女性与广播：同一波长

在长期由男性主导的声音环境中，妇女要想为自己开拓一片天地，向来困难重重。然而，自电台广播诞生之初，妇女便作为忠实听众，在打造其历史和内容方面发挥了核心作用。 

克里斯汀·斯科格 

2019年9月，英国广播公司（BBC）在其网站上报道了塞迪卡·谢尔扎伊（Sediqa Sherzai）的故事。谢尔扎伊于2008年在阿富汗北部城市昆都士创办了由妇女运营的罗沙尼广播电台，旨在促进保障妇女权利。尽管面临种种死亡威胁和与战争相关的其他挑战，该电台至今仍在进行广播。其中，听众来电直播节目为妇女表达自己的意见和提出关心的问题提供了一个重要空间和公共平台。当下，妇女与电台广播之间的联系十分紧密，而罗沙尼广播电台正是极有说服力的范例。 

20世纪20年代，电台广播进入千家万户，在由男性主导的公共声音环境中，妇女获得了一个发表言论的空间——无论是实际的还是象征性的。电台广播在私人领域和公共领域之间搭起了桥梁，将它们联结起来，也模糊了二者之间的界限，电台广播以其特有的方式，为身为家庭主妇、工人、消费者和公民的妇女提供了交谈的平台。在许多国家，电台广播进入家庭的时间与妇女获得选举权的时间也不谋而合。 

被遗忘的历史 

今天，探讨妇女与电台广播这一主题的历史研究越来越多。关于阿根廷、澳大利亚、德国、瑞典、土耳其、联合王国和美国等具体国家背景的研究已将妇女和性别问题重新写入了广播史。它们揭示了妇女在广播领域曾被边缘化且经常“被隐藏”的过去，她们的生活和工作或被遗忘，或遭忽视。这些研究记录了妇女广播节目制作的重要发展历程，包括修改“妇女权益”这一有争议的术语的定义，还突出强调了广播内外围绕妇女意见的各项辩论。这些历史共同指明了电台广播在妇女生活中的作用，以及这种关系是如何促进民主化和现代化进程的。 

无论是以播音员还是听众身份，妇女都在电台的总体发展和广播实践中发挥了关键作用。我们现在习以为常的节目形式和类型，比如剧集和脱口秀，原本都是针对妇女听众而构思的。在20世纪30年代的美国，商业广播占主导地位，当时，妇女作为消费者，地位十分重要，并且成为广告商和赞助商的目标群体。 

自此，日间广播开始具有“女性化”特征，并且很快，广播肥皂剧就因利润丰厚而风靡一时。威斯康星大学麦迪逊分校媒体与文化研究学教授、美国广播专家米歇尔·希尔姆斯（Michele Hilmes）认为，日间广播剧集的性别特质很快促使其为妇女提供了一个空间。希尔姆斯在其1997年出版的《电台之声：1922年至1952年的美国广播》一书中写道，广播剧集“趁着日间时段”，探讨并正视了20世纪30年代和40年代困扰美国妇女的种种问题和担忧。 

从杂志风格的节目形式也可以看出类似的趋势。《妇女时间》由英国广播公司电台于1946年推出，它是英国第一档专门面向妇女的广播节目。“家务管理”和“儿童保育”等专题很快就被妇女面临的政治和公民身份等棘手问题所取代。此外，一些敏感或受到忌讳的话题（例如，更年期和婚姻中的亲密关系）很早就已进入探讨范畴。 

记者和先驱 

妇女也为社会纪录片等新节目形式的发展作出了贡献。英国广播电台节目制作人兼播音员奥利弗·沙普利（Olive Shapley）（1910-1999年）就是其中一个例子。她于1934年入职，之后前往曼彻斯特，制作了一档针对英国广播公司北部地区听众的节目——《儿童时间》。 

20世纪30年代的大萧条导致英国许多地区陷入了贫困，这种情况在曼彻斯特及其周边地区尤为明显。沙普利充分利用了流动录音车，从而得以在该地区走街串巷，到人们家里、街头或工作场所进行采访。她制作的纪录节目无论在技术上还是题材上均具有首创性。她后来表示，她的目的是让“现实生活中的人吐露心声”。 

