Women In The Eyes of The Media

AOC, a strong example

In late July, Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (also known as AOC), for New York’s 14th congressional district, spoke about her interaction with a co-worker, Republican Representative Ted Yoho. During the interaction, which took place on the steps of the Capitol building in Washington D.C, Yoho reportedly called AOC a discourteous slur. His unprofessional and inappropriate remarks are not the only ones many women, like AOC, have had to deal with in the personal and professional world. After the public was informed about the incident, Yoho issued a mediocre and unapologetic ‘apology’. In this, he negates using vulgar terms to describe AOC and expresses he would not use demeaning language toward a woman as he is married and has daughters. Yoho then cites his ‘passion’ for his political beliefs as the reason for his outburst that morning. By hiding behind the veneer of his relationships with women, Yoho tries to come out of the dispute as to the ‘good guy’, a tactic that has been used by many men before him. For example, during Justice Kavanaugh’s trial for sexual assault allegations, he repeatedly spoke of his relationships with his daughter, wife, and mother. AOC’s response to Yoho’s petty apology not only acknowledges the lack of sympathy Yoho really had but speaks to all women who have also been belittled by men.

Instances of women being treated differently than their male counterparts are not new. Females are often painted as weak and distracted by the media. Just in October 2019, AOC was targeted by the Washington Times for spending more than $100 for a haircut. For something as irrelevant as the price of her haircut, the article attacks her political preachings and calls her out for being hypocritical when she spends money, but says income inequality is a prevalent issue. Interestingly enough, AOC’s cut and the color price were not extremely high considering that women’s hair treatments are usually priced similarly. AOC responded by citing conservative Vice President, Mike Pence’s limousine expenditure, which was almost $600K. Victim to many media attacks, these two examples of petty belittlement are not uncommon to AOC, or most women, for that matter.

This disregard of respect and equality for women in politics is not new. Only after fighting for 72 years, were women given the opportunity to vote following the enactment of the 19th Amendment in 1920. Even as America develops, women are still underrepresented in politics. According to a study done by Pew Research Center, 49% of Americans feel that gender discrimination is the reason there are so few women holding positions in office. Political-party affiliation has a lot to do with this number. Not surprisingly, 64% of Democrats and only 30% of Republicans believe gender discrimination is the reason for the lack of women in office. Politicians like AOC are not the only women who are downgraded in the media. But being portrayed unjustly by the media has gone on for decades and it is far from over.

Media Portrayal of Women

Women continue to be undermined through the presence of the media in many fields and circumstances. One such field in which women are treated unfairly is the film industry. Actress Geena Davis has been speaking about this issue. As a solution, she began the nonprofit organization: Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media. This organization is attempting to make the film industry more accepting of women and eliminate implicit biases.

In the film industry itself, women continue to be treated unfairly. Evidence to this point shows that they have been given roles lacking in versatility on screen, are portrayed as less than men, and have received significantly less screen time than their male counterparts. In addition, women have lacked in being given roles of value, like leaders in STEM careers. Though it is true that these methods are being eradicated slowly, we still must work hard to ensure that they disappear altogether.

The film industry isn’t the only place in which biases towards women continue to exist. Women are subject to sexism in newsrooms and the political realm. In a 2015 study, women were shown to make up a whopping 19% of experts featured in news stories and were 27% of reporters breaking stories worldwide. Female candidates in the 2009 European Election Study’s Media Content Data are less frequent in media compared to their male competitors. As if that isn’t enough, women make up 24% of news subjects globally. In the 2002 Bosnian Election, only 3% of television airtime and 1% of print media space was allotted for female candidates. These specific incidents have downplayed the role of women in media and politics. 

You may be thinking that this is old information and that times have changed for the better. Sadly, evidence shows otherwise. In a study by Erica Falk in which she compared the presidential campaigns of female candidates in the US, it was found that this issue hasn’t been solved. Media sexism has a significantly negative impact on women political candidates and politicians, this is something we must improve.

Some patterns found in this study were:

• Women receive proportionately less coverage than men.
• Stories about women candidates are more geared towards physical appearance and family life.
• Women are likely to be questioned and criticized for their competence.
• Policy positions women take on issues specifically women-based will be the main focus.

