/ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/TV-ARGENTINA: Women of Flesh and Blood

By Marcela Valente Reprint | | Print |

Marcela Valente

BUENOS AIRES, Jun 4 2002 (IPS) - The soap operas, cooking programmes and gossip shows about the rich and famous that long dominated afternoon television programming in Argentina and targeted the female audience are giving way to programmes that address women’s real concerns and interests.

The new programmes attempt to meet the expectations of an audience of women whose concerns are a dramatically different from those of the stereotyped housewives that TV producers apparently had in mind in the past.

Then, the focus was on topics like cooking, health, fashion and popular psychology, but now the spotlight is on the country’s political, cultural and economic reality.

The programmes aimed at the stereotyped female audience have not completely disappeared, but the trend towards taking “women of flesh and blood” into account has spread, which has even prompted a broad renovation of Argentine television output.

The common denominator of the new shows is that they seek the active participation of a more diverse female population, in the production and in the audience alike, the latter having a direct impact on content.

The changes are dramatic, but they do not necessarily reflect a movement that could be considered “feminist”. However, many of the issues discussed are related to gender, such as the division of work and the role of men and women in the home, the situation of women who choose to live alone, and sexuality from a broader perspective than in the past.

The women hosting the programmes challenge the audiences with questions that were previously considered taboo, such as adolescent sex, infidelity, eroticism and homosexuality.

One of the shows has an all-woman panel that includes a bisexual, something that would have been unheard of in the not-so-distant past.

“Las cortesanas” (women courtiers), a programme hosted by Marcela Tinayre, attempts to encompass all the complexities of the female world with a permanent cast made up of seven women of different ages, lifestyles, worldviews and sexual preferences, all of whom are public figures for one reason or another.

The cast includes Gabriela Arias Uriburu, who reached the spotlight four years ago when she launched a campaign to recover her three children who were kidnapped by her former husband and taken to Jordan.

Also on the show’s panel is septuagenarian Lita de Lazari, head of the League of Housewives, who rose to fame through her advice on where and how to shop. And there are actresses and journalists who interview guests coming from all walks of life.

“Las Cortesanas” had a precedent in 2001 with the programme “Nominadas” (nominated women), also hosted by Tinayre, but more closely tied to the traditional women’s shows. On that show, she was accompanied by a tribunal of 12 women from the audience who participated in interviewing the guests.

But this year’s version has some competition. The main rival is “Grandiosas” (the great ones), hosted by three women: a journalist over 60 who is known for her social and human rights activism, a 30-year-old comedienne and a young model whose past TV experience includes hosting a late-night programme on sexuality.

“Grandiosas” aims to make women laugh at themselves, though does not ignore more serious matters like political corruption, Argentina’s current social crisis, the history of certain women’s products, and women in literature, music and television.

Although the show is not a comedy, it entertains through monologues, interviews, and public opinion polls that seek to produce laughs but also reflection.

One portion of “Grandiosas”, titled “The Fault Is Ours”, opens the door to comments and complaints about the “defects” of men that women themselves have encouraged through the way they raise their sons, handle their relationships with their boyfriend or spouse, or interact with men in general.

The hosts of “Grandiosas” challenge their audience to “dare to change”, in much the same way as the traditional women’s programmes offered advice, but now with an ironic tone. One of the hosts, comic actress Laura Oliva, recommends ways to appear to be a perfect housewife without having to lift a finger.

In another portion of the show, “Salvation or Condemnation”, women from the audience vote on whether or not photos of various public figures should be fed through the paper shredder.

With the renewed competition, the women’s programmes that followed the traditional format have been forced to change. Their hosts have backed off from their old ways after being ridiculed on comedy shows, portrayed as infantile, ignorant and – worst of all – frivolous.

The hosts of the two most popular cooking shows on Argentine TV today are atypical personalities. One is a young actress who is totally incompetent in domestic tasks and is accompanied on her programme by a well-respected chef.

The other, also a young woman, rose to fame in a classic-style cooking show, but then figured out how to turn her awkwardness into a comic advantage, and now has one of the most popular afternoon shows, largely due to the self-confidence with which she acts the housewife – but manages to be a far cry from the stereotype.