第二次世界大战爆发前不久，沙普利制作了一档节目——《矿工的妻子》，探讨两个采矿村村民的生活方式；其中一个村庄位于英格兰东北部的达勒姆郡，另一个位于法国贝蒂讷附近。后来在第二次世界大战期间，该节目被翻译并由英国广播公司法语台进行了重播。 

同样是在第二次世界大战期间，出现了第一批战地女记者。美国电台记者贝蒂·沃森（Betty Wason）（1912-2001年）代表Transradio新闻社（一家向各广播电台提供新闻的通讯社）率先前往欧洲。1938年纳粹接管捷克斯洛伐克政府时，她在布拉格对当时发生的事件进行了现场报道。 

随后，沃森受雇于哥伦比亚广播公司（现在的CBS），报道纳粹入侵挪威的情况，后来便常驻希腊。然而，这位先驱记者却被要求找一位男士来播报她的新闻稿。当时，人们认为女性的声音不适合播报严肃事件。她回忆道，“他们说妇女不具有足够的权威和知识，无法处理这些严肃主题”。 

另一位广播先驱是奥黛丽·罗素（Audrey Russell）（1906-1989年）。她是英国广播公司第一位战地女记者，在1941年至1945年期间为战事报道和采访撰稿。罗素关注战争期间平民的经历，例如德国对多佛尔和福克斯通的远程炮击的影响，以及一枚V-2火箭的杀伤力。然而，作为女性，她无法深入前线进行报道——这是其男性同行的专属权利。尽管障碍重重，沃森和罗素都成为向男性主导的领域发起挑战的重要人物。 

第二次世界大战期间，妇女广播节目不但在提高国内士气方面发挥了重要作用，还被用作海外宣传的工具。例如，美国电台广播宣传节目主要针对拉丁美洲（拉丁美洲的橡胶和石油等资源对美国的战争行动至关重要）的听众，目的是与那边的人民保持良好关系以及对抗纳粹在拉丁美洲的宣传。研究表明，这些节目尤其重视拉丁美洲的妇女听众，因为她们被视为家庭价值观的核心所在。 

战后，广播可以团结各国妇女这一观念得到了广泛传播。妇女是1951年创建国际广播界妇女协会（1957年其英文缩写名称中增加了代表电视的“T”）的推动力。国际广播电视界妇女协会今日依然存在，其创建目的是联合妇女播音员以分享想法和信息，从而促进和平。该协会由荷兰女权主义者、经济历史学家和广播电台播音员维乐敏（莉莲）亨德里卡·波斯蒂默斯·范德古特（Willemijn (Lilian) Hendrika Posthumus-van der Goot）（1897-1989年）发起，现在已发展为一个拥有54个成员国的全球性网络，关注性别平等，并致力于让妇女在媒体和通信方面发挥更重要的作用。  

女权主义与电台广播 

妇女广播节目的发展往往与女权主义运动密切相关。例如，在20世纪40年代末和50年代，《妇女时间》曾与英国的几个妇女团体保持联系，而国际广播电视界妇女协会在其成立初期也通过国际妇女理事会（ICW）与国际妇女运动紧密相连。 

这些早期的例子可能并没有将自己定义为“女权主义者”，不过它们在许多方面显然推崇“女权主义”。2014年世界广播日庆祝了妇女加入广播领域以及妇女拥有更多权能，但也提醒着人们，性别平等仍然是媒体行业面临的一大挑战。 

然而，有几个例子表明广播中的妇女激进主义具有明确的女权主义议程。挪威的radiOrakel于1982年10月在奥斯陆成立，它宣称自己是全球第一家女权主义广播电台，人们如今可通过调频和互联网流媒体收听其节目。该电台的使命是对妇女进行广播新闻和音响工程等领域的培训，并积极支持妇女成为采访者和被采访者。此外，radiOrakel还规定本台广播中的音乐至少要有一半是由妇女创作或演奏的。 

