Where are all the women?

Crystal Huskey
WVoN co-editor

I had a conversation with a friend the other day about the lack of headlines celebrating accomplished women.  My friend had, for one, never noticed, and two, thought I was exaggerating.

On any given day, you will see headlines featuring political commentary (which rarely focuses on women), nonprofits making a difference in the world, and your typical newsworthy headlines.  Women are strangely absent.

Unless their bodies or marital choices are being discussed.

We talk about this discrepancy in theory so often.  I’ve decided to bring some visual examples of this.  The following pictures are snapshots taken from various mainstream news sites at 22:14 EST.  Click the images to enlarge them.

The minimizing of women’s success is such a regular part of our life that most of us don’t even realize it’s happening.

We are featured if we are being harmed, exploited or if we shout loudly enough, like Sandra Fluke, the American woman who catapulted to fame after she gave testimony about the need for contraceptives being covered by birth control.

Of course, her fame really came after Rush Limbaugh called her a slut and prostitute.

Mrs Obama is apparently important enough to receive attention.  Her headline reads: “Mrs. O:  I’m smarter than the president.”

The BBC does not have quite the assortment of half-naked women as Fox, but the absence of stories featuring women is striking.  CNN is a bit better, but take note of who is in the pictures: the majority of images are of powerful men.

While I am grateful for sites like this one, the Feminist Wire and the Women’s section of the Huffington Post (kind of), it would be wonderful to have an equal presence on mainstream news sites and have our accomplishments celebrated alongside those of men.