Rosies daughts 5 by Katie Vagnino

MUSIC TIME

A PLAYLIST MADE JUST The Ultimate FEMINIST Playlist P. 3

Are Women Actually Worse Drivers?

ROSIEâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S DAUGHTERS PLUS Women in Comedy & Pro- Sports: Debunking the Stereotypes

Special Feature: How the Media Portrays Women In Politics in Politics

DECEMBER 2013

Rosie’s Daughters

December 2013

+Featured in this

What We’ve Got:

Issue:

P. 1

A letter from our Editor, Amy Jo Werner.

P.2

Featured Article Meet the Authors

A Letter From Our Editor: It’s not news to anyone – at least anyone here that women are frequently thought of as the “lesser sex”. We’ve been told our hormones make us incompetent leaders, our femininity makes us weak warriors, and our lack of intelligence makes us overall unfit for any other variety of pursuits we might seek. This issue of Rosie’s Daughters features four editorials highlighting various road blocks women face in a variety of pursuits due to long held stereotypes created about women. This ranges

from women pursuing a career in comedy to women doing the basic task of driving. Sadly, we’re not surprised by the range of pursuits we as women are just not destined for according to popular culture. But, in this issue we hope to highlight some the long standing myths regarding women and put them to rest – for good. As always, Peace. Love. Activism.

–

Amy Jo Werner

Who Will Dominate Our Next Election? Republicans, Democrats, or Women? As American citizens, many questions come to mind when an upcoming election is closing in on us. A few common questions are: who will be front-runners, who is going to dominate the debate, and who is going to annoy us more through TV ads and the never ending phone calls. As a female who is quite interested in politics, these questions do come to mind, yet a more intricate question does as well, Is America ready for a female president? Lets flashback to 2008, when a female and an African American male held the democratic presidential nominations. It was a historic time as the race barrier was broken with Obama’s candidacy and at the same time Hillary Clinton received 18 million votes, which she compared to “18 million cracks” in the glass ceiling for female politicians. Many other politicians before Clinton have made these “cracks”; however the common struggle for most women in politics is the ruthless media bias that works against them from the very start. I have noticed that women have certainly made strides in how our country perceives them within politics, yet I have wondered what is holding them back from shattering this said glass ceiling. I believe that the media plays a detrimental role in why this ceiling is still in fact looming over female politicians. This is no new encounter for women; a media bias has been plaguing them for years. When a woman ran for president in 1872, the New York Herald made a headline stating, “the petticoat politician” merely commenting on her appearance rather than what she stood for. In another startling statistic, I discovered of the more than 12,000 people who have

served in Congress since our nation's founding, less than two percent have been women. Women have certainly come a long way since 1872, however it is astonishing to me that it wasn’t until 2008 when Hillary Clinton and Sara Palin made their marks on history, being the two closest females to reach the white house and they didn’t even succeed. While looking into this topic, I wanted to educate myself on how the media is hurting women, and what effects it has on not only the politicians, but the voting public as well. While watching a TED talks video featuring Megan Kamerick I came upon some startling statistics. Only 24% of news subjects are female, and women are only 19% of the stories on politics. In another piece of evidence, Kamerick talks about a specific instance regarding a picture of president Obama and his advisors tracking the killing of Osama Bin Laden. As Hillary Clinton is one of president Obamas advisors, she is clearly shown in the Original picture. However a Jewish newspaper based out of Brooklyn completely removed Clinton from the photo, saying they never run photos of women due to the fact that they may be sexually provocative. As we can clearly see, we have a problem ladies. So how is the media doing this you may ask? They are one, completely cutting women out, or two, paying too much attention to irrelevant topics. These topics include a women’s outward appearance, emotions, and stereotypical views that we can all attest that at some point we have been effected by. The media feeds off either the emotional women or the too aggressive women, never allowing room for a remotely “normal” women to prevail. These

