitly understood and we want to be part of reversing it.

If you happen to be in the US, the Guerilla Girls have a travelling show of  all the work they have done since  2000, making its rounds. They are also planning a major retrospective in Spain, doing a couple of projects for the US election in November (of course!) and are travelling internationally, talking to people about how they can develop a voice to speak out against injustices in their lives.

Keep yourselves updated about the Guerilla Girls by checking out their website, liking their Facebook Page, or following them on Twitter.

Also available on their website are their books:

- Confessions of the Guerrilla Girls
- Guerrilla Girls’ Bedside Companion to the History of Western Art
- Bitches, Bimbos and Ballbreakers: The Guerrilla Girls Illustrated Guide to Female Stereotypes
- The Guerrilla Girls Art Activity Book 
- The Hysterical Herstory of Hysteria and How It Was Cured, From Ancient Times Until Now. 

We highly recommend the Guerilla Girls as compulsory reading for all feminist artists! See photo of editor for evidence ---------------->

 

You have done a fair bit of feminist work over the past decade and a lot of that seems to have started with Feministing. Perhaps I can start by asking you to tell us a little about the journey that led to setting up the blog.
Of course! Feministing definitely kicked off a lot of my feminist work. Before I started the blog, I had gone to grad school for Women’s and Gender Studies and then I started to work at a national feminist organization. I was so excited about it, and thought it was going to be wonderful. In some ways it was great (I had a fantastic boss who became my mentor) but I became all too aware of the ways in which big feminist organizations were not interested in what young women had to say. There was all this talk about how apathetic young women were, but when we wanted to contribute something - it was scoffed at. And this wasn’t just my organization - it seemed to be the larger mainstream feminist movement in general. So when I had the idea for Feministing, a big part of it was wanting to create a platform for younger feminist voices.

Which you did so well! Tell us, over the course of your journey as a blogger, author, speaker, feminist and feminist activist, what would you consider some of the biggest challenges you have faced, overcome and/or are still overcoming?
This is a great question! I think the biggest challenge I continue to think about and work on is being able to judge yourself and your work and figure out what you’re doing right and what you’re doing wrong. For example, it’s really easy to get discouraged by misogynists and haters when you’re doing this work - it takes an emotional toll. So I had to learn when to trust myself and have faith in my work enough to keep pushing forward. But there are also times when you need to step back and consider your own limitations or when you’re not doing something to the best of your abilities. For me, it was realizing that while I really like writing and coming up with big picture ideas for projects, I’m not a great manager - that’s not something I excelled at with Feministing, so I had to learn to let others take the lead.

That's very insightful and also very relevant --- I do think that self-awareness is actually a very important driver when it comes to feminism. Speaking of which, one anchor in your first book, Full Frontal Feminism, that seems to underlie all its content, is the need to unhinge the word "feminism" from all the mud it has been dragged through and to re-explain it using current, accessible issues. Roughly six years on, have you noticed any new gender-related trends/issues that you would like to have included in the original laundry list?
So many things! There were a lot of gaps in that book that seem so glaring to me now. I’m actually working on an updated version of the book so you’ll have to wait and see.

Looking forward! Much of your work seems to be an effort to mainstream feminism in a way that makes it palatable to young women. Do you ever worry that mainstreaming a movement as diverse as feminism might result in issues of exclusion? (based on ethnicity, gender-identity, different-abledness, etc.)
Absolutely. I think there’s a difference, though, between wanting to make feminism more palatable to the mainstream generally, and making it more accessible to younger women. I try to focus on the latter, and in that case - intersectionality is key. I think we’re seeing right now the downsides of “mainstreaming” feminism without an intersectional analysis when we look at some of the media success that the “war on women” narrative has had. We’re seeing all of these feminist issues in the media - being talked about in a way that they haven’t for years- but because the focus is on more mainstream issues, truly progressive actions are falling through the cracks. For example, it was wonderful to see so many people take to Twitter and social media about “state rape” - the mandated transvaginal ultrasounds that some states require before women can obtain an abortion. And while I’m glad the issue got attention, even when the transvaginal mandate was taken out of some policies, other kinds of ultrasounds remained - which means low income women still won’t be able to cover the cost of getting an abortion. So is that really a victory?

