Women's Media Center

Last updated
Women's Media Center
Formation2005
Founders Jane Fonda
Robin Morgan
Gloria Steinem
Type 501(c)(3) nonprofit
Headquarters United States
Services Women's rights
Official language
English
Website womensmediacenter.com

Women's Media Center (WMC) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit women's organization in the United States founded in 2005 by writers and activists Jane Fonda, Robin Morgan, and Gloria Steinem. [1] Led by President Julie Burton, [2] WMC's work includes advocacy campaigns, giving out awards, media and leadership training, and the creation of original content. [3]

Contents

Women's representation in media

The Women's Media Center "works to ensure women are powerfully and visibly represented in the media" and "to diversify the media in its content and sources, so that the stories and perspectives of women and girls are more accurately portrayed." [1] The organization convenes panels, issues reports, organizes grassroots campaigns, and meets with media outlets to address issues of women's representation and general diversity. [1]

In response to the report from the American Psychological Association's Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls, the Women's Media Center partnered with over 10 other organizations to organize the Sexualization Protest: Action, Resistance, Knowledge, also known as the SPARK Summit. The SPARK Summit took place on October 22, 2010, at Hunter College in New York City. [4]

The Women's Media Center gives out a Social Media Award, which "recognizes individuals who have made outstanding contributions to advancing women’s and girls’ visibility and power in media". Jude Doyle received the first award in 2011. [5] [6]

Media training and expert sources

In 2008, WMC launched the Progressive Women's Voices media and leadership training program to connect qualified, authoritative women experts to editors, reporters, producers, and bookers. [7] SheSource, WMC's online database of over 500 women experts, serves journalists looking for female sources, commentators, and guests. [8]

Sexism watchdog

WMC acts as a watchdog for sexism in the media and develops campaigns to advocate for fair and balanced coverage. During the 2008 presidential election, WMC released a video "Sexism Sells but We're Not Buying It," [9] along with a petition campaign to call attention to sexism against female candidates during the primaries. Another video, "Media Justice for Sotomayor," [10] discusses racist and sexist media coverage during the 2009 confirmation hearings of Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor.

On August 31, 2010, the WMC partnered with the Women's Campaign Forum Foundation and the Political Parity Initiative of the Hunt Alternatives Fund to launch Name it. Change it. (NICI), a ground-breaking national campaign that addresses sexism in the media targeted at female politicians and political candidates. NICI aims to ensure accountability through a coordinated rapid response network to dramatically decrease incidences[ spelling? ] of media misogyny. [11]

Health care reform and reproductive rights

In reaction to the 2009 Stupak–Pitts Amendment and other proposed health care reform legislation limiting access and funding for abortions, WMC began actively advocating for women's reproductive rights. [12] On December 10, 2009, WMC announced the launch of its Not Under The Bus [13] campaign to "keep women's health care fair, safe, and accessible to all." [14]

With the campaign announcement, the organization declared its "first call to action is to stop the Stupak Amendment, the Hatch-Nelson Amendment, and others like them which are the most draconian restrictions on women since the 1977 Hyde Amendment that cut federal funding for abortions by Medicaid." [15]

2010 campaign against CBS and Focus on the Family ad

In January 2010, Women's Media Center and a coalition of more than 30 organizations "dedicated to reproductive rights, tolerance, and social justice", including the National Organization for Women and NARAL Pro-Choice America, sent a letter to CBS, NFL and its advertisers calling on them to pull an advertisement featuring football player Tim Tebow, sponsored by conservative Christian group Focus on the Family (FOTF), from Super Bowl XLIV. [16] The resulting campaign garnered widespread national media attention. [17] Previously, in 2010 CBS had rejected a humorous ad from a gay online dating service, ManCrunch, and in 2004 an ad promoting the United Church of Christ as gay-friendly, citing a policy against any controversy in Super Bowl ad. [18] [19] CBS then decided to end this policy and accept controversial ads, so that the anti-abortion ad would be aired, which the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) called a "homophobic double standard." [19]

In its letter to CBS, the WMC coalition denounced the actions of Focus on the Family and politics of CBS, based on their acceptance of their advertisement. [16]

The WMC campaign was criticized for freedom of speech concerns. A New York Times editorial called it censorship, and said that they should use this as an opportunity to promote their own movement. [20] A Los Angeles Times editorial, despite their stance in favor of abortion rights, congratulated CBS for their decision. [18] Bill O'Reilly of Fox News said Greene and her group were, "trying to muzzle them. That's not the American way." [21] The coalition responded with an op-ed article in Huffington Post in which former WMC President Jehmu Greene wrote that they were not attempting to censor anything, and suggested that the situation would be different if the Ku Klux Klan were involved. [22]

During Super Bowl XLIV, CBS elected to air the two 30-second commercials, which included Tebow's personal story as part of an overall anti-abortion stance.

