How the Media Contributes to Gender Equality as a Foreign Idea
By Sarah Cummings, Staff Writer, Emerson College
The media has become an unavoidable aspect of American society. Every time we turn on the television, flip through a newspaper, or even just pass the magazines at the registers at the grocery store, we are being exposed to the stereotypes and biases of the media. And when looking at the media, it can be easy to forget that women have actually made any advancements in equality over the past century. The media’s use of gender stereotypes is particularly apparent, and particularly dangerous, in it’s coverage of politics.
Women in Politics
Women are severely underrepresented in American politics. Out of 150 countries, The United States ranks 78 for women in the national legislator, and the United States' news programs are not doing anything to help lower that number. Through their portrayal of women politics and candidates, the media tells their viewers again and again that women and men are not equal. They tell us that women have their appearance and their emotions while men have plausible ideas and skills. And these messages have proven to have harmful effects on female candidates’ campaigns.
Women in Politics
Women are severely underrepresented in American politics. Out of 150 countries, The United States ranks 78 for women in the national legislator, and the United States' news programs are not doing anything to help lower that number. Through their portrayal of women politics and candidates, the media tells their viewers again and again that women and men are not equal. They tell us that women have their appearance and their emotions while men have plausible ideas and skills. And these messages have proven to have harmful effects on female candidates’ campaigns.
While the appearances of male politicians are hardly ever mentioned, they can become entire news segments for female politicians. On February 6th, 2013, Fox News reporter Steve Doocy reported on a picture of Hillary Clinton’s on her new website with the headline “Face of ‘Hil 2016.'" He tells his viewers that the website shows off Clinton’s, “glamorous new face” and wonders if she could have had a face-lift (she did not). Doocy compares the new picture to one from two weeks prior and suggests that the Clinton’s new look is to help her gain support for her 2016 presidential campaign.
The link between a candidates physical attractiveness and their likability is much more prevalent for female politicians. Multiple studies done over the past twenty years have shown that female candidates are often judged and identified by factors such as their personality, family life, apparel, and appearances, while more emphasis is placed on the qualifications, jobs, and achievements of male candidates.
In the 2008 election, Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin were both heavily judged on aspects of their lives that male candidates were not. The media discussed Sarah Palin’s teenage daughters pregnancy, claiming that she could not balance raising a family and being vice president. Male candidates, on the other hand, never have their ability to handle a political job with a family questioned.
A female politician’s attire is also discussed in the media much more than a male’s. While I have never heard a reporter discuss the tie a male candidate wore, or what his decision to wear a black suit verses a dark grey says about his personality and his ability to run our nation, women are constantly judged on their clothing. Time that could be devoted to discussing a candidates achievements or ideas or are instead used to talk about what they wore and whether they looked good in it or not.
A study conducted by Celinda Lake of Lake Research Partners and Robert Carpenter of Chesapeake Beach Consulting, in which quotes from the media’s coverage of the 2012 campaign were used in a hypothetical campaign between two fictional politicians, revealed that even neutral or positive comments on a female politician’s appearance made her less likable. Coverage of appearance proved to effect how voters viewed the candidate’s confidence, efficiency, qualifications, and reliability.
The media also make sexist claims regarding female candidates’ emotional stability. On an episode of the O’Riley show, O’Riley interviewed Marc Rudov, author of Under the Clitoral Hood: How to Crank Her Engine Without Cash, Booze, or Jumper Cables. When asked, “what would be the downside of having a female president?” Rudov answered, “you mean besides the PMS and the mood swings?” These sexist ideas are what kept women out of the workforce decades ago, and now they are being stated in the media to keep women from gaining equal representation in politics.
Voters are going to be less inclined to vote for female politicians when the media bases their coverage on so many biases. In their way of judging females, and of projecting the stereotype that women are not strong enough to have major political roles, the media makes sure the United States remains a country governed mainly by men.
Women Watching Politics
This gender biased press coverage has proven not only harmful for potential candidates, but for viewers as well. With the huge presence television has in young Americans lives, what they see on while watching TV is going to have an effect on how they think. According to the documentary Miss Representation, an equal number of young boys and girls think they can be president, but by the time they turn 15 there’s a large gap between the males and females who still think they can be president. As these girls grow up in a world with few examples of female politicians, and the media constantly showing them that they cannot compare to men, it can become easy for them to lose faith in their ability to gain leadership positions. And, beyond that, it can become easy for them to lose faith in themselves.
In the 2008 election, Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin were both heavily judged on aspects of their lives that male candidates were not. The media discussed Sarah Palin’s teenage daughters pregnancy, claiming that she could not balance raising a family and being vice president. Male candidates, on the other hand, never have their ability to handle a political job with a family questioned.
A female politician’s attire is also discussed in the media much more than a male’s. While I have never heard a reporter discuss the tie a male candidate wore, or what his decision to wear a black suit verses a dark grey says about his personality and his ability to run our nation, women are constantly judged on their clothing. Time that could be devoted to discussing a candidates achievements or ideas or are instead used to talk about what they wore and whether they looked good in it or not.
A study conducted by Celinda Lake of Lake Research Partners and Robert Carpenter of Chesapeake Beach Consulting, in which quotes from the media’s coverage of the 2012 campaign were used in a hypothetical campaign between two fictional politicians, revealed that even neutral or positive comments on a female politician’s appearance made her less likable. Coverage of appearance proved to effect how voters viewed the candidate’s confidence, efficiency, qualifications, and reliability.
The media also make sexist claims regarding female candidates’ emotional stability. On an episode of the O’Riley show, O’Riley interviewed Marc Rudov, author of Under the Clitoral Hood: How to Crank Her Engine Without Cash, Booze, or Jumper Cables. When asked, “what would be the downside of having a female president?” Rudov answered, “you mean besides the PMS and the mood swings?” These sexist ideas are what kept women out of the workforce decades ago, and now they are being stated in the media to keep women from gaining equal representation in politics.
Voters are going to be less inclined to vote for female politicians when the media bases their coverage on so many biases. In their way of judging females, and of projecting the stereotype that women are not strong enough to have major political roles, the media makes sure the United States remains a country governed mainly by men.
Women Watching Politics
This gender biased press coverage has proven not only harmful for potential candidates, but for viewers as well. With the huge presence television has in young Americans lives, what they see on while watching TV is going to have an effect on how they think. According to the documentary Miss Representation, an equal number of young boys and girls think they can be president, but by the time they turn 15 there’s a large gap between the males and females who still think they can be president. As these girls grow up in a world with few examples of female politicians, and the media constantly showing them that they cannot compare to men, it can become easy for them to lose faith in their ability to gain leadership positions. And, beyond that, it can become easy for them to lose faith in themselves.
Changing The Media
A change has already started to take place in social media. People and organizations are blogging about what needs to change in how the media depicts women, such as the Women’s Media Center. Beyond social media, documentaries like Miss Representation are being made to reveal the effects and the gender inequality in the media. All of these are bringing this country closer to gender equality. But we have to go even further.
People have to keep taking a stand on gender equality and spreading their message until all forms of media are portraying all genders equally. When advertisements break free of stereotypical gender roles, when magazines start telling girls to love who they are instead of wishing to be someone else, and when news reporters discuss female politicians just as they discuss male politicians, that is when gender equality can start to become a reality. That is when the young girls who look out into the world and see themselves doing great things will be able to grow up still having that belief.
Sarah Cummings is sophomore creative writing major from New York. She has an obsession with all things cats, an addiction to her Netflix account, a love for Disney Channel Original Movies, and a bad habit of thinking up stories much more often than she writes them down. You can find sarah on Facebook.
People have to keep taking a stand on gender equality and spreading their message until all forms of media are portraying all genders equally. When advertisements break free of stereotypical gender roles, when magazines start telling girls to love who they are instead of wishing to be someone else, and when news reporters discuss female politicians just as they discuss male politicians, that is when gender equality can start to become a reality. That is when the young girls who look out into the world and see themselves doing great things will be able to grow up still having that belief.
Sarah Cummings is sophomore creative writing major from New York. She has an obsession with all things cats, an addiction to her Netflix account, a love for Disney Channel Original Movies, and a bad habit of thinking up stories much more often than she writes them down. You can find sarah on Facebook.