Pundits and bloggers from all parts of the political spectrum may disagree over Maureen Dowd's explosive Judith Miller/"Woman of Mass Destruction" op-ed last week, but one thing is certain: It's a catfight!:
As Dowd related today on the Imus in the Morning radio program, why is it that when David Brooks writes a critical column about someone, journalists don't employ similar adjectives to describe the situation? Furthermore, why is it that Dowd's appearance and sex life are thought to be fair game (Peyser: "Dowd, who has never married, has dated her share of well-known and powerful men"), when such comments wouldn't be tolerated if directed at her fellow male columnists?
I don't read Gloria Steinem, have never burned a bra, and, in general, think women have as many opportunities to succeed in our society today as men (or at least will very, very soon). But it's time to put terms such as "catfight" on the shelf when criticizing women who aren't afraid of conflict and are just doing their jobs.
A. Joseph (not verified) @ October 28, 2005 - 6:17am
As someone who has been working on gender/media issues for many years I was happy to see this posting by a young journalist-to-be. But, with reference to the last paragraph, in 30 years of acquaintance with the global women's movement I have yet to meet anyone who burnt a bra. And, about women's representation in the media as professionals and sources, do check the following links: http://www.journalism.org/resources/research/reports/gender/default.asp and http://www.iwmf.org/resources/stats.php Also, look out for the findings of the Global Media Monitoring Project 2005, due out early next year (see http://www.globalmediamonitoring.org)
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