book was informative, covered a number of important topics, and paid respect to survivors of domestic and family violence, I think this is important reading for people who work within this sector to refresh their knowledge of the interrelation between media reporting, politics, and the other maledominated systems that can excuse or reinforce genderbased violence.
At times, it was difficult to read this book, not due to a failing of the author, but because the topics themselves are infuriating and confronting and remain systemic issues in society.
But this book also provided some hope and discussed changes that have already occurred / that are emerging, Are you familiar with sitelinkJane Gilmore's 'fixes' to news headlines It's not surprising that she continues to have regular material to work with, but that doesn't make it any less astounding and depressing.
Her book examines gendered violence, and in particular the language used to describe that violence, Gilmore provides a thorough analysis of the media industry newsrooms drastically cutting resources, and business models driven by the relentlesshour news cycle which provides important context for discussion about victim blaming and overidentification with abusers.
Gilmore intersperses parts of her own experience with journalistic reporting, I found the 'reporting' sections occasionally got bogged down with facts and figures, which I suspect would have been better read than listened to.
This is unquestionably an important book but as I listened, I had the uncomfortable feeling that Gilmore is preaching to the converted the people who 'should' read this book, won't and although we might expect that changes in reporting are driven by editors and journalists, as Gilmore describes, the move to online news puts the consumer in a powerful position.
Listened to the audiobook
Very sensitively handled a difficult topic, while remaining entertaining not an easy task
Only thought would be to tailor to the format not reading out the list of phone numbers for instance.
Not a criticism per se, just the only stand out negative I can think of Really interesting, not anything in particular that I didnt really know already but a good intro for readers new to the subject.
At times felt like a lot of content packed into the book, eg discussions about media portrayals of violence against children felt like it was added in with not a lot of thoughtful interrogation
The current statistics have it that on average a woman is killed by a current or former partner everydays in Australia.
The media has a significant role to play in how this is reported, Many papers choosing to mark these killings as the womans fault for driving the man to the act or emasculating him by being successful.
This absolutely must change.
The book is well written and easy to follow, There is little assumed knowledge but also does not talk down to the reader, I would recommend it as a read on the topic though it can leave a disappointing feeling that in theyears since publication and even longer that this issue has been discussed and petitioned on this morning I read another headline blaming a woman for being too successful so her ex felt the need to kill her and her children.
This should have placed the blame at his feet but instead he was cast as a man pushed too far, I look forward to the day when gendered violence is talked about without blaming the victim, Well written, researched, and presented, this book is incredibly important to the discourses around gender inequality, violence against women, and the language used to convey these horrific events by the media and those in charge.
I can only hope that it serves as protagonist of change, coming soon A look at how the media represents women, in particular violence against women, and how victims are so often blamed for their own rape or murder while the perpetrators are portrayed as good men.
It also covers the abuse of children which is often reported as child sex or a sexual relationship, Its not always easy reading but it is important, Highly recommended. A masterpiece. This book was enjoyable and easy to read in the literal sense, not in the emotional one, I wish everyone would read it, Gilmore explains her point of view clearly and presents all the facts to back it up, I am going to use this book as my bible whenever I'm in an argument with someone about eliminating men's violence against women and the role of the media.
Loved it. A deeply important book, shines a light on what to me was a previously invisible problem that I now recognise is truly ubiquitous, Dont get me wrong, sure I knew the media is misogynistic, as is every other walk of life, Fixed It forces you to look at gruelling truth of sexism, instead of it remaining the uncomfortable background noise as I kinda was actually treating it as.
From statistics, to law, to history, to personal anecdotes and countless contemporary examples, in media, law, politics and pop culture, Fixed It portrays a very clear image of the enormity of the problem.
I really respected the constant resolve to never blame victims, and debunk every sexist but still remarkably tenacious lie that so pervades our collective psyche, with evidence and emotion.
The chapters on domestic violence and sexual assault are truly haunting, and for me, revealed such an entrenched structural sexism in a way that really clicked and
made the whole scope and magnitude of disadvantage stand out to me as did the chapter on the gender pay gap.
I guess if youre already clued into feminist literature this might not be much news to you, but I appreciate this book for filling in the gaps in my limited knowledge about the state of womens rights in Australia.
For the uninitiated, Id say its a certainly a good place to start, as it was for me, The first few chapters fleshed out my vague notion of sexism in Australia, and are very accessible and well researched, I dont know why Id read such little feminist literature besides the occasional article, but oh well, Oof I started reading this bookmonths ago and had to put it down, I picked it up again as part of Nonfiction November, This is a book about bias, spin, and the pernicious way that language related to violence and crimes against women affects our overall opinion of these crimes.
I feel like this needs to go on every reporter judge and MPs desk to remind them to check their bias and work to do better.
I thought this book was a thought provoking and this issue has definitely been in the media a lot more,
It was a,for me. I enjoyed the personal stories a lot more than the statistics, This book is so great and so necessary, Jane Gilmore's no nonsense approach to the issues will arm you with every fact and commonsense response you've ever needed to change the minds of people around you.
Some of the statistics in Australia are, frankly, confronting if not downright terrifying, but that just shows that this is a problem we should no longer be ignoring.
