Contested Images: Women’s (Mis)representations in Malta, c. 1960s–1980s

Contested Images: Women’s (Mis)representations in Malta, c. 1960s–1980s

Speaker: Dr Simone Azzopardi

Abstract:

As post-independence Malta grappled with cultural friction between Catholic conservatism and features of secularisation, debates about decency, morality, and the image of women surfaced in censorship battles, public scandal, and the pages of the commercial press. Advertising, film, radio and print media constructed competing and often contradictory ideals, often framing women either as the dutiful housewife or the sexualised temptress, while holding them to moral standards. Drawing on the archives of the National Council of Women, the Muviment għall-Emanċipazzjoni tal-Mara, and Min-Naħa tan-Nisa, this lecture traces how these organisations responded to the ways women were portrayed – each from their own distinct standpoint, from moral guardianship to feminist critique – in a landscape that simultaneously idealised, objectified, and policed the Maltese woman.

Entrance is Free but registration is required.

About the Speaker:

Simone Azzopardi is a lecturer in the Department of History at the University of Malta, where she teaches late modern and contemporary Maltese, European, and global history. She has long been active in the Malta Historical Society, where she currently serves as Vice-President, a position she also holds in the Malta University Historical Society. Beyond academia, she is also the chairperson of the environmental NGO Għawdix.

Other Information:

• Once registration is confirmed, there is no need to print your ticket(s).
• We kindly advise arriving a little early. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. Once the lecture begins, any unoccupied seating will be allocated to walk-ins.
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• Please note that the lecture will be photographed and recorded for documentation and media purposes.