mistaken views created by the media, is what shapes the naïve citizens mindsets on women leading our country. The media does not merely report anymore, they persuade and effect how women are viewed in the political field. So not only are current female politicians struggling to brake this view, but it is potentially deterring our sisters, daughters, and other young female generations from pursuing these high offices. I am not sure about you but that is not what I want for our so-called progressive country. American citizens deserve to have the opportunity to vote for the candidate they believe will be the best person for the job, not based upon what the past as produced. I believe that we must be actively questioning how our media provides information and what is factual versus what is exaggerated. Do not support the media sources that are fostering this negative view. It is said by some that more women need to “step up” and try to obtain these offices, and this is what I say to those people: when you start stepping up and supporting women, rather than setting an unattainable standard for them, is when you will see and outburst of women candidates. I believe that in our lifetime we will see the glass ceiling be shattered into smithereens and a first lady, become a first gentlemen.

By: Emily Mihalovic

Our Feminist Playlist

Just for you. Renaissance Girls – Oh Land!

Our Daughters Will Never Be Free – The Indelicates The Indelicates are a Sussex-based English indie rock band formed in 2005 by Julia Clark-Lowes and Simon Clayton. In their song “Our Daughters Will Never Be Free” released on their 2008 album, American Demo makes a commentary on the current state of feminism. Suggesting society is letting feminism die and be given bad extremist connotations. It’s also a commentary on the degradation of women’s bodies.

Nanna Øland Fabricius, better known by her stage name, Oh Land, is a Danish singersongwriter and record producer. Her song “Renaissance Girls” off the album Wish Bone takes the term “renaissance girl” and looks at some of the negative effects. How women aren’t expected to be anything they want – but more so how women might feel that they have to be everything.

Defined Lines [Feminist Parody of Blurred Lines] - The Law Revue Girls

None of Your Business – Salt-nPepa Salt-n-Pepa is an American hip hop trio from Queens and Brooklyn, New York, that was formed in 1985. The group included Cheryl James, Sandra Denton, and Deidra Roper. In their song “None of Your Business” is a song about sexual liberation and their feelings about people judging women’s sexual decisions.

This parody of Robin Thicke’s Blurred Lines by three female law students of University of Auckland discusses the defined lines of consent in sex and the problem with sexual harassment and sexism in popular culture. This song came out as a direct response to Robin Thicke’s when the women were shocked to hear such a sexist song receiving such praise.

Knock ‘em Out – Lilly Allen Lily Cooper, known professionally as Lily Allen, is an English recording artist and actress. In her song Knock ‘em Out she makes a commentary on the social scene women often face with unwanted sexual advances made on them even when they show no interest. She suggests women need to take a stronger stand against these men and “knock ‘em out”.

Women are bad drivers. Fact or fiction? For decades now, you have been viewed in movies as scared, stupid, horrific drivers. I am talking, of course, about the stereotype that women are bad drivers. This stereotype has been around for so long that people view it as the truth, but is it really that women can’t drive, or is it another reason why society gave this stereotype to women? My theory is that men use this stereotype to make women believe that they are inferior to them, kind of like how women used to be viewed back in the early 1900s. You may be asking yourself, why do men view women this way? I believe genetics plays a big role in why men view women as inferior to them. Men are aggressive, overconfident, attention seeking people and it is because of these traits that created the stereotype and that make women better drivers. According to the Social Issues Research Centre, men are twenty-five percent more likely to get in an accident than women. So how is it that men could be better drivers when they get in more crashes? There’s a simple answer to that question: they aren’t. The Social Issues Research Centre also claims that men break more traffic laws than women by driving over the speed limit, drive more often under the influence of drugs and alcohol, and drive without a seatbelt. This information shows that women are safer and smarter drivers than men. Now you may be wondering, why am I a better driver than a man? The answer is simple – estrogen. Your estrogen gives you the edge when it comes to driving because it forces you to drive with more caution. When a woman drives, she pays close attention to the cars around her and she drives the speed limit. A woman’s mothering trait causes her to drive defensively

