Eye of the Beholder

Eye of the Beholder performance

Students from Broughton High School took part in workshops discussing their response to the media images and messages they see around them.  From their discussions they produced a peice of theatre around the theme of the sexualisation of young people which they presented to the Scottish Parliament Equal Opportunites Committee in October.  Watch the video of the performance here 

Read the Eye of the Beholder project brief

Read the Eye of the Beholder survey analysis report

Background to the Project
Although women have been seen as sexual objects from time immemorial the nature of the process is becoming ever more explicit and targeting ever young women and children. The lace thongs for 3 year olds on sale in mainstream stores, the pole dancing kits for kindergarten children bear testimony to this, alongside arguments that ‘pole fitness’ is appropriate as a physical education in our schools and increasingly explicit music videos and advertising. Recent discussions with young women about ‘new’ forms of sexual freedom and sexual expression in the 21st century, including websites such as You Porn, the normalisation of sexual imagery, the revival of Burlesque, lap dancing and advertising for the female gaze etc. have led us to believe that there is a need for an open debate about women’s ‘liberation’, agency, sexual freedom and expression in the context of sexual objectification and the increasingly sexualised commodification of young women and the expectations this creates. There is a need to explore perceptions of sexual agency, opportunity, empowerment and control versus sexual objectification, power, gaze, self image, self esteem, wellbeing, vulnerability, exploitation and violence.

In this project funded by the Esmée Fairbairn foundation Engender will be carrying out participatory research with 3 groups of young women/girls, 3 groups of young men/boys and 3 groups of parents from different social /equality backgrounds.

We will then carry out participatory analysis with a mix of people from each of the groups above and others interested in the issue. This will lead on to the development of campaign messages, ideas for materials and a dissemination strategy. Engender will support with all art work and production, understanding that this may vary if people decide they’d rather use theatre or radio than paper based products. We anticipate using Photo voice, journals of participants’ experiences, learning and reflection.

May 2011 - We are working with a group of young people who have been involved in the project to produce a short piece of theatre which we will use to stimulate debate of the issues around the sexualisation of young people.