Via Slate, a research group that tracks election coverage has found that in news stories about issues specific to women, most of the quotes are from men. This isn’t exactly news, but the degree to which this is true surprised even me.
When analyzing the gender of who is quoted in stories about women’s issues, 4thestate found that print media quote women only 13 percent of the time. Television news stories quote (or show, I suppose) women only 15 percent of the time.
I would have liked to seen the results broken down by party or political philosophy. My guess is that nearly all of the women are liberals, and the conservative views is almost exclusively voiced by men. I’d also like to see a breakdown of conservative versus liberal quotes. But this is wild enough.
Male Conservative (especially Dominionist Chrisitan) POV:
Who wants to hear from the little ladies about the little lady parts?
It’s not like they’re THEIR little lady parts.
They’re OUR little ladies, and the little lady parts that come with them, belong to US!!!
Anything to do with the little ladies and their little lady parts, is a MAN’S job!
And, while that’s a might tough and thankless job for us men, it’s a mighty small price to pay for knowing that the little lady, and the daughters ‘n granddaughters, are at home, barefoot ‘n pregnant – an’ not runnin’ ’round screwing every Tom, Dick, Harry, Leroy, Juan, Red Bull, Ivan, Pierre, Hop-Sing, and Abdul, ‘n is getting free contraception to prevent babies that is or ain’t ours, ‘n gettin’ free ‘bortions if they get do pregnant with babies that is or ain’t ours – while feckin’ ’round on us poor men behind our backs!
Which is in the nature of the little ladies and their little lady parts, when the men-folk ain’t strict and harsh enough with ’em.
‘Sides, screwin’ ’round in a marriage is MAN’S job, too!.
So, it’s either they’re happy with what we give ’em, or we grill the little feckin’ b*tches like filet mignon, ‘n serve ‘em with a cold brew, ‘n a side of fries ‘n ‘slaw!
There are also various studies showing an overrepresentation of conservatives in news coverage, like studies showing the guest lists of Sunday talk shows being dominated by Republicans even when Democrats are in the majority. So that might be a factor.
This, by the way, is the whole difference between liberal and conservative media analysis right here. Liberals, first of all, don’t start with the assumption that all news media is biased against them, and they use statistical evidence to determine which way the bias runs.
Conservative media “analysis,” conversely, is based pretty much entirely on anecdotal evidence–any cherry-picked news item that can be twisted around in some way to sound insulting to Republicans. Given the number of new sstoris that are published, posted, and aired every day, there will always be plenty of those to go around.
maha, and others, I think this link will be of great interest to everyone:
http://jezebel.com/5898508/the-war-on-women-by-the-ridiculous-numbers
It’s a great look at some statistics regarding state and national legislative efforts to limit contraception and choice, and comparing them to a number of others on the economy and jobs.
Gulag, great link! Of course, all those facts are just so pesky! Grand philosophical stances are what we need, like what those freedumb-loving reteatives put forward at no cost to themselves.
I read somewhere that people get the government they deserve. I must have been a bad, bad boy.
Interesting no doubt, but more sad. When you think about it , Women dont really have a spokesperson of any gender, let alone a female and that bums me out.(please kim kardashian and bristol palin do not consider applying for the job, really!) In the days of yore, we had Gloria, who still stands on occasion for causes she holds dear.And while she is still a beloved figure sadly too many young women dont even know her name(which makes one want to puke). And I guess I dont think it should be just one voice but many. I personally think it is high time women organize, then unite. Think of the lobbying power we COULD have. I suggest to you that if we did everything could change from education to gun laws , from the biggest issues to the “smallest” Without that impact LOOK at where we are.
I have long thought, as a housewife for 25 years myself that there should be a housewifes union. Yeah it draws a lot of giggles but I assure you it was no joke and NO man married man would be laughing if there was one.
Women trying to build careers? Please , this equal pay thing could have been fixed long ago had women united around this cause and banded with other women united around other causes..like perhaps health issues or the ever famous soc moms(or both)
And even after we unite will it be easy to get a seat at the table? Hell no but the sooner we start the fight(so to speak) the sooner we can affect change for the sake of little girls now and their future. We have this great power and we are not even using it.. am I the only one who thinks this is insane? And as a result we have this study that tells us those involved in womens issues are not women.. we have women doing the same job or better for less money, we have women who are not getting the health care they need because men said so, and our kids? Well they are a million miles behind way too much of the world in education and well being all because we have this un tapped resource we have not bothered to uncork. All we have to do is unite – in a world of social media how could it be that hard? Leaders are out there and they could emerge from a grass root mobilization and that would forever change the voices in not only womens issues (but it is a good place to start) but the enviroment, education, health care, ect.