because she doesn’t want to get hurt or cause someone else to get hurt. Men, on the other hand, drive offensively, not caring about who they might hurt or even kill with their dangerous driving. They see driving as getting from point A to point B as quickly as possible. If driving were a football game, men would be on the offensive side and women would be on the defensive side. If everyone drove as stupidly as men do, there would be twice as many crashes every year. But it’s not the man’s fault that he is a stupid, unsafe driver – its genetics. The overconfidence of men plays a major role in why they are unsafe, aggressive drivers. Not only in driving do men show their overconfidence, but also sports, weight training, investments, and much more. Men might think that their confidence is a good characteristic, but when it comes to driving, this characteristic causes them and those around them to suffer. When a man is overconfident in his driving, he tends to take risks due to the fact that he truly believes his driving abilities are better than they really are. A male driver might cut a close gap when changing lanes, park between two cars that are too close together, or even drive at dangerously high speeds. Even if the man doesn’t end up getting into a crash due to his idiotic driving, he may cause someone around him to be involved in a collision. Part of this overconfidence that men have developed is caused by the stereotype itself. They grow up thinking that they are great drivers even before they have even started driving because everyone says that they are supposed to be good drivers. When they finally get behind the wheel, they have more confidence in their abilities than an experienced woman driver. A study commissioned by

Nickelodeon UK found that men don’t mature until the age of 43, which is 11 years after women mature. This lack of maturity shows in men’s driving. Men drive to impress their friends which results in them driving recklessly. A man wants attention and he will do just about anything to get it. The possibilities of a man seeking attention are endless, from drag racing to blowing through red lights. I have personally witnessed some of these stupid acts, several of which nearly caused me to be involved in an accident. If you ask me, men shouldn’t be allowed to drive until they’ve matured because they are putting lives of innocent people at risk when they drive to impress people. After reading this article, I hope you will not tolerate being mocked and humiliated by men about your driving abilities anymore. There is enough evidence that you are just as good, if not better, of a driver than any man. This stereotype should not be the view of society because it discriminates against a large group of people; and in this case you are at the butt end of the joke. Is there any good that comes from this stereotype? There is, but only if you count men making themselves feel superior to you, while having a good laugh about it at the same time. You are no worse at driving then men are and with that said, it is safe to conclude that this stereotype is false.