社区广播电台也为增强妇女权能提供了重要空间。社区广播是公共广播和商业广播以外的第三种选择，因此经常被描述为“第三种”电台广播模式，通常不以营利为目的。社区广播电台由志愿者运营，为一些特定的、经常被主流媒体忽视的当地社区服务。英国桑德兰大学广播和参与学副教授卡洛琳·米切尔（Caroline Mitchell）是成立于1992年的英国首家妇女广播电台Fem FM的联合创始人。她评论说，社区广播“为妇女担任代表、参与事务和进行反抗提供了一个空间”。 

这种对妇女播音员和妇女听众所扮演角色的重新诠释使人们对电台广播的历史有了新的认识。尽管2019年阿富汗的罗沙尼电台、20世纪30年代美国的系列广播节目与如今的挪威radiOrakel大有不同，但这些例子都清楚地表明，媒体在很早以前就已成为、并一直是供妇女表达意见的强大平台。 

点击阅读《信使》杂志更多关于广播的内容。

By Kristin Skoog

In September 2019, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) reported the story of Sediqa Sherzai on its website. Based in the city of Kunduz in northern Afghanistan, Sherzai set up Radio Roshani in 2008. Run by women and promoting women’s rights, the station continues broadcasting today, in spite of death threats and other war-related challenges. Its phone-in programmes provide an important space and public platform for women’s voices and concerns. Radio Roshani is a powerful example of the strong relationship between women and radio today.

Since the 1920s, when radio was introduced into people’s homes, the medium has provided a space for women to be heard – literally and figuratively – in a largely male-dominated public soundscape. Radio bridged, connected, and blurred the boundaries between the private and public spheres and by doing so, spoke to women as housewives, workers, consumers and citizens. In many countries, the emergence of radio in the home also coincided with women gaining the vote.

Today, there is a growing body of historical research exploring this subject. Studies examining specific national contexts – from Argentina, Australia, Germany, Sweden, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States, for instance – have written women and gender back into broadcasting history. They have uncovered marginalized and often “hidden” histories of women in broadcasting, whose lives and work have been forgotten or ignored. They have recorded key developments in women’s programming, including changing definitions of the contested term, “women’s interest”, and highlighted debates on women’s voices – both on and off the air. Together, these histories point to the role of radio in the lives of women and how this relationship has contributed to processes of democratization and modernization.

Women have played a key role – both as broadcasters and listeners – in shaping radio’s general development and broadcasting practices. Programme formats and genres we now take for granted, such as serials and talk shows, were conceived for a female audience. In the US, in the 1930s, for example, where commercial radio dominated, women played an important role as consumers and became a target group for advertisers and sponsors.

Daytime broadcasts came to be characterized as “feminine” and soon, radio soaps dominated the airwaves because they were so lucrative. Michele Hilmes, Professor of Media and Cultural Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and an expert on US broadcasting, has suggested that the gendered nature of daytime radio serials soon meant they offered a space for women. In her 1997 book, Radio Voices: American Broadcasting, 1922-1952, Hilmes writes that “under cover of daytime”, radio serials addressed and confronted issues and concerns facing American women in the 1930s and 1940s.

A similar trend can be observed in the magazine-style format. Woman’s Hour, introduced on BBC Radio in 1946, was the first dedicated radio programme for women in the UK. Topics such as “keeping house” and “childcare” were soon replaced by difficult issues facing women, such as politics and women’s citizenship. And quite early on, sensitive topics and taboos such as menopause and intimate relationships in marriage, were addressed.

Women have also contributed to the development of new formats, such as the social documentary. The British radio producer and broadcaster Olive Shapley (1910-1999), is an example of this. Her career began at the BBC in 1934, where she produced the Children’s Hour programme for the BBC’s North region, based in Manchester. 

The depression in the 1930s had plunged many areas of Britain into poverty – this was particularly visible in and around Manchester. Shapley made good use of mobile recording vans that enabled her to travel across the region to interview people in their homes, on the street, or at work. Her documentaries were pioneering, both in technique and subject matter. Her aim, she said later, was to get “real people talking”. 