We have the big ass stick aleady the question that reamins is when will we decide to use it to break out this glass ceiling?
My comment vanished? Gee it was nice..:((
justme277,
A ‘Housewives Union?’
WHAT A TERRIBLE IDEA!
For fundamentalist (of all religions), Conservative (but I repeat myself), and other misogynistic (and again), men!
I LOVE IT!
My mother managed the house, worked sometimes full-time, sometimes part-time, in the jewelry department at Steinbecks, AND pursued a singing career as a Russian Lyric Soprano who had a classical repertoire.
And twice, TWICE, she had solo concerts at Carnegie Hall. And she did GREAT! Well reviewed both times in the NY Times.
And for all of that work – far exceeding a 40-50 hour work week of most people, before my father passed away, she received a “whopping” $540 a month in SS.
Not only should there be a Housewives Union, with some sort of a salary and benefits stucture, there ought to be money automatically set-aside for SS that compensates for the whatever the difference is between her salary as a housewife, and the average working women’s salary – once equal pay MEANS truly equal pay I’m just thinking out loud, so there are probably many problems with my suggestion – but it’s a starting point for some conversation.
If being a parent, particularly a mother, is, as even Ann Romney says, the most important job in the world, then why isn’t is being compensated?
How to pay for all of this?
Oh, I don’t know – but maybe we could pay the Household Managers by taxing the Hedge Fund Managers? Set aside that difference between the 15% pay, and the percentage that the real working people pay, and use that to fund the salaries, benefits, SS, and pensions for housewives – AND the women who can’t work full-time because of familial obligations.
Yeah – I’m a dreamer!
And if not you, justme277, someone ought to start this movement.
Lincoln’s “Emancipation Proclamation” needs to be expanded to also end the slavery of American housewives.
And, in a rational and empathetic country, this would at least be LOOKED AT seriously.
But, we don’t live in that kind of country, now do we?
NO!
We live in a country where even suggesting that free child care be provided be either the employer or the government for EITHER parent at their workplace, is considered Marx/Lenin/Stalin/Mao/Castro/Pol Pot style SocialiCommunoFasciAtheism!
Great ideas, justme!
Cu..I was with the same guy from the time I was 17 till I was 41. I was not allowed to finish an education or work outside the home. I divorced him 4 years ago when I finally got the courage to stop taking his abuse. After nearly 25 years of loyal service i was left with nothing. He fled the state owing me about 40k. I have spent more of the past 4 years being homeless then I have in a home. Lawyers have made more off of my case then what I have the ability to make in a year until I finally went to court the last time and stood up for myself(while he had the best lawyer the money he owes me can buy and I kicked his ass!)because as I told the court I was out of money.
The punishment for leaving has been brutal. Worse than the abuse and that says a lot. So I am well aware men wouldnt like it if there was a homemakers union but look what happens to women who dare to stand alone. I know I am a minority but I am not alone.
I have the rest of my life now and frankly I don’t know what to do and even if I could figure it out I have no means to , say pay for an education. I am a maid now, but for how long? After all I am old.If I can’t work to earn enough not to be able to afford a home or food or health care now what would happen if I was unable to work anymore tomorrow?You say “slavery of American housewives” But I had a choice.I was free to go any time I felt brave enough to go thru what I have the last 4 years.Spend one night outside in a Iowa winter- it makes a ass beating look a lot more fun!After more than 20 years- my best years this is what I got for my effort. It’s not right.But one of us here or there is , as I have seen, pretty powerless to do very much about it no matter how hard a fight we wage. Thats just my own personal issue, and it is not about me, but rather about organizing women around certain issues that speak to them and then about those groups banding together to make a even larger group that works towards resolving common problems.
And no, given my experience we do not live in a rational or empathetic nation, but that doesn’t mean it cannot be one.I accept the way the world is today, but i refuse to accept it HAS to be that way tomorrow.
Women are not speaking in media about issues affecting women because we , IMHO are lacking central spokeswomen.It’s high time that changed.