NOW-NYC Media Watch
Stop the Hypocrisy at CBS!
Let CBS know that its last-minute "policy change" to allow advocacy ads is hypocritical, offensive and downright wrong! Despite the network's long-standing policy of rejecting "issue-oriented" advertisements on Super Bowl Sunday, CBS quickly reversed course once it had already inked a deal to air an anti-abortion ad with the ultra-conservative, anti-equality, anti-choice, homophobic Focus on the Family. By offering one of the most coveted advertising spots of the year to this ultra-conservative organization CBS is aligning itself with a political stance that will alienate many of its viewers.
CBS thinks it can get away with its unfair practice by announcing at the 11th hour that it has revised its policy. CBS apparently didn't think an ad submitted previously by the United Church of Christ showing the church welcoming a gay couple with open arms, was worth changing its policy for. That ad - along with ads from PETA and MoveOn.org - has also been flatly rejected.
Most galling, is that the hypocrisy and bias continues unabated. Just this past weekend, CBS rejected an ad from the gay dating site ManCrunch.com, on the grounds that it "is not within the Network's Broadcast Standards for Super Bowl Sunday."
What's up with CBS? Why is CBS so willing to align itself with an ultra-conservative and anti-equality organization? Help us send the message to CBS to STOP THE HYPOCRISY! If gay men's dating is too controversial, so is an anti-choice message. Let CBS know this is unacceptable!
Send your own message to CBS directly here or use NOW's e-letter.
Check out the growing pro-choice response from major athletes:
Video Response from Planned Parenthood with former Minnesota Vikings football player Sean James and former Olympic Gold Medalist Al Joyner.
New Orleans Saints linebacker Scott Fujita talks about his pro-choice and pro-LGBT rights stance.
................................................................................................................................ Violence Against Women on Mainstream TelevisionAccording to a study conducted by The Parents Television Council, there has been an extraordinary increase in violence to women and teen girls on mainstream television. They concluded that violence against women and teenage girls is increasing on television at rates that far exceed the overall increases in violence on television. While violence on television irrespective of gender increased 4% from 2004 to 2009, violence against women increased 120% during that same time period. As Huffington Post explains, violence on major networks, such as ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox News, more than 400 violent acts against women were reported in just one month. Actress Nicole Kidman -who testified before a House Foreign Affairs subcommittee that is considering legislation to address violence against women overseas through humanitarian relief efforts and grants to local organizations- said that Hollywood has probably contributed to violence against women by portraying them as weak sex objects, which appeared in an article by the Associated Press.
Get Heard! Call or email mainstream television stations, and hold the media accountable for promoting violence against women.
Learn More: check out the UN Secretary-General's database for Violence Against Women, and contact them to let them know that you support their work.
................................................................................................................................ Bias Busters: Help Us Get the Word Out on Sexist Media & Advertising
Call it and Get Heard!
From sexist media coverage of the presidential campaign to advertising that sexualizes little girls, sexism in the media is rampant. Help us put a stop to the most egregious violations by calling it when you see it. We've done it before: NOW-NYC got a Calvin Klein display of nude child mannequins pulled from its window in less than 24 hours, and we worked with other women's rights groups to pressure Dolce & Gabbana to end an ad campaign that glamourized rape. Our voices have power. Help us get the word out about sexist media and advertising:
1) Call It!
Send examples of sexist media coverage to contact@nownyc.org or report to us at 212.627.9895. We'll post the examples on our website and let members know where to direct comments.
2) Get Heard!
Then help get the word out: write a letter to the editor, blog about it, and complain directly to the media outlet. Hold journalists and the media accountable. Then pass your message along to five friends and get them to take action too. ................................................................................................................................... Save the Boobs?The Rethink Breast Cancer Charity, in an attempt to connect with young people, has launched their new "Save the Boobs" campaign with a PSA that has left some feeling as though breast cancer were about as serious as a frat party. A voluptuous woman in a bikini--surrounded by drooling males, gay dancing sailors, and plenty of female eye candy--says, "I pledge allegiance to my girls. To my cheechees, to my hooters, to my tatas. And to tell my doctor about any changes I see or feel immediately." The only indication that this campaign actually relates to breast cancer is at the end, when the amount of breast cancer deaths per year flashes across the screen- immediately after, though, a shot of what appears to be a wet t-shirt contest.
