B Camminga

Gender and Public Opinion B Camminga

The Contributions Senjuti Jash and Shuvatri Dasgupta will provide an analysis of the role of the bhadramahilal, an educated female Bengali afluent class in British India, one of the epicenters of Western imperialism and will "address the intersectionalities between gender roles and public opinion against a larger socio-political and economic background adopting a trans-temporal and trans-spatial methodological perspective." After this discussion of British colonialism and the post-colonial impact on the formation of gender roles under Imperialism, Suman Sigroha will discuss "the intimate linkages between gender and violence, gender and caste, and gender and media representations, especially in the Indian context where the media frequently implodes with images of sexual and physical violence against women." In India, public opinion shapes the image of gender and results in a variety of actions, ranging from honor killings to the idolization of female sport stars. Alan Rosenfeld will discuss images of female terrorists that were used in 1970s West Germany to demonize the not only female terrorists but women's political activity in general. The author argues that "public attention focused decidedly on women's participation in terrorist groups" and consequently "reactions to political violence became entangled with (male) anxieties over the women's liberation project." Public opinion therefore created a specific female gender image that was closely connected with the fear for terrorism. B Camminga eventually takes a closer look at Nigerian public reactions to transgender content on television, especially I am Jazz and I am Cait, which are "relatively well known American produced documentary style television series which chronicle the life of Jazz Jennings, a transgender teen, and Caitlyn Jenner, a former Olympic athlete, as transgender people in America." The broadcasting of these formats between 2015 and 2016 aroused public opinion in the African country and Kaminga provides an in-depth analysis of the subsequent discussion of the displayed gender perspectives. The all in all approach of the present volume is - as usual - a global one and should broaden the perspective on the interrelationship of gender and public opinion and will hopefully also create a stronger sensitivity toward the role of the media and public voices, especially for the attempt to achieve a true gender equality in the future.