By: Nick Palmer

Humor Gap? We don’t think so We live in an age of female comedic renegades: Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Sarah Silverman, Maya Rudolph, Kristen Wiig, ect. So how is it that the myth that “women aren’t funny” is still alive and kicking? I mean really? Well, allow me to explain it to you – it’s not that women aren’t funny. Firstly, let’s examine the people perpetuating this falsehood, most notably is Christopher Hitchens in his Vanity Fair piece Why Women Aren’t Funny. In the piece he explains various reasons for the so called, “humor gap” between men and women. First he says that comedy is “aggressive”, “commanding”, and “anticipatory” these traits, of course, being intrinsically male obviously. Oh, but need not worry ladies, he does acknowledge that some women have been successful in comedy – but that those successful comediennes are all either “hefty”, “dyky”, or “Jewish” – ultimately taking on a masculine persona to achieve comedic success. According to Hitchens women are, apparently, just intrinsically not funny and if by some miracle of God one happens to be funny they are most likely channeling their inner man to do so. Whoever heard of a hilarious female comedienne that didn’t disregard their femininity to get a laugh? Oh just: Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph…seems like Hitchens’ first theory is pretty much shot. This article is really just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to people believing women aren’t meant for comedy, but this one piece prompted a great response. A year later, in 2008, Vanity Fair published another piece on women in comedy – this time written by Alessandra Stanley entitled Who Says Women Aren’t Funny? Stanley’s piece looks at the evolution of women in comedy saying that cable television has brought to the surface a new generation of comediennes who perform various comedic pursuits including: stand-up, writing, directing, and performing. This idea that cable has birthed a new breed of comedienne is inarguable. Look at the current lineup of comedic television written, directed, or staring a female: 30 Rock, Parks and Rec., The New Girl, 2 Broke Girls, and Apartment 23 – just to name a few. Who Says Women Aren’t Funny directly challenges the chauvinist ideas expressed in Hitchens’ piece but, we haven’t gotten to the source of why this myth is still in existence? Why is it so much more difficult for women to break through in comedy and destroy the “humor gap”? Standup comedienne, Catherine Tate, offers some valuable insight as to why women face such a challenge in comedy – specifically in standup which is a heavily male dominated field. Catherine explains it isn’t that there aren’t funny women out there, but they are less likely to pursue comedy because of several factors hindering them. Maybe the reason for inequality in humor between the genders comes down to the inequality audiences give comediennes in their perception of them? When men perform stand-up they are given nearly 45 seconds by the audience to decide if they will laugh while the audience gives a female standup 20 seconds at the most. Within the 20 seconds allotted to women, Tate also points out, the first ten seconds are when the audience is deciding if they find you attractive – surprise surprise! Women are being reduced to their physical appearance? Shocker – and the second ten seconds the audience decides whether they think they will laugh. Another way Tate explains how our culture has been socialized to see women as not funny is because often the audience is uncomfortable with a woman commanding a stage, performing, being funny, and the audience doesn’t feel qualified to laugh. The audience subconsciously things: Why is this woman demanding my attention? I shouldn’t laugh. She can’t make me laugh. Ultimately it isn’t that women aren’t funny – to the demise of many men out there perpetuating this age old myth. It’s that we as a culture have been socialized to believe women can’t be funny, that it’s not their place to be funny, and these ideas are what is making it so challenging for women to break through in the comedy field. But, you know what? I think we’re up for the challenge.

By: Amy Jo Werner

+ Do you think you can guess them all?

Rosie’s Daughters

DEC 2013

Women in Sports: Athletes or Sex Symbols? When you look at our society as a whole, what do you notice? Generally, America is known as an accepting, and fair culture. By this, I mean that America is known for its acceptance of other races, such as minorities; in other words, “Equal rights for all.” But is this truly the case? As a woman, consider yourself for a moment. Yes, you have the same rights as men, but are you held to the same standards as them? The answer is no; men are held on a pedestal when compared to women. When actually taken into consideration, it’s very evident that women are the second class in our modern society. This unfortunate, bias view is apparent within the perception of the media, especially when referring to sports. Female athletes are being presented as inferior to their male counterparts. This depiction is presented in a variety of different ways, and often times, goes unnoticed by many fans. Lack of coverage by the media is the first issue that the female athletes are forced to deal with. The disgusting truth is, only 2% of the air-time covered by the sports media is directed toward the female athletes. It only gets worse from there: the radio only offers a mere 1.4% of coverage to female athletes. This means that 98.6% of the general coverage goes to the male athletes! Theses statistics are shocking and unfair. Needless to say, both the women’s sports fan base and the athletes, themselves aren’t satisfied with the amount of coverage they’re receiving. In fact, according to a somewhat recent study from 1996 by the NSW Sport Recreation Department, 47% of your fellow women’s sports fans are made up of females, and only 10% of them expressed feelings of satisfaction toward the coverage. Obviously, this continues to be a contingent issue, as people refuse to partake in watching the sports due to the evident lack of coverage. Since then, however, coverage of female athletics has improved slightly. A more recent study performed in 2011 by the Women’s Sports Foundation states that men earn 92% of the sports coverage, leaving women with a mere 8%. Although still overlooked by the media, this study shows a slight improvement in the statistics of women’s coverage within sports. The increase in coverage better continue to rise, as 8% to 92% is clearly not equal representation, and can easily be categorized as a gender prejudice. Not only are female athletes held at a disadvantage due to their lack of coverage, but the way in which the media displays them to the public is hurting their reputation as athletes, as well. Women are often promoted in a sexual, seductive style rather than a professional, athletic manner. It’s unfortunate enough that women don’t get the amount of sports coverage that they deserve, but on top of that, the coverage that they receive is not helping their cause. When female athletes campaign for equal coverage, they don’t intend it to mean provoking their bodies to their perverted audiences. In no way does this type of coverage support their athleticism to their fan base; if anything, it’s costing the athletes to lose respect from their already shrinking supporters. As an ideal example, consider the widely known magazine, Sports Illustrated. Rarely do these issues have females in their uniforms on the cover. Men, on the other hand, are often photographed on the cover, in uniform, in some sort of intense state, such as a celebration. Whereas female athletes, (if photographed at all), are typically posing nude, or in bikini swimsuits. It’s sickening to think that even the media in our society puts more emphasis on women athletes being physically attractive than their athletic ability. This idea of sexual depiction is also evident simply through the use of the athletes’ uniforms, in general. For instance, uniforms worn by females, such as Olympic runners, are much more revealing than that of the male athletes. Men wear full compression tops and shorts, whereas women generally wear outfits that leave their midsection, as well as most of their legs, exposed. David Robinson, a psychologist and journalist, wrote an article called Male and Female Athletes in the Media. Within his writings, he discusses how these provocative uniforms don’t help the performance of the female athletes; instead, they are worn in an effort to gain a larger male audience. Essentially, this means that the “fans” would rather judge the attractiveness of the athletes than their athletic abilities. Not to say that the uniforms have to be changed, but something needs to be done in order to change people’s perceptions of female athletics. These women should be recognized as athletes, not as models.

