More Than A Magazine, A Movement
Mainstream media has a long history of projecting harmful sexist stereotypes which reverberate across culture, reproducing forms of toxic masculinity, violence and discrimination against women. This shows up in aspects of media like photographs and language that sexualizes women’s bodies or gendered news coverage that diminishes or ignores women’s contributions to society.
RepresentWomen’s Women Experts in Democracy Directory is meant to help organizations and media outlets connect with women in politics to ensure their meaningful representation in today’s important political conversations. It allows users to search almost 100 women by their location and area of expertise.
“Now there is no excuse for all-male panels. Democracy needs women at the table, now more than ever,” said Katie Usalis, partnerships director at RepresentWomen.
Now that Joe Biden has announced his withdrawal from the 2024 presidential race and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, the salience of gender as a critical factor in the contest for the presidency will rise quickly to the surface. But gender is always present in those campaigns—whether or not it’s visible.
Unfortunately, many commentators in mainstream and progressive media seem not to understand—or want to discuss—the deeply gendered nature of presidential campaigns or the presidency itself. This glaring deficit in political analysis was on full display in coverage last week of the Republican National Convention.
If U.S. democracy falls, one key enabler will have been the most consequential failure to date of a vital institution doing its job: journalism.
It makes my journalism friends profoundly and understandably uncomfortable to think of themselves as activists. But if they won’t use their platforms to raise the alarm loudly and persistently, beyond spotting some burning brush while ignoring the blazing forest, we—and they—are in deep, deep trouble.
Even if they do, we’ll all still be at risk, but at least the craft I believe in will have tried. And that will be a start.
From the November/December 1990 issue of Ms. magazine: “What won’t subvert rap’s sexism is the actions of men; what will is women speaking in their own voice.”
(For more ground-breaking stories like this, order 50 YEARS OF Ms.: THE BEST OF THE PATHFINDING MAGAZINE THAT IGNITED A REVOLUTION, Alfred A. Knopf—a collection of the most audacious, norm-breaking coverage Ms. has published.)
The misrepresentation and erasure of single/lone mom’s on Mother’s Day happens right before our eyes, surrounds us—and yet can be impossible for some to truly see.
What’s being ignored here is an opportunity to speak directly to single/lone moms who construct their own days and lives—who buy their own Mother’s Day presents. Moms who, depending on the age and situation and ability of their children, do not wake up to breakfast in bed or presents from others. Mothers who celebrate themselves. Or are learning to.
As we celebrate World Press Freedom Day, it’s worth reflecting on how it’s become a rare privilege to spot a female face on Afghan television—whether they wear a face covering or not.
Now, even these brief glimpses of women on Afghan TV might disappear. Near the end of February, Sheikh Mohammad Khalid, the Taliban’s minister for the propagation of virtue and prevention of vice, gathered owners of media companies for a meeting in Kabul and issued a warning: Women working in media needed to start covering their entire faces, leaving only their eyes visible; otherwise, the Taliban would ban women from working in the industry.
Taylor Swift commands a lot of attention. In mere days since its release, her 11th album The Tortured Poets Department, which is a lengthy 31 songs and runs over two hours, became the most streamed album in a single week and the first to reach over one billion streams on Spotify.
To some, such success seems … well, excessive. It’s hard not to notice such takedowns targeted at Swift amid her breakneck success might have something to do with her gender.
Female athletes are making an impact on the court and, with the right opportunities, can make a significant economic impact off the court too.
Sports fans of all ages are on to something big. The media can no longer bury the lead. Women excel in sports. Now companies and their brands need to see the writing—and the opportunities—on the sports page.
With misleading and anti-scientific phrases like “pro-life,” “late-term abortions” and “abortion up until the point of birth,” anti-abortion advocates prey on the public’s lack of familiarity with medical terminology and stoke emotional responses in order to demonize abortion care and those who seek and provide it.
These phrases cause tremendous harm, and the media outlets covering this language without a check are amplifying the damage. Those in need of abortion care are forced to navigate the stigma and lies forced on them by the preponderance of misinformation and bias when making their healthcare decisions.
Last week, Senate Majority Leader Senator Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) announced a major change to the long-standing informal dress code: “Senators are able to choose what they wear on the Senate floor,” he stated. The move was seen as no less than a revolution, especially for an establishment known for its adherence to tradition and archaic protocols. The attention this seemingly unimportant change has gotten shows us why what we wear matter.
If women have managed to reclaim the power of the suit and make it a staple of their wardrobe, while also finding creative ways to be noticeable, male senators can now have this opportunity to use their clothes to fashion their image.