Not long before the outbreak of the Second World War, Shapley produced a programme called Miners’ Wives, that explored the way of life in two mining villages – one in County Durham in the north-east of England, and another near Béthune, France. The programme was later translated and rebroadcast on the BBC’s French service during the war.

It was also during the Second World War that the first women war correspondents emerged. American radio journalist Betty Wason (1912-2001) first travelled to Europe for the Transradio Press Service, a wire service that provided the news to radio stations. She was in Prague in 1938 when the Nazis took over the government, and reported on events there. 

Wason was then hired by the Columbia Broadcasting System (now CBS) and was soon reporting on the Nazi invasion in Norway. She was later based in Greece. However, the pioneering reporter was told to get a man to read her reports on air. At the time, it was thought that women’s voices were not suitable for serious reporting. “They said women weren’t authoritative enough or sufficiently knowledgeable to handle serious subjects,” she later recalled.

Another radio pioneer was Audrey Russell (1906-1989). The BBC’s first woman war correspondent, she contributed war reports and interviews between 1941 and 1945. Russell focused on the experiences of civilians during the war, such as the impact of German long-range shelling over Dover and Folkestone, and the destruction of a V-2 rocket. However,  being a woman prevented her from reporting from the battlefront – that was reserved for her male counterparts. In spite of the obstacles they faced, Wason and Russell were both significant voices that challenged a space dominated by males. 

During the Second World War, women’s radio programming played an important role in mobilizing morale on the home front, but was also used as a vehicle for propaganda abroad. For instance, US radio propaganda programmes were devised to target listeners in Latin America – whose resources, such as rubber and petroleum, were crucial to the US war effort –  to maintain good relations with the people and combat Nazi propaganda there. Research shows that Latin American women listeners were particularly targeted because they were perceived as being central to family values. 

The idea that radio could bring women together across national boundaries gained currency after the war. Women were the driving force behind the creation of the International Association of Women in Radio in 1951 (a T for Television was added in 1957). The IAWRT, which still exists, was founded to promote peace by bringing women broadcasters together to share ideas and information. It was initiated by the Dutch feminist, economic historian and radio broadcaster Willemijn (Lilian) Hendrika Posthumus-van der Goot (1897-1989). Today the organization is a global network with members from fifty-four countries – focusing on gender equality, and working to enhance the role of women in media and communications.

The evolution of women’s radio programming has often been closely associated with the feminist movement. In the late 1940s and 1950s, for example, Woman’s Hour was connected with several women’s groups in Britain. In its early days, the IAWRT was also strongly linked to the international women’s movement through the International Council of Women (ICW).

These early examples may not have identified themselves as “feminist”, although in many ways they clearly were. World Radio Day in 2014 celebrated women in radio and women’s empowerment, but also noted that gender equality remained a challenge in the media industry.

There are several examples, though, of women’s activism on radio, with a clear feminist agenda. Norway’s radiOrakel, which claims it is the first feminist radio station in the world, was set up in October 1982 in Oslo – it is available today via FM and internet streaming. Its mission is to train women in areas including radio journalism and sound engineering. The station actively supports women as both interviewers and interviewees. It also stipulates that  at least half the music aired must be composed or performed by women.

Community radio stations also provide an important space for the empowerment of women. Often described as a “third” model of radio, since it offers an alternative to public and commercial broadcasting, community radio is generally not for profit. It is operated by volunteers and serves specific local communities that are often neglected by the mainstream media. As Caroline Mitchell, Associate Professor, Radio and Participation, at the University of Sunderland in the UK and co-founder of Fem FM, the UK’s first radio station for women, established in 1992, has observed, community radio offers “a space for women’s representation, participation and resistance.”

This reinterpretation of the role played by women broadcasters and listeners sheds new light on the history of radio. Leaving aside the obvious differences between Radio Roshani in Afghanistan in 2019, series broadcasts in the US in the 1930s, or radiOrakel in Norway  today, these examples are a clear indication that the medium has, from early on, been a powerful platform for women’s voices.