- Share This Post
- Pin It
- 0
- 2
-
Sparkle (0)
Though it’s not exactly a new statistic, it still surprises many people when they hear that the United States ranks 86th in the world when it comes to the number of women in Congress. Over half of America's population is made up of women, yet only 17% of Congress is female. Only 24% State Legislature seats are filled by women. The first question people often ask when hearing these numbers for the first time is always the same, “Why?”
One big reason is the fact that when a woman runs for office she faces a kind of scrutiny that a man would never have to face, regardless of party affiliation. Sexism still exists in abundance in the United States, and it's never more apparent than when watching the media report on a woman candidate. Sometimes it's so apparent that the misogynistic reporting negatively affects the women’s campaign.
That is why the Women’s Campaign Forum (WCF), The Women’s Media Center and Political Parity have all joined forces to create the Name It. Change It. campaign. This national campaign, which comes just as the 2010 election kicks into high gear, will help ensure media accountability during the election via a rapid response network. Name It. Change It. encourages people to report sexist incidents in the media in an effort to call out the media on sexist reporting.
According to WCF President/CEO, Siobhan “Sam” Bennet:
“Our society is ingrained with sexism. All of us carry sexist views -- whether we know it or not. Despite how far women have come, we continue to battle strong beliefs and values that hold us back in all aspects of our lives. This is especially true when it comes to our government and the barriers facing women candidates and our path to political equality. It’s my hope that by targeting the media’s sexist coverage of women candidates, we can educate all Americans about the damaging affects of sexism to all women. Less broadly, we want to detoxify the current media environment so that women candidates do not experience the detrimental affects to their success caused by misogynistic attacks and comments by the press.”
Bennett has high hopes for the campaign.
“I am increasingly optimistic about this campaign. The response from the media, bloggers, women’s organizations, and supporters has already been remarkable. I think our country is hungry for this kind of movement, and we will only continue to gain traction.”
One way Name It. Change It. is demonstrating the ridiculousness of sexism in the media is through a series of spoof videos that are eerily realistic. And, of course, BlogHer’s own Erin Kotecki Vest starred in one.
You can find out more about the Name It. Change It. campaign at www.nameitchangeit.org.
Meghan Harvey is a married mother of two residing in the East Bay area. She can be found blogging at Meg's Idle Chatter and on Twitter as @meghan1018