This book, and this issue, is nothing short of urgent, Jane Gilmore got so sick of seeing news headlines about violent crime which either blamed the victim, lauded or hid the perpetrator or sensationalised the event that she started a movement called 'Fixed It'.
In this, she takes headlines and rewrites them with a red pen as they should be written, then posts them on social media, Although it hasn't completely changed how the media portray women, particularly those who are either victims or survivors, every now and then her actions get through.
This book is essentially a summary of what she's fighting against, It starts out by outlining how sexist and sensationalist most reporting of violent crime against women is, offering lots of statistics and examples which show some of the worst that journalism can produce.
She talks a lot about domestic violence, child rape and sexual harassment, and she doesn't pull punches,
My only criticism of the book was that I felt it tried to be a bit too broad, I applaud the author for seeking to bring to light all kinds of journalistic issues, but the shift to the coverage of female politicians could have been covered in a whole other book, and I feel took the focus off the bigger issue brought up by the book about crime against women.
The audiobook was read by the author which was fabulous and you could hear her passion in every sentence, I hope this movement continues in its fight, because while things stay as they are, the public perception of violence against women will always be skewed.
I'm not giving Fixed It a rating because I think rating a book like this doesn't encapsulate the complexities that this book covers It definitely has the feeling of academic text.
I listened to the audiobook read by the author while I read along in my physical copy
There's also a lot of discussion around very sensitive topics.
Jane Gilmore put it on herself to add trigger warnings where the most potentionally harmful chapters are and for that, I nod my hat to her.
This book is incredibly confronting, especially to women, Seeing all the the statistics and evidence in the same place is mind numbing, The writing was very well done and like I said, it felt like reading something academic of nature, A hard read but an eye opening one one that you now can't close your eyes too because you see it everywhere,
'This book is mostly about the way the media reports men's violence against women and it hasn't been a pretty picture.
However, despite all the terrible examples I've included, there is reason to hope the book will one day become a curio, interesting only because of its description of what used to be rather than what is.
'
Jane Gilmore like Clementine Ford is not afraid to challenge the status quo, looking at all aspects of news media , and informing all of us on how gendered language is used everywhere.
I am very embarrassed to say that I didn't really pay attention to headlines before, but this book has shown me how female victims are erased or not acknowledged when reported in newspapers.
I love the idea of her fixing the article headlines , and how some of them have actually been updated,
Both Jane Gilmore and Clementine Ford have received so much hate and harassment for speaking up on behalf of women that it bogs my mind.
I had to wince so many times at horrific accounts that some women had to endure and how they were not listened to and ignored.
This book has echoed a lot of what has been written in sitelinkBoys Will Be Boys: Power, Patriarchy and the Toxic Bonds of Mateship by Clementine Ford.
Fixed It is a jam packed with stats book but also very compelling, It also emphasises the injustice when it comes to excusing men for rape, domestic violence and/or murder,
This reminds me of another book I read by Jess Hill sitelinkSee What You Made Me Do: Power, Control and Domestic Violence where author tries to understand why do men commit domestic violence.
Overall I love how Jane Gilmore courageously tackles headon misrepresentation of women in all aspects of today's life, Amazing book. Highly recommended. On average, at least one woman is murdered by a current or former partner every week in Australia, Far too many Australian women have experienced physical or sexual violence, Only rarely do these women capture the attention of the media and the public, What can we do to stem the tide of violence and tragedy
Finally, we are starting to talk about this epidemic of gendered violence, but too often we are doing so in a way that can be clumsy and harmful.
Victim blaming, passive voice and overidentification with abusers continue to be hallmarks of reporting on this issue, And, with newsrooms drastically cutting staff and resources, and new business models driven by rapid churn and thehour news cycle journalists and editors often don't have the time or resources bring new ways of thinking into their newsrooms.
Fixed It demonstrates the myths that were unconsciously sold about violence against women, and undercuts them in a clear and compelling way.
This is a bold, powerful look at the stories we are told and the stories we tell ourselves about gender and power, and a call to action for all of us to think harder and do better.
Thought provoking and at times disturbing look at how the language used by the media affect our perceptions of domestic violence and reflect deeply held and often so ingrained that we no longer see it misogyny, classist, and racist attitudes held by the frequently older, male, white journalists and editors.
I found Fixed It hard going, With an almost brutal precision, Gilmore sets out the structures amp mechanisms that hold women back, Its a depressing list of media and politics intersecting with contributing things like beauty myths, rape myths, advertising amp film all uniting into what seems to be an insurmountable wall for us to leap over.
“The statistics can be eyewateringly boring to pore over, but such collections of data show that feminists are not simply a bunch of whingeing killjoys when we talk about the cause and affect of shutting women out of power structures.
” PageFor a feminist like myself who had already followed along everything from the frankly bizarre interest Gillards ear lobes, to the horror headlines about Mayang Prasetyos murder by Marcus Volke, to the apologist commentary about rapist and athlete, Brock Turner, it was a depressing litany of moments that made me livid with rage so I had to read it in small doses, insulated by fiction.
That said, I am glad Gilmore had the stomach to academically set out this mostly depressing analysis of the situation of mostly white she highlights race needs its own book women across Australia, the UK and America.
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