People don’t realize it, but the media decides for them what to think, what to do, how to be, what to adore, what to hate, what to aspire to. It shapes the rules of society’s game. The media is a message that no one can avoid. At the end of the day, a person becomes what he or she sees every day.

According to a 2011 public opinion study on Armenia’s mass media conducted by the Caucasus Research Resource Centers (CRRC) – Armenia, 81% of Armenians spend an average of 3 hours in front of the television every day. For 33%, television is the main source of entertainment, stealing 7–12 hours of their time daily. Armenian soap operas are watched by 80% of the population.

TV stations don’t refrain from “gratifying” TV viewers with new soap operas. Each new soap opera contains more brutal images, vulgar language, and violence than the one before. It seems as if the writers of nearly all the soap operas speak from the same mouth — in nearly every Armenian soap opera, men curse, psychologically pressure, and abuse their wives (even when pregnant), sisters, mothers, and mothers-in-law.

On the other hand, female protagonists for the most part don’t work — it seems their characters are created only to engage in secret schemes, cry endlessly, and experience violence. According to research by the Yerevan-based NGO Society Without Violence, images of women crying, depressed, or experiencing violence make up 60% of all Armenian soap operas. 

This picture is reflected also in reality. In Armenia, 52% of women have been subject to some form of violence at least once in their lives. 55% of Armenian men believe that the woman is to blame if a man hits her, according to the sociological survey “Keep me away from your stereotypes,” conducted by Society Without Violence.

Violence against women “encouraged” by the media is not the only problem. Every day, news outlets remind people that a woman’s value is directly proportional to her appearance and sexuality. Male singers are surrounded by half-naked women, while female singers shoot erotic music videos in order to become famous.

Women’s bodies are also used to advertise products and to attract customers. In Armenian magazine ads, 50% of women are wearing revealing clothing, lingerie, or are completely naked (from the Open Society Institute research study “Women’s images in advertising in Armenia”).

That which is shown is strengthened in reality. 60% of Armenian men believe that a woman could never be a good leader. In Armenia, out of 18 ministers, only 2 are women; out of 131 Members of Parliament, only 14.

The media has another image of women: that of a housewife, the head of the kitchen, the person responsible for the children. The majority of ads, soap operas, and TV programs is guided by the message that an Armenian women’s head is always bowed, and the right to make decisions belongs only to men.

Text and video by Ani Stepanyan

This is an excerpt of the video prepared by Internews Media Support NGO for the 2013 Na/Ne Annual Media Award.