Language Use – in the media

Ever noticed? A repeating feature

That different words are to assess the same actions of males @ females. Sometimes it’s easy to notice because it’s right out there in the media.

Listening to the BBC World News’ coverage of the French Presidential Race, I was struck by the language used by press observers analyzing the debate style of the man and (first) woman candidates, Nicholas Sarkozy and Ségolène Royal. Robert Siegel, for PBS, remarked on the “nurturing” quality of Royal’s approach and the BBC’s female reporter, Eleanor Beardsley, asserted that Royal’s debate style reminded her of “a mother scolding a naughty child.” Sarkozy, in contrast, was seen as putting in a “strong showing” in countering Royal’s points. What I heard in the brief segment transmitted, was Sarkozy’s repeated interruptions and “talk-overs” of Royal’s delivery. Since we have a parallel in the U.S. , my new game is to track the Hillary stereotypes in our media coverage. What are you noticing?

This reminds us of Geraldine Ferraro’s run for Vice President in the 80’s. Her voice was repeatedly described by media pundits as “shrill” when she effectively dissected her opponents’ arguments (George Bush, Sr.). Not to be forgotten was the post-debate interview by Tom Brokaw of Barbara Bush, after Ferraro had brilliantly answered two hours of unscripted press questions. When asked for her impression of Ferraro in the debate, Barbara’s prim reply was: “Well, Tom, I can’t bring myself to say the exact word, but it rhymes with “witch”.

Professor Caryl Rivers, quoted in this Sunday’s Boston Globe, agrees. “Politically active women are often disparaged and stereotyped by the media. When Hillary Clinton was still first lady, she was referred to as a "witch" or "witchlike" at least 50 times in the press.” Rivers writes, "male political figures may be called mean and nasty names, but those words don’t usually reflect superstition and dread. Did the press ever call Presidents Carter, Reagan, Bush, or Clinton warlocks?"

Only when a dramatic media event occurs, like a shock jock spraying hate talk on champions, or a lone gunman targeting girls (The Amish Schoolhouse) and women (The Montreal Massacre) to “take out” in a shooting spree, does the society seem to notice. And it’s tough to see this when it goes on in the more isolated office setting.

Anything you’ve noticed? Bring it on!

Carlotta Tyler

Subtle (?) Signals

I was looking for the meeting room where a client was launching an innovative customer initiative in her stock brokerage firm. It was evening, so the lights in the mahogany paneled office were dimmed. I interrupted the lively debate three well-dressed guys were having about the Red Sox game to ask if they knew where the well-advertised session was being held. None of them knew. A quiet female voice from the dark recesses of the long office said: “It’s through the door right there on your left”.

Carlotta Tyler

Turning on the Lights

Most of us live on “autopilot”, moving through the paces from day to day without much reflection on what’s going on around us and on the inside. Bringing awareness on board, we have found, is the way to move from unconsciousness in our career planning, in our important relationships, in taking care of ourselves, to awareness, where life is lived consciously, richly, in each & every moment.

"Click"

Struggling down the cellar stairs with a forty-pound laundry basket at the end of a long day, I heard myself say: “I wonder where the laundry would be if a woman designed this house?”
I heard a faint “click” as the waking-up light went on.

Later, in graduate school, I said to myself: “Hey, how come there aren’t any women in this research that defines the successful leader?” Another “click”, louder now.

A casual scan of the nightly news confirmed my own experience. There were few, if any, female voices influencing the critical decisions being made about all of us on the global stage. Hey, we’re the other half. How can this be happening?

It’s not just my imagination. The White House Project on Women in the Media who reported that only 9 per cent of the guests on Sunday morning news shows such as Meet the Press and Face the Nation are women, and even then they only speak 10 per cent of the time—leaving 90 per cent of the discussion to the male guests.

So what? Project president Marie Wilson warned that the lack of representation for women will have profound consequences on whether or not women are perceived as competent leaders, because "authority is not recognized by these shows. It is created by these shows."

This led me to ask other women what they were experiencing about leading in the workplace, on the campaign trail, in their community organizing. Twenty-four years later, I know a lot about what we’re all feeling and thinking as we try to get ahead, while staying sane in today’s world of work.

I also found out why women often feel like they are in “alien territory” at work.

More later about what was found and why it may interest you.

Carlotta Tyler