Alina Cho, who works for the charity, said on CNN that the reasoning behind "Save the Boobs" is that "young people are picking up pamphlets with a 65-year-old woman on them, probably tossing them out." And furthermore, that the video was not even meant for women, but rather for men, in order to encourage participation. So rather than acknowledge that cancer does not rely on ones age, looks, or gender, the Rethink Breast Cancer Charity has opted for cheap entertainment, at the expense of both women's and men's intelligence.
Let the Rethink Breast Cancer Association know that their PSA offends breast cancer victims and survivors. alisong@rethinkbreastcancer.com, or 416-920-0980 ext. 223.
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The Truth About HappinessCould feminism have had adverse effects on women's happiness? According to a new study, which shamelessly appeared on Huffington Post and Slate's Double X, claims that feminism has in fact made women less happy since 1972 by forcing women to believe themselves victims of a patriarchal society- a belief that has led to adverse results, such as nipple piercings and promiscuity. Double X's Christine Rosen even goes as far as to claim that feminism's goal is to, "convince women that they were an oppressed class that should agitate for political change. Hold out the promise that political change would yield a world of greater freedom that would eventually bring them greater happiness." However, many women might contend that they did not need to be convinced of much; and furthermore, fighting for the right to express ones identity includes stereotypical men's roles, as well.
So now, in addition to working and raising families, women have added pressure to feel endlessly happy. But what is happiness, anyways? As Barbara Ehrenreich explores in this Salon article, "Did Feminism Make Women Miserable?" happiness is elusive, maybe even overrated. In her new book Bright Sided: How the Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking Has Undermined America, she explores Americans' obsession with happiness. What she finds is that studies hinged on happiness, such as this study conducted by Wharton, have no real basis in fact or science; rather, the results have helped Marcus Buckingham, author of "Find Your Strongest Life: What the Happiest and Most Successful Women Do Differently," form a marketing campaign geared towards making women think they both want and need to be happy, whatever that means.
But as NOW-NYC President Sonia Ossorio explains in this New York Post article, happiness is irrelevant to the fact that many women still carry the burden of raising a family and having a career, often in a workplace that is unsupportive of this very fact. Perhaps we should focus less on where feminism might have gone wrong, and rather on where we can all go right.
Contact Double X, and drop a hint: tips@doublex.com
............................................................................................................ Stand Up for Women Athletes!Serena Williams' recent victory at the Wimbledon singles final was met with the applause and congratulations of many and the not unexpected barbs of a few. In a Fox Sports article, Jason Whitlock calls Williams an "underachiever" whose "greatest feat might be avoiding establishing herself as the greatest tennis player of all time." Despite Williams' impressive career, in which she has won eleven major championships, Whitlock accuses her of "choosing to be a celebrity tennis player rather than a single-minded tennis assassin." Whitlock's ridiculous assessment of Williams' tennis career is a pathetic attempt to undervalue and undermine the life accomplishments of a phenomenal female athlete. Give Whitlock a piece of your mind by emailing him at ballstate0@aol.com, and let Fox Sports know that we won't tolerate this nonsense! Following the trend of insulting successful female athletes, shock jock Craig Carton of sports radio station WFAN invited Jennifer Capriati to his show, only to engage in sexual harassment and name-calling. Capriati, who once ranked No. 1 in the tennis world, was subjected to Carton's repulsive questions, such as whether she would consider a threesome with him and another woman. Phil Mushnick of the New York Post called Carton out in his article, and accurately characterized Carton's behavior for what is was: a slew of "cheap shots and low blows." Carton's assault on Capriati is another attempt to undervalue and objectify a successful female athlete. Take action: contact WFAN at 718-706-7690 to voice your disgust at Craig Carton's behavior, and support Phil Mushnick by emailing him at phil.mushnick@nypost.com.
................................................................................................................................... Past Media Watch Items
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