Years ago when I was in J-school we were taught many useful things: how to write pyramid style, how to copyedit, how to conduct an interview with a less-than-willing subject, how to check facts and the importance of primary sources. The most important lesson, though, was how to be an impartial observer, a reporter of the news. There were courses for those drawn to fiction writing, which was viewed as a separate discipline.
Sounds quaint, doesn’t it?
And because I was a child of the 60s and 70s, we were encouraged to view women as equals, worthy of fair treatment in life and in the press. Strong, intelligent, capable and due the respect men automatically received. Gloria Steinem, Betty Friedan, Germaine Greer fought for women’s rights. Steinem is still at it. While abstract arguments about the fair treatment of women may have advanced women’s causes – more women now graduate from college than men and more receive advanced professional degrees – real equality, and fair treatment, are still a fiction.
Especially in politics, and especially in the media’s treatment of women in politics.
What prompted this little trip into nostalgia and outrage is Newsweek’s treatment of Michele Bachman on this week’s cover.
Looks like a nut, doesn’t she?
Of course the article was written by a woman, Lois Romano (the magazine sports her flattering glamour shot) and the magazine is edited by a woman, Tina Brown. Bachman’s photo appears to be credited to Chris Buck (gender undetermined), but we’re checking that.
So here’s the outrage part: apparently we are supposed to believe that what’s been done to Bachman is ok, since it was done (largely) by women. After all, she’s a Tea Party nutcase, right?
But the journalists have put themselves into the story. Rather than presenting a neutral, normal picture with which to illustrate the story, they have chosen a photo because it makes Bachman look like a nutcase.
Bachman, of course, is not the only female politician to receive the madwoman/ fat girl treatment. Recall the many photos of Sarah Palin looking unhinged or impossibly coy (here’s a relatively benign snap that manages to make Palin look merely paranoid):
Of course Newsweek/The Daily Beast is not the only offender. Here’s Sonia Sotomayor looking like she needs a haircut:
And candidate Hilary Clinton looking a bit zaftig:
Political men, on the other hand, receive different treatment (especially if they are Democrats):
The candidate Barack Obama:
Former President Bill Clinton:
Harry Reid, looking thoughtful:
Sadly, things really haven’t changed much since the 70s. Sure, women are in the workplace (earning less than men, unless, of course, they are single and childless) and hold positions of political power (however, women are now only 17 percent of Congress – we lost seats after the most recent mid-term election.)
It remains true that women, especially when they seek positions of power, are suspect, and portrayed as edge cases. And heaven help them if they’re conservative.
It’s a story that’s getting really old. And as a trained journalist who works with the media every day, it’s never easy watching the wall between news reporting and creative writing blur.
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Technorati Tags: Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, Harry Reid, Hillary Clinton, Journalism, Michelle Bachman, Portrayal of Women in the Media, Sarah Palin, Sonia Sotomayor