By: Taylor Kroll

Women in athletics are not only neglected in coverage and inappropriately depicted sexually, but the media also constantly downgrades them. The sports commentators most likely demonstrate this type of discrimination without realization. Although hard to notice at times, while paying close attention during sporting events and making comparisons, it becomes very evident. It’s shown through the commentators’ word choice. The simple use of adjectives and verbs chosen by the announcers presents them in such a manner that is different from one another. For example, whereas men, “crash into their defenders,” women only, “defend against them.” Even the way their described is different, as men are, “brilliant and strong,” and women are called “weary” and even “vulnerable.” The sad truth is, you ladies are not taken seriously as athletes in our modern society. It’s obvious that the media doesn’t consider females to be legitimate competitors within sports, and this is a problem. Not only are the fans becoming upset with the lack of coverage, but the athletes feel as though they are being taken advantage of. These women are professional athletes and should be given the respect that they deserve. Those individuals who don’t take female athletics seriously are ruining the sports industry, as a whole; it will continue to descend until something is done to shorten the gender gap within sports.

By: Taylor Kroll

ANSWERS FOR CROSSWORD: Across:

Down:

2. shopping

1. weak

4. unathletic

2. Stupid

6. moody

3. submissive

8. insecure

5. money

9. damsel

7. jealous

10. sexual

11. flirts

13. nurse

12. Superior

14. salary

15. Bitch

15. bad drivers 16. comical 17. homemaker

+MEET OUR AUTHORS Emily Mihalovic recently graduated from Princeton University where she obtained a degree in Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Studies. She currently resides in New York where she writes for not only MX, but also other popular magazines including the New York Times.

Nick majored in journalism and minored in womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, gender and sexuality studies at Yale University. He is currently living in a mansion in Las Angeles, California and is writing for the Los Angeles Times.

Taylor Kroll graduated from The University of Michigan State with a Psychology degree and an emphasis on Women's Studies. A recent graduate, Kroll resides near his family within his hometown in Green Bay, WI.

Amy Jo Werner: EDITOR IN CHIEF Amy graduated Amherst College in Amherst Massachusetts with a degree in Women's Studies and Political Science. Currently Amy is working as a writer for the Women's Media Center, working to amplify the voices of women and to change the conversation within the media.