Female journalists

The single story of the female journalist

Female journalists are represented in the media as being promiscuous and sexually available. They don't have much going on in their heads--they are just fun to look at. If they do happen to come across a good story it's probably because they slept with their sources.

Evidence:

Lois Lane from the Superman comics is the sexy love interest.

Roxane Richie from Megamind--her main purpose is being bait for the bad guy to kidnap.

Carrie Bradshaw from the TV show Sex and the City--the embodiment of a bimbo.

Andie Anderson from the movie How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. Andie actually has a desire to be valued for her intellect and talent as a journalist but is stuck in a job that requires her to act ditzy.

A blogger who has noticed this trend in Hollywood:

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2015/01/hollywood-female-journalists.html

An opinion article from a female journalist who feels there have been attempts against her to "intimidate and ultimately, to silence female journalists who write about controversial topics.":

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/20/opinion/life-as-a-female-journalist-hot-or-not.html

Sexual violence against female reporters highlighted in the media:

The New York Post wrote an article in 2008 about female CBS reporter Lara Logan's sex life. The lead was as follows: "Sexy CBS siren Lara Logan spent her days covering the heat of the Iraq war - but that was nothing compared to the heat of her nights."

I have trouble believing that such a story about a male reporter would ever be deemed newsworthy.

Lara Logan

Then when Logan was raped in 2011 while covering a story at a rally in Egypt, bloggers justified these actions because of her appearance. 

"On February 3, Mofo Politics wrote: 'OMG if I were her captors and there were no sanctions for doing so? I would totally rape her.'"

My analysis:

I believe that the single story that female journalists are sexually available and that their value and success is dependent upon their appearance comes from pressure from a variety of sources.

Like the blogger who believes that female reporters get this reputation from Hollywood, I believe that the way that female journalists are portrayed on TV and in movies has a lot to do with the construction of the ideas that people have about them.

Because this persona is engrained in the minds of the viewers of these popular and beloved TV shows and movies, they assume it to be true about any actual practicing female journalist. This is problematic because it infringes upon the rights of the female journalists in the world who are entitled to the equal opportunity to be valued for their intellectual contributions.

This single story can be retold through the actions of current and future female journalists who fight back against these assumptions and focus on professionalism. By doing this we can write a new story of the smart and resourceful female journalist whose contributions to the field as just as valued as those of her male coworkers.