Mediating women: Gender, power and community television

abstract

This focus examines the possibilities and challenges that women from marginalised neighbourhoods (barrios) face in the field of grassroots media production in Caracas, Venezuela. Significant gains have been made to advance gender equality in the local and national context in Venezuela. However, barrio-based women continue to negotiate an unequal terrain as they attempt to assert themselves as media producers and leaders at Catia TV, Caracas' most prominent community television station. The official government discourse endorses women's empowerment and activism within the Bolivarian revolution. Yet, there is little open debate concerning everyday gendered dynamics of power within the community media movement. Gender inequalities remain unexamined in Catia TV's programming, and community producers eschew questions of gender and power in the poor communities where they film, even as they encourage the activism of poor women who have emerged as local leaders.

keywords:

• participatory video
• Venezuela
• gendered division of labour
• Catia TV