*Note the lines written in italic are where I’ve updated my posiionality statement.
Positionality Statement
For the last two years I have been an Associate lecturer teaching on MA TV at UAL. This was my first job teaching at university standard. I initially taught the Television studio, but now my role has developed to include all aspects of factual programme making.
I’m a white British female in my late 40’s. I am able bodied, I am financially stable, I am educated to degree level, I am privileged. Being white I have never known racism or been singled out due to the colour of my skin. I have never known bias due to my sexuality, my religious beliefs or social class.
I was brought up as Roman Catholic but no longer practise or align myself to being a Catholic, however I believe myself to be spiritual. I’m from Bristol but do not have a local accent. My parents came from a middle-class background but growing up money was always very tight. My clothes came from charity shops, and we lived on a very strict budget. My gay uncles have always played a massive part in my life, so homophobia has always been something I feel very strongly about. It feels like a personal attack on my uncles.
In my 20’s I moved to London. I lived there for over 10 years before moving back to Bristol. I now live in a small village in the Cotswolds. I’ve worked in the television industry and as a freelance film maker for the last 20 years.
During my TV industry career has been lucky to work in a variety of different roles.
At times during my career, I experienced sexism, by male peers ‘subtly testing my knowledge’ to check if I knew my stuff. I was also subject to male “banter” that often made me feel uneasy, but I did not feel I was able to challenge so laughed along with the jokes. However, this not my norm, these were one of events, but its does give me a small microcosm of how something that I am, that I’m proud to be and cannot change, can be used again me.
In the early stages of my career, I was aware that, as a female, I was in the minority in a very male dominated world. At ITN (Ch4, C5, ITN News) I was only one of three women editors.
Whilst working as a freelancer on a documentary I became pregnant with my first child. This cut my career short as they terminated my contact. It was felt I that I could no longer fulfil the role I was hired to do. At the time I didn’t challenge this decision as I didn’t want to rock the boat. After that, I could only get freelance work that was office based and could no longer work on location.
I took a career break to raise my two child and became a stay-at-home mum. Unsociable work hours in the freelance industry, a partner working full time in a demanding job and high childcare costs all contributed to this decision. Once my children were in full-time education, I started to rebuild my career, working with charities and the BFI on filming projects with young adults. This was work I could fit around my family and childcare commitments.
Throughout my career, every organisation I have worked at has been liberal, predominately white, middle-class and has had male senior management. This course has made me consider how I got my breaks within a very male dominated environment.
I have always been very determined and created my own opportunities, though networking and ‘putting myself out there’ but I think this confidence and can-do attitude came for a world where I was white and privileged, so doors opened easily.