1

Momina Amjad
English A1: Language and Literature
Written Task 1
Unit Language and mass communication
Text type Talk show transcript
Purpose To inform and persuade the audience
about the different views and obstacles
surrounding the feminist cause
Audience Mostly young people, intellectuals and
activists
Context A discussion/debate about why
feminism isnt supported by most
young women these days
Word count Rationale
Written Task
Total
289
995
1284

Number Momina Amjad Written Task: Language and
Mass Communication
2

Rationale:
Feminism is all about supporting womens rights and gender equality, yet many women
and girls these days dont consider it important or relevant. Throughout the history of
feminism, the media has played an important role in affecting the publics opinion via its
often subjective and rather negative portrayal of feminists.
In this written task, I will compose a live talk show script that discusses the question
Why most young women these days dont consider themselves feminists? The show is
based on Aljazeera Englishs The Stream which is a talk show as well an interactive social
media community that uses both of these elements to cover all sides of a story. As such,
it is objective on its own but because it mainly features other peoples opinions, it
becomes subjective. Its target audience is mostly young people, intellectuals and
activists that use social media frequently.
To include various viewpoints on this issue, one of the guests in the episode will be a
feminist and the other a more traditional woman who thinks that feminism has made
the lives of women much harder. Apart from the discussion with the guests, the script
will feature interactions with the online community via tweets and video chats with the
audience. This will demonstrate my knowledge of this unit; how tone, persuasion and
emotive words can be used in different ways to convey different meanings.
I chose this particular format because its a relatively new concept in the media. Its
interesting how the media itself has changed over the years and how technology has
made media more effective in informing and communicating with the public. Feminism
is an important ideology to me and hopefully this episode will manage to change some
of its opponents minds.
Number Momina Amjad Written Task: Language and
Mass Communication
3


Shireen: Hi! Im Shireen and youre in The Stream. We are discussing feminism and its
apparent lack of support from todays young generation. Tweet us your thoughts with
hash tag #AJStream or talk to us on Google+. Joining us in the studio is Andrea Johnson,
current chairperson of Feminists United, a global organization fighting for womens
rights since 1960. On Skype we are joined by Sarah Davis from Houston, author of the
blog netmoms.com. I welcome you both to The Stream.
Andrea: Thanks for inviting us.
Shireen: Let me start with a very basic question, why is feminism still important today?
Andrea: Why would feminism NOT be important today? Womens suffrage,
reproductive and socioeconomic rights, laws against sexual discrimination and sexual
abuse, all of that was possible because women stood up and demanded their rights and
it is a continuing struggle Just go to a right wing convention today and listen to the
men speak about controlling womens bodies; you will realize just how patriarchal and
misogynistic our society continues to be.
Shireen: What about the global issues?
Andrea: Yeah, thats the other thing. We cant limit ourselves to western society. I share
this struggle with my sisters in Saudi Arabia who cannot even drive, let alone have a job
and vote. I also share it with the women in Africa that are continuing to suffer from the
horrors of FGM or the thousands of brides that are murdered annually in India due to
the concept of honor killings.
Shireen: We have some responses to that on Google+; lets head over to Ashley,
speaking from Chicago.
Ashley: I just wanted to say that I believe in all those things, I, um, definitely believe that
women should be able to earn as much as men but I dont need a label to describe
what I do. I dont have to associate myself with a certain group.
Andrea: Why wouldnt you associate yourself with the movement if you believe in all its
objectives? Let me assure you, feminism is NOT a man-hating cult, it does NOT
comprise of women seeking world domination. Thats media misrepresentation for you.
Feminism is quite simply about the political, economic and social equality of the sexes.
Number Momina Amjad Written Task: Language and
Mass Communication
4

Allow me to quote Rebecca West, one of my favorite personalities from English
literatureI only know that people call me a feminist whenever I express sentiments
that differentiate me from a doormat.
Shireen: But over the years there are some negative connotations attached to the word
feminist. @Holocene tweets, What if the word feminist is changed to womanist, or
something more inclusive? Some feminist views are quite extreme to the rest of us.
Andrea: Changing the word wouldnt help; it would only show that were giving in... As
far as extreme radical feminists are concerned, they form a very tiny minority of all the
feminists.
Shireen: We head over to Skype. Sarah, how would you respond to Ashleys comments?
Sarah: I agree with the young lady, you can support womens rights without jumping on
the feminism bandwagon. I think people have started to realize that feminism and its
21
st
century form simply dont work I do respect the original suffragettes, but much of
so called feminism is a farce.
Feminism has become a battle within itself and it no longer represents a common
woman. Im a proud homemaker; I stay at home to provide the best possible care for my
children, yet the likes of Ms. Johnson would pressurize me into believing that I need a
real job, that Im gullible because I believe in culture and values
Andrea: When did I ever say housewives needed a real job? Raising children is one of
the hardest jobs in the world. I do, however, talk about gender roles. Why are women
expected to do something and men
Sarah: This is exactly what Im talking about, traditionally men work and women raise
the family. This is how its always been because were made that way; men and women
ARE different. Your struggle has made womens lives so much harder; because most of
us now do double the amount of work we did a century ago.
Andrea: Mrs. Davis, cultures evolve constantly. Yes, there are some physiological and
psychological differences between the sexes but that does NOT mean that we shouldnt
be equal. How can the suffragette struggle be over when women today only make 17%
of the Congress, and not 50%?
Number Momina Amjad Written Task: Language and
Mass Communication
5

Shireen: Lets discuss a little bit more about feminism and culture. Anagabo is joining us
on Google+ from Somalia.
Anagabo: How significant is culture in the feminist movement? As you would now, FGM
is a major problem in Somalia; I think the only way to tackle it properly is to do so with
cultural sensitivity.
Andrea: Ah thats an excellent point and I totally agree. Battle against FGM will be
much more effective if local women did it in a gradual and scientific manner. Culture is
quite closely tied to feminism; second-wave feminism and the civil rights movement
were linked to each other.
Shireen: We have a tweet from @Matata, she says I think the reason young people
dont know enough about feminism is the lack of feminist literature aimed at children
and teens.
Andrea: Touch, Matata. The consequence of having female protagonists like Bella from
the crap called Twilight is that you have thirteen year old girls believing they need to be
protected by men and other similar misogyny.
Shireen: What do you think about the idea of male feminists?
Andrea: Um, I suppose you could have male feminists, but I think they cant identify
with some aspects of the struggle. Certainly though, feminism is good for not only
women but for all humanity. It restores the balance in world.
Shireen: Theres so much more that needed to be discussed, but Im sorry were out
of time. Thank you for joining us today! After the break we discuss next weeks story
leads. Stay tuned.
(Title Theme)



Number Momina Amjad Written Task: Language and
Mass Communication
6

Stimulus Material:
http://thegloss.com/odds-and-ends/why-are-young-women-so-afraid-to-call-themselves-
feminists/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feminism
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/mar/07/feminists-international-womens-day
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/apr/07/feminist-f-word-young-women
http://www.fanpop.com/spots/being-a-woman/articles/7532/title/constant-struggle-
feminism-womens-rights-modern-world
http://www.netmums.com/home/feminism
http://browncouncil.com/massaction/archives/316

http://www.ehow.com/how_5801612_write-talk-show-script.html
http://www.speech-therapy-information-and-resources.com/transcribing-conversation.html
http://stream.aljazeera.com/stories

All work is mine. Any reference to an actual person, username or organization is purely
coincidental.