Ukraine's leading English-language newspaper since 1995

Gaspar Bergman writes: Ukrainian women deserve more than a short skirt image to aspire to.

The manner in which women are ‘glorified’ as sexual objects in music videos of Ukraine’s top tier pop stars is a rather disturbing phenomenon and one which is not necessarily discussed in Ukraine in a public discourse as often or as much as deserved. While the reasoning used by various governmental agencies in Ukraine to ‘ban’ Borat and Bruno, Hostels I and II, Saw VI (and other feature films), as well as the outright ban on pornography was very much at the center of public debate, the manner in which women are portrayed in ‘mainstream’ music videos featured on M1 and MTV Ukraine has not drawn any attention, nor has the issue of the marginalization of women through such imagery.

From glamour to obscenity, from fashion to pornography, from Helmut Newton to MTV there is a story being told which portrays women as the object of desire. Even the most ‘artistic’ attempts to portray women focus on one or many attributes of women’s sexuality, their body, and as such women are conditioned to believe they should follow a certain pattern of behavior in line with imagery suggested by pop culture, and Ukrainian pop culture in particular.

Whatever the field of human endeavor a woman wishes to pursue her attention is drawn to an image of glamour, which, among other things includes stilettos, lingerie, thongs, lipstick and surgical ‘enhancements’. The life-altering nature or impact of music videos broadcast on M1 and MTV Ukraine is not regarded as a danger by Ukraine’s legislators, nor is the extent to which such videos perpetuate the image of women as erotic beings.

Yes, it is one’s personal choice to watch music videos or to disregard them. However, the extent to which there is pressure on the most susceptible or the most prone to influence – children -- is disturbing. From the first shade of pink illuminating a girls room or wardrobe to the first doll or cartoon character, a girl growing up in Ukraine is immersed in what amounts to a ‘paris hilton’ world, where her sexuality is often glorified and glamorized, yet an image which is often too appealing to resist. We are taught not to take candies from strangers yet we are not taught to disregard the skimpy underwear or thongs worn by the entourage of yet another Ukrainian rap star on yet another music television channel or advert. Music videos do in fact provide small girls with a specific set of gender roles and indoctrinate girls into believing it is ok to be glorified as an object of desire.

All this amounts to a system which propagates sexuality as the first and foremost attribute of being and forms a system of values which girls and women accept as widely recognized and normal. While it is difficult to establish a direct causal link between such music videos where women are portrayed as sexual objects and the marginalization of women, there is a correlation between the choices a woman makes as an adult and what she is taught to choose as a girl by the visual stereotypes her attention is drawn to.

As such, the specific brand of pop culture currently being disseminated in Ukraine, in fact, suggests that women are focused on attracting men and winning social acceptance through acting as an object of sexual gratification. Using visual tactics and stereotypes women are reduced to equivalent objects of esthetic enjoyment, of beauty and pleasure and these images are stronger than the images of women engaged in the workforce, working as lawyers, entrepreneurs, scholars, reporters etc. Ukrainian mass culture promotes the objectification of women "skillfully” as if though suggesting that they need to be “visually pleasing objects” and the fascination with women “resides in the fantasies projected on them.”

Women are not encouraged to disregard or concentrate on forming an alternative imagery and portrayal, and while many in Ukraine have focused on changing how women are visualized, there is little in the way of impact on the mainstream and mass culture. Ironically enough, the imagery used on M1 and MTV Ukraine is a form of intimidation, which has a devastating effect on how women regard themselves and the graphic representation of women is, if anything, yet another, very important means of marginalizing women in Ukraine. Whether women are in fact the root of their own marginalization by accepting these images is perhaps a question many can relate to.

Gaspar Bergman is a long-time resident of Ukraine and author of an upcoming book on international law. He can be reached at gbergman@post.harvard.edu