Chaima el Ouardi

Abstract:

This paper examines the attitudes of Moroccans towards women generally and women artists specifically. Although recent years have known significant changes in favor of women in Morocco, some passive points of view about women and their intellect and talent still exist in the minds of many Moroccans. The aim of this research is to know to what extent the status of women has been improved in Morocco. The research uses a mixed methods design in order to investigate the attitudes of Moroccan social network users towards female artists to test if gender bias still exists in the field of arts and, if so, to know the reasons and the sources of such negative attitudes. The findings have shown that despite the improvements that Morocco has known regarding women's status, approximately one-tenth of the Moroccans who participated in this study see that female artists do not possess talent like male artists and that they should stay at their homes. Moreover, the majority prefer male artists over female artists and show different reactions when the artists find themselves in trouble. This proves that gender bias still exists in the field of arts despite the government’s efforts to promote gender equality. The findings also reveal that the reasons for clinging to those perceptions are usually justified by the societal expectations coming from mores and religious stereotypes.