6 Blatant Examples of Sexism in the Media
Sexism has been around from ever since. It’s nothing new, but that doesn’t make it right. However in recent times, women have began fighting hard for their rights to be respected as equals to men, so it’s no surprise that instances of sexism in the media have blown up into full fledged controversies. Let’s take a look at 6 blatant examples of sexism in the media:
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Steubenville Rape Trial
Image: http://www.newstatesman.com
The media coverage of the Steubenville rape trial was as horrifying a scandal as the actual crime itself. Media outlets, in particular CNN, were criticized for the biased coverage, giving more than necessary focus to the perpetrators of the crime than to the actual victim.
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Robin Thicke and Miley Cyrus Bias
Image: http://hollywoodlife.com
Miley Cyrus and Robin Thicke performed a medley of their songs during a segment at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards. The media attention however, was entirely on Miley, and comparisons to her younger Hannah Montana days were well frequent. The media criticized Cyrus’ act as being sexually provocative, while at the same time completely ignoring Robin Thicke’s performance, which was equally provocative if not more. It’s the standard case of suppressing women sexuality while giving men a free pass. That’s textbook sexism folks.
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Seth MacFarlane at the 2013 Oscars
If you’ve ever seen Family Guy, then it’s no surprise that its creator would end up on this list. Seth Macfarlane’s hosting of the 2013 Oscars held no punches, and no one was spared his humiliation. However, his rendition of the song “I saw your boobs”, was an all time low. He went as far as name dropping female celebrities in the audience, mentioning that at one point he saw their bare breasts. Watch the video to see for yourself.
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Kennebunk Prostitution Case
Image: http://bangordailynews.com/
This local story gained national media attention just as the names of highly influential persons were about to be released in the Kennebunk Zumba prostitution case. The media relentlessly portrayed the men and their families as victims without showing much concern about the other party involved – the prostitute, Alexis Wright.
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Gamergate Controversy
Image: http://wikipedia.org
Gamers generally tend to be portrayed as two things: male and a nerd. And if the Gamergate controversy is anything to go by, you can add sexist to that list. The controversy started in August 2014, and escalated quite quickly. It centered around the harassment of several women in the video game industry, particularly Zoë Quinn and Anita Sarkeesian. These women were threatened doxing (publicly releasing private information about an individual), rape and even death. All because they chose to be vocal females in a male dominated niche.
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The Onion and Quvenzhane Wallis
Image: http://vh1.com
The Onion is a humor website known for its parodical and satirical articles. However in 2013, they crossed a line they shouldn’t have when they called 9 year old Quvenzhane Wallis a cunt. That’s right, they called a 9 year old a cunt. No matter what their underlying intention might have been, that’s just horribly offensive anyway you look at it. They ended up having to delete the tweet and issued an apology. I’m still left wondering just who approved that tweet in the first place.
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