Can it be called Alternative Feminist Media?

It is important to notice that creating a category such as alternative feminist media brings some problems that need to be addressed. The first problem concerns the nature of feminism as a global encompassing term. Feminism is a multi-ideological movement with multiple voices which means that universal claims should be avoided. It is then, due to this polyvalence, that it is important to notice that alternative feminist media is, much like the feminist movement that allowed its claims to exist, heterogenic (Steiner 122). Nevertheless, Steiner thinks it is important to call attention to the similarities that exist in these media because after all oppression is experienced, although at different levels, by all women that live within the delimitation of a patriarchal society and who are, therefore, submitted to a male dominated media.

The second problem is the making of a distinction between women's media and feminist media. Because the term feminism can only be applied for occasions that emerged after the women's right movement, it becomes a problem to address the early attempts - those of the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries - by women to create their own media as "alternative feminist media". That is the reason why I will use the term proto-feminism to refer to these early attempts. Contrary to Steiner, in terms of choosing between feminist media or women's media I will make use of the first term because I believe that women's media is a term that designates "mainstream newspapers, magazines, television and radio shows targeted at women for marketing purposes" (Steiner 123).

go back to "A bit of history and early efforts" >> go back to "Empowering Media" >>

©
        by Valentina Ferreira-Pinto

        (last update May 2001; optimized for Internet Explorer 5.*; 1024x768  and Flash
        5 Plugin)