Women Under Siege

Women Under Siege is a project of the Women's Media Center. It has reported on the use of rape as a means of oppression in Syria. [23] [24] Women Under Siege has also reported extensively about the continued use of rape as a weapon of war in Myanmar (also known as Burma). [25] [26]

Selected works

  • Analysis of Gender & Non-Acting Oscar Nominations (2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013)
  • Analysis of Gender & Primetime Non-Acting Emmy Nominations (2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012)
  • 10-Year Review of Gender & Oscar Nominations in Non-Acting Categories (2016)
  • 10-Year Review of Gender & Emmy Nominations in Non-Acting Categories (2015)
  • Women & Elections — Where Voters Saw the Most Sexist Treatment of Women Candidates in Media (2016)
  • Women & Elections — #WhoTalks — U.S. Presidential Election Tracking of Cable/TV News Show Analysts by Gender and Race (2016) (Partnership project with GenderAvenger and the Rutgers Center for American Women and Politics)
  • The Gender Gap in Coverage of Reproductive Issues (2016)
  • Writing Rape — How U.S. Media Cover Campus Rape and Sexual Assault (2015)
  • The Women's Media Center Guide to Gender Neutral Coverage of Candidates (2012)
  • Research on Appearance Coverage of Women Candidates (2013)
  • Stick Figures Explain Negative Impact of Appearance Coverage of Women Candidates (2013)

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sexism</span> Prejudice or discrimination based on a persons sex or gender

Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but primarily affects women and girls. It has been linked to gender roles and stereotypes, and may include the belief that one sex or gender is intrinsically superior to another. Extreme sexism may foster sexual harassment, rape, and other forms of sexual violence. Discrimination in this context is defined as discrimination toward people based on their gender identity or their gender or sex differences. An example of this is workplace inequality. Sexism may arise from social or cultural customs and norms.

Focus on the Family is a fundamentalist Protestant organization founded in 1977 in Southern California by James Dobson, based in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The group is one of a number of evangelical parachurch organizations that rose to prominence in the 1980s. As of the 2017 tax filing year, Focus on the Family declared itself to be a church, "primarily to protect the confidentiality of our donors." Traditionally, entities considered churches have been ones that have regular worship services and congregants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bart Stupak</span> American politician (born 1952)

Bartholomew Thomas Stupak is an American politician and lobbyist. A member of the Democratic Party, Stupak served as the U.S. representative from Michigan's 1st congressional district from 1993 to 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Super Bowl commercials</span> Television commercials during the Super Bowl

Super Bowl commercials, colloquially known as Super Bowl ads, are high-profile television commercials featured in the U.S. television broadcast of the Super Bowl, the championship game of the National Football League (NFL). Super Bowl commercials have become a cultural phenomenon of their own alongside the game itself, as many viewers only watch the game to see the commercials. Many Super Bowl advertisements have become well known because of their cinematographic quality, unpredictability, surreal humor, and use of special effects. The use of celebrity cameos has also been common in Super Bowl ads. Some commercials airing during, or proposed to air during the game, have also attracted controversy due to the nature of their content.

The Chicago Women's Liberation Union (CWLU) was an American feminist organization founded in 1969 at a conference in Palatine, Illinois.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Americans United for Life</span> Public interest law firm

Americans United for Life (AUL) is an American anti-abortion law firm and advocacy group based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1971, the group opposes abortion, euthanasia, assisted suicide, embryonic stem cell research, and certain contraceptive methods. The organization has led campaigns and been involved in judicial actions to prevent the passage and implementation of legislation that permits abortion, or may increase prevalence of abortion, including successfully defending the Hyde Amendment in the U.S. Supreme Court.

Feminist sexology is an offshoot of traditional studies of sexology that focuses on the intersectionality of sex and gender in relation to the sexual lives of women. Sexology has a basis in psychoanalysis, specifically Freudian theory, which played a big role in early sexology. This reactionary field of feminist sexology seeks to be inclusive of experiences of sexuality and break down the problematic ideas that have been expressed by sexology in the past. Feminist sexology shares many principles with the overarching field of sexology; in particular, it does not try to prescribe a certain path or "normality" for women's sexuality, but only observe and note the different and varied ways in which women express their sexuality. It is a young field, but one that is growing rapidly.

In U.S. politics, the Hyde Amendment is a legislative provision barring the use of federal funds to pay for abortion, except to save the life of the woman, or if the pregnancy arises from incest or rape. Before the Hyde Amendment took effect in 1980, an estimated 300,000 abortions were performed annually using federal funds.

The timeline of women's legal rights (other than voting) represents formal changes and reforms regarding women's rights. The changes include actual law reforms, as well as other formal changes (e.g. reforms through new interpretations of laws by precedents). The right to vote is exempted from the timeline: for that right, see Timeline of women's suffrage. The timeline excludes ideological changes and events within feminism and antifeminism; for that, see Timeline of feminism.

