Pitting women against each other
Sexism is so entrenched in American culture. In order to make any strides in becoming a more egalitarian society, it’s imperative that women lift each other up instead of tearing each other down. However, this is made difficult when the media constantly pits women against each other. A trivial -- and yet poignant -- example of this is when magazines include pictures of two female celebrities side by side, wearing the same outfit, with a rating for “who wore it better.” “Who wore it better” sections in magazines perpetuate the idea that no two women can wear the same dress and look good, but instead, only one woman is allowed to look the best. This creates a toxic environment where women always have to compete.
All the buzz right now is the Oprah interview with Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan Markle. Although Meghan and Harry revealed shocking information throughout the entirety of the interview, what truly stuck out to me was the fact that British tabloids constantly pitted Meghan against Princess Kate, and subsequently condemned Meghan for supposedly not having a good relationship with her sister-in-law. For example, Oprah read a headline where the British press praised Princess Kate for looking amazing after her pregnancy, donning new high heels, but when Meghan Markle also wore high heels following her pregnancy, the tabloids accused her of not having a good sense of balance, which could ultimately kill her child. Another preposterous example was when the British press applauded Princess Kate for having a healthy palate because she ate avocados while they attacked Meghan Markle for also having avocado toast, slamming her for contributing to deforestation and global warming. Even within the royal family, the British press feels a need to classify one woman as the angel and the other as the devil.
Our society encourages patriarchal binary thought which is the process of seeing the world in terms of polar opposites. However, not everything can be categorized into a simple, binary system. In order to lift women up, we need to shift our thinking. Although we may feel compelled to always have a winner and a loser, it’s crucial that we stop creating unnecessary competition among women.
Society tears women down if they don’t have a tight-knit relationship with each other but simultaneously pits them against each other, inevitably causing a strain on friendships. While it’s unlikely that the media will refrain from pitting women against each other, we can take a stand by refusing to buy into their misguided information. As cliche as it may sound, if we lift each other up, we have the power to create a more amalgamated society.
Media’s portrayal of powerful women
The vast majority of people get a bulk of their information from the media. Therefore, when the media constantly communicates an idea, whether or not we agree with it, we tend to internalize it. Given that the media has a propensity for belittling powerful women, the public tends to have a negative outlook on women with large platforms. A preeminent example of this is Hillary Clinton. Women in politics have notoriously had to tread a thin line between being assertive but not too aggressive. Many media outlets cast Hillary Clinton as aggressive, cold, and rude. This ultimately warped the public’s perception of her. Although everyone has their reasons for voting for or against her in the 2016 presidential election, many people had reservations about her because they just didn’t feel she was warm and fuzzy. This opinion can largely be attributed to the media.
Aside from the political sphere, the media’s coverage of successful women in the entertainment industry is often underscored with sexism. Take the famous singer, Taylor Swift. Since her career’s inception, she has been constantly attacked for her love life. Ironically, she has only had nine boyfriends (though it shouldn’t matter how many she had because the media just shouldn’t comment on her dating history period). For example, at the Grammys, an interviewer asserted that Swift would surely go home with a man that night, but Swift quickly shot down that assumption. This comment is not only blatantly sexist, but wildly inappropriate. Swift has also been the brunt of many sexist jokes because of her dating record. Most recently, in the new Netflix show Ginny & Georgia, the main character makes a flippant joke when she asks her mother why she cares about her love life when the mother goes “through men faster than Taylor Swift.” This just highlights how the media has pegged Taylor Swift as a serial dater, but never attacks her male counterparts who date the same, if not more, women.
Whether it be in politics, the entertainment industry, or any profession in between, it is unambiguous that sexism is deeply ingrained in the media.