These patterns continue to reduce self esteem and reinforce gender stereotypes that we must break out of.

In an article by The Conversation, they expose the different journalism gender traps that women face today. These include focusing solely on the domestic life of a woman, tying them down to powerful men, labeling them as ‘emotional,’ and discussing only their physical appearance. As the media implicates these frivolous aspects into their briefings, voters can be easily swayed.

Hillary Clinton once said, ‘If I want to knock a story off the front page, I just change my hairstyle.’ Though this may seem surprising to hear, it is an accurate depiction of how women are portrayed in the media. Tying back to the speech given by AOC, spending excessive amounts on a haircut is something that can land a woman politician on the front page of a newspaper. We must bring an end to the unfair criticism put upon female politicians and women in general.

One fact we cannot deny relating to this issue is that there have been significant advances in the rights of women in the past few generations. These advantages are things such as the increasing presence of females in official and government settings and narrowing the wage gap. From the 2018 Census Bureau data, women on average earned 82 cents for every $1 earned by a man, this translates to a wage gap of 18 cents per year. This number varies between women in minorities. Though it just seems like a meager 18 cents, this number can add up quickly, showing us that we still have a long way to go in equalizing pay among genders.

Representation of Women Within Politics

According to an article written by UN Women on representation in society, most places remain rooted in patriarchal traditions. The consequences of these ideologies are detrimental to the future of women’s rights. We must continue to value the opinions and ideas of women in order to collectively advance humanity. 

Though this chart shows that the political representation of women has doubled globally in the past 25 years, men continue to dominate the political scene.

Generational Differences

Surveys conducted by Pew Social Trends show that the amount of American workers holding a college degree has significantly increased, especially among women. In the corporate and STEM world, opportunities and pay for women are shown to be increasing at a rate far faster than men. From 1980 to 2018, the gender wage gap in these fields has narrowed greatly, decreasing from 33% to 15%. This research shows that the discrimination experienced by women in the corporate world is decreasing slowly.

Different generations have differing views on the representation of women, this is a given when thinking about the advancements of rights through time. According to research by Pew Social Trends, 81% of Millennials, 76% of Gen Xers, and 72% of Baby Boomers say it is good to encourage girls to engage in activities that would be considered ‘boyish.’ This proves the idea that younger generations are often more open to introducing children to toys associated with the opposite gender. Something as little as playing with different toys can teach girls that they are not inferior to boys. 

As with most topics and ideologies, political parties seem to play a significant role in the presence of women in media and politics. Studies show that 64% of Democrats vs only 38% of Republicans claim that there is too little emphasis for girls to be leaders. As you can see, Democrats are more likely to say that girls should be encouraged to be leaders in the future. Since Gen Zers and Millennials are more democratic than their preceding generations, they encourage their children to break societal norms.

Being Aware

Throughout history and currently, there is a wide range of areas in which we can better our view of women. Sadly, if media sources continue to portray women as weaker than men, society will continue to unconsciously place women into a different category than their male counterparts. But times are changing. With large magazines and brands promoting activism and feminism, they are working to reverse society’s views of women. Teen Vogue, for example, includes politics related articles to spur progressive thinking in their younger audiences. Teen Vogue featured articles such as “Women Had the Most to Say at the Democratic Debate”, from the presidential debates in February 2020, and “The Incredible Story of 25 Women Who Survived the Hiroshima Bombing”. With more articles that depict strong females targeted towards young girls, magazines are able to make positive impacts on young impressionable minds. 

Media portrayal, wage gap, and other forms of gender discrimination are the reason we as a society should work to make it so future generations do not have to experience what past generations did. We must push for an end to the sexualization of a women’s public image by the media. With impactful movements such as #MeToo, where women speak out about horrible experiences of sexual harassment and abuse they encounter, we are heading in the right direction. We must educate others to stop the inherent biases they may hold. It is sad politicians like AOC must withstand insults that her fellow male peers do not receive for holding the same job. This goes for all women, why must they stand the unfair depiction of themselves in the media in order to live how they want?