Unite for Reproductive & Gender Equity (URGE) is a national youth-led reproductive rights and justice non-profit organization in the United States based in Washington, D.C. that began as Choice USA in 1992. Choice USA changed its name to URGE in July 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America</span> US anti-abortion organization

Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America is a 501(c)(4) non-profit organization that seeks to reduce and ultimately end abortion in the U.S. by supporting anti-abortion politicians, primarily women, through its SBA Pro-Life America Candidate Fund political action committee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reproductive justice</span> Social justice movement

Reproductive justice is a critical feminist framework that was invented as a response to United States reproductive politics. The three core values of reproductive justice are the right to have a child, the right to not have a child, and the right to parent a child or children in safe and healthy environments. The framework moves women's reproductive rights past a legal and political debate to incorporate the economic, social, and health factors that impact women's reproductive choices and decision-making ability.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Women in South Africa</span> Overview of the status of women in South Africa

It is thought that multiple ethnic groups in South Africa have long-standing beliefs concerning gender roles, and most are based on the premise that women in South Africa are less important, or less deserving of power, than men. Some view African traditional social organizations as male centered and male dominated. One prevailing caricature of Afrikaner religious beliefs includes a strong emphasis on the theoretically biblically based notion that women's contributions to society should normally be approved by, or be on behalf of, men. Claims are even made of modern sexism and Christianity being introduced into South Africa by the ancestors of the Afrikaner diaspora.

This is a list of topics related to the issue of masculism, men's liberation, the men's movement, and men's rights:

The Stupak–Pitts Amendment was a proposed amendment to the Affordable Health Care for America Act of 2010 (AHCAA). It was submitted by Representatives Bart Stupak and Joseph R. Pitts. Its stated purpose was to prohibit the use of federal funds "to pay for any abortion or to cover any part of the costs of any health plan that includes coverage of abortion" except in cases of rape, incest or danger to the life of the mother. It was adopted by the House but not included in the Senate's version, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). Representatives who support abortion rights said they would oppose AHCAA with the Stupak-Pitts language, and proposed to adopt PPACA. Stupak and several supporters said they would oppose PPACA without the amendment, but withdrew their opposition after President Obama promised an executive order to bar such funding. Anti-abortion groups criticized this action, saying that the executive order would not be effective.

"War on women" is a slogan in United States politics used to describe certain Republican Party policies and legislation as a wide-scale effort to restrict women's rights, especially reproductive rights, including abortion. Prominent Democrats such as Nancy Pelosi and Barbara Boxer, as well as feminists, have used the phrase to criticize proponents of these laws as trying to force their social views on women through legislation. The slogan has been used to describe Republican policies in areas such as access to reproductive health services, particularly birth control and abortion services; the definition of rape for the purpose of the public funding of abortion; the prosecution of criminal violence against women; and workplace discrimination against women.

The legal status of women in the United States is, in comparison to other countries, equal to that of men, and women are generally viewed as having equal social standing as well. In the early history of the U.S., women were largely relegated to the home. However, the role of women was revolutionized over the course of the 20th century. Labor shortages during WWII led to an influx of women in the workforce, which helped to build toward the women's liberation movement of the 1960s and '70s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Feminism and media</span> Use of media by feminist movements

The socio-political movements and ideologies of feminism have found expression in various media. These media include newspaper, literature, radio, television, social media, film, and video games. They have been essential to the success of many feminist movements.

The Women Under Siege Project is an independent initiative of the Women's Media Center (WMC). The project documents online and through social media how rape and gender-based violence are used as tools in warfare and genocide. The project uses journalism to investigate and bring to light these issues which impact women throughout the world, but especially in areas of conflict. The director of Women Under Siege, Lauren Wolfe, has said that the first step to challenging rape is to stop victim blaming and to focus on the perpetrators and the cultures that produce them.

Discrimination against transgender men and transmasculine individuals, sometimes referred to as transandrophobia, anti-transmasculinity, or transmisandry, is a similar concept to transmisogyny and discrimination against non-binary people. Transmisogyny, discrimination against transgender men and discrimination against nonbinary people are types of transphobia which affect trans women, trans men and nonbinary people respectively.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "About Us." Women's Media Center. Retrieved February 16, 2010.
  2. “Women's Media Center Announce Julie Burton as Interim President.” FishBowl NY. Retrieved September 27, 2010.
  3. “The Women's Media Center Announces First Annual Media Awards.” Feminist Online. Retrieved February 15, 2010.
  4. "The SPARK Summit: Challenging the sexualization of girls and women at Hunter College in New York City". American Psychological Association. November 2010. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
  5. Jude Doyle. "Jude Ellison Sady Doyle - Profile". In These Times. Retrieved 2022-02-07.
  6. "Women's Media Center". Womensmediacenter.com. 2011-11-29. Retrieved 2019-03-27.
  7. “Progressive Women’s Voices.” Women's Media Center. Retrieved February 16, 2010.
  8. “About Us.” SheSource.org. Retrieved February 16, 2010.
  9. “Sexism Sells but We’re Not Buying It.” YouTube. Retrieved February 16, 2010.
  10. "Media Justice for Sotomayor." YouTube. Retrieved March 9, 2010.
  11