You have a point. Cyberspace seems to do well when it comes to bringing attention to issues. Over the past few years, civil society in Singapore has enjoyed increased visibility and networking opportunities because of cyberspace.  But as I am sure you know, for any woman with half an opinion on issues that matter, the internet is a pretty hostile place to be. You have spent years dealing with some horrendous and oftentimes sexualised backlash directed at you. How have you learned to deal with it?
I haven’t learned to deal with it! It still is a really difficult thing. But having community helps a lot - people you can go to for back up, support or just to vent to. It also really helps to remember that the reason some people are so hateful is that I’m hitting a nerve - so I must be doing something right!

Well-said. What are three of your favourite pieces of feminist writing?
That’s a hard one because as feminist writing is constantly moving and changing - so are my favorites! Right now, I’m really enjoying the blogs QueerBlackFeminist and Blue Milk. And one of my favorite books is Woman: An Intimate Geography by Natalie Angier.

In your Guardian piece Learning to Love My Baby, you challenged the myth of the "all-encompassing love" mothers are supposed to have for their children as a " 'natural' response to birth". And even before you became a mother, you wrote about the many ways in which society punishes mothers and mothers-to-be. Has being a parent over the past year or so taught you anything you did not already know about the challenges and/or constructs of motherhood?
I learn something new about motherhood ever day, it feels like! I think the most important lesson I learned is that no matter how feminist or “aware” you are of dangerous constructs, you’re not immune to them. You can know, logically, that you’re feeling bad about yourself because of unrealistic expectations about motherhood - but that doesn’t always make you feel any better in the moment!

In your book The Purity Myth, you mention that "the most frenzied moral panic surrounding young women’s sexuality comes from the mainstream media." Do you feel the mainstream media reflects and/or reinforces current opinion in equal measure?
I think that the media is one place that it comes from. The purity myth is a deeply embedded value - one that’s reinforced on all sorts of different fronts. But yes, I definitely think that the media benefits from constantly stoking the flames around a fear of female sexuality.

In your opinion, what role/s should feminist art-making (visual or performative) play in a society plagued by negative portrayals of women?
I think creativity is central in any social justice movement. It’s not only a way to make these issues more accessible, it’s a survival mechanism for feminists!

How would you sum up your personal feminism/s into three sentences?
How about three words... frank, joyful, shifting.
 

Jessica Valenti's new book Why Have Kids comes out in September. Make sure to get a copy and to stay tuned to Valenti via jessicavalenti.com and jessicavalenti.tumblr.com

10 Aug – 2 Sep 2012 // Valentine Willie Fine Art
Singapore Survey: Strange New Faces
( Includes work by Alecia Neo )
Currently in its fourth year, the Singapore Survey serves as a ground to expose and promote the works of Singaporean artists.

16 Aug-6 Sep 2012 // Objectifs
Landing Places (Part of IndigNation 8)
(Curated by Tania De Rozario. Includes work by Jay Bernard, Jane Porter, and Elisha Lim)
10 queer artists explore notions of home in relation to issues of their sexuality.

17 Aug 2012 // Books Actually
Gaily Ever After (Part of IndigNation 8)
(Includes a reading by Tania De Rozario)
Also part of IndigNation is Gaily Ever After is curated by Ng-Yi Sheng and presents 4 queer fairie tales by 4 queer artists.

23 Aug 2012 // NUS  Museum
CON(TEXT)
(Co-curated by Nurul H. Includes a performance by Shubigi Rao, and readings by Jay Bernard and Zarina Muhammad.)
In its first installment, CON(TEXT) invites audiences to a multidisciplinary experience of art, sound and words performed within the context of existing exhibitions in them museum.