Women’s su ering is not entertainment

by RACHEL PONTING & illustrated by CHARLIE TO

Trigger Warning: Sexual Violence

Why does so much of pop culture xate on women’s su ering?

Numerous songs, lms, books, and even video games center on women’s suffering - whether that be struggling a er a break-up, experiencing sexual forms of violence. e arts have been grappling with issues that many women have faced for decades, since creative expression is a means by which many work through di cult times. However, it seems that the boundaries have become blurred between art and media exploring the lived experiences of women, and giving fetishised accounts of them.

Take for instance the new Marilyn Monroe biopctional novel by Joyce Carol Oates and e lm is an extremely disturbing watch with scenes of rape, domestic abuse, and drug use. Whilst the lm could be said to reveal the exploitation of women within Hollywood, it simultaneously contributes to this very exploitation. For example, it depicts distressing moments from Marilyn’s life which are not based upon lm has also been critiqued for exemplifying a violent male gaze. For much of the lm Ana de Armas, who plays Marilyn, is either crying or naked. Little attention is paid to the many successes of Marilyn’s career or her political activism. Instead, she is reduced to a powerless - but beautiful - victim, and so the lm turns into almost three hours of trauma porn. Not only is this lm disrespectful to Marilyn’s legacy, but its production also raises wider societal questions: why is the portrayal of women’s su ering considered entertainment?

is question, albeit on a slightly di erent scale, is also relevant to the British dating reality TV show Love Ise 2022 season hit record ratings, hitting ve million views for its rst episode. at said, the British broadcasting regulator Ofcom also received thousands ese were mainly focused on the misogynistic behaviour and bullying by the male contestants of some of the female contestants. Unfortunately, this is nothing new in TV series. Charities such as Women’s Aid have released statements concerning the actions of past cast members. Luca Bish, one of this year’s contestants, revealed that producers told the male participants to ‘keep up the entertainment’ before they le for Casa Amor, a separate villa on is might explain why so many of the male contestants disrespected the women they were previously coupled up with during their time away from the is yet again begs the question of why the mistreatment of women is considered good television. Moreover, what impact do such shows have on viewers?

American model and actress Emily Ratajkowski has used her social media platforms to speak out about the impact of the media’s fetishisation of female pain. Drawing on her own experiences, Emily states that many girls learn to enact their pain in a way that is “sexy”. Many girls feel they have to adhere to romanticised tropes prevalent in the media regarding being ‘lost,’ ‘misunderstood,’ or ‘broken’. is romanticisation of female suffering is deeply problematic.