The struggle for media equality

The media in America as shown in the readings, is lacking in equality for women and minorities. For years in America it was thought that women were incapable of covering news stories. Then once they were able to gain a foothold in the male dominated news room, they were reduced to "light" news or the weather; topics deemed the only ones that a woman could speak about. Time and time again, male dominance would maintain that women are incapable of handling anything "too serious" such as news. As Bell Hooks says, "Patriarchy is a political-social system that insists that males are inherently dominating, superior to everything and everyone deemed weak, especially females". "Many people in society submit to a patriarchal dominance from an early age because they are brought up with it. As Bell Hooks says, (they) "follow a predetermined gender script". This is a problem occurs throughout society but is displayed often in the media.

In the past women were able to finally be a "co anchor", but that did not stop the media from portraying them as nothing other than to be looked at. After finally deemed worthy of conducting "serious news", once again women had been set back by the very media they worked for. Women working in the newsroom are increasingly valued for their appearance rather then their contribution. Many shocking instances of miniskirts and cleavage shots have been featured on news programs. The male news anchors are never with such attention. They are often much older than their co worker, and often unfashionable. This implies, what the male co anchor has to say far outweighs his appearance, but we can't say the same about the female co anchor.
America has now shown some steps toward equality for women, the first two solo female anchors have made appearances on major networks. Yet still, these woman are constantly judged by their appearance rather than their contribution.
Shockingly, women in the British media face even more hostility than American women. The "page three" girl, is a concept that remains thankfully absent in American newspapers. In the U.K., there is a page in the newspaper that features the topless girl of the day, completely unabashed.

On the reverse, Britain features female "news readers" that are dressed significantly more professionally than American female anchors. Emily Maitlis was critizied by the British press for "showing too much leg".
When the first British woman "news reader" was hired in 1960, the Weekly Post featured an article entitled, "Girls just can't read the news", stated, "the plain fact is that the news is one of those rare T.V. items which requires one simple no-nonsense characteristic from its vendor - authority. And how many women do you know that can even begin to appear and sound authoritative while remaining attractively feminine?"

Yet quickly as the years wore on this was dismissed as more and more reserved female news readers were taken seriously and authoritative. The press apparently found the authoritative manner in which the women conducted themselves as even more racy than if they had been in mini skirts. The Daily Mail wrote of one female news reader, "Even her sexiness is almost deliberate". "But she knows, again by instinct more than calculation, that men find the reserve or maidenly modesty in a pretty woman with a hint of darker passions beneath, more exciting than bawdy sluttishness." The seductress is pictured below.
British media is more recently being critizied for "ageism", where female news readers were replaced because of their age. Four British female newsreaders that were replaced and their employers were taken to court, causing a scandal. The British media has also been critizied for content. In the article "Invisible women: Black Britons struggle to be heard", women discuss how Black women and minorities are underrepresented my the British media. They are either stereotyped or made to feel a invisible minority. Another controversial topic is women who had been involved in the feminist movement have published articles that are perplexingly anti feminist, (such as the notion that girls should be sterilized for a certain amount of time to prevent pregnancy). This media corruption in Britain is countered by alternative media such as the feminist website "The "F" word", that is "an online magazine dedicated to talking about and sharing ideas on contemparary feminism".

There are obviously still problems with equality, especially in the media. Since the media is so influential, it is important that we recognize the problems and then take action. Women in the feminism originally made the mistake of not admitting that both sexes could be at fault when on the subject of patriarchy. If they shared equal blame with the males, their status of "victim" could become lost. Or so they may have thought. As Bell Hooks says, "They masked their longing to be dominators by taking on the mantle of victimhood". The reality is that men are victims of patriarchy as much as females are and until that is recognized by both genders, it will be difficult to start a new way of thought. As said by Bell Hooks, "Few men brutally abused as boys in the name of patriarchal maleness courageously resist the brainwashing and remain true to themselves." As said by Bell Hooks, "Patriarchy as a system has denied males access to full emotional well-being". Both men and women need to work towards equality in gender roles. Lastly, as Bell hooks says, "If men are to reclaim the essential goodness of male well-being, if they are to regain the space of openheartedness and emotional expressiveness that is the foundation of well-being, we must envision alternatives to patriarchal masculinity. We must all change."


http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/organgrinder/2011/apr/11/british-press-awards-women

http://www.cnn.com/2011/10/14/world/europe/black-british-women/index.html

http://jezebel.com/5104025/british-feminism-is-totally-effed-says-uk-observer

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-514542/Why-sterilise-teenage-girls---temporarily-least.html

http://www.thefword.org.uk/

http://anti-box.com/2011/10/24/page-three-british-institution-sexism/

http://www.autoguide.com/auto-news/2010/09/chevrolet-goes-for-the-mad-men-crowd-with-sexist-ad.html

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/jan/11/countryfile-miriam-oreilly-tribunal

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-476878/Newscaster-Emily-Maitlis-offends-BBC-viewers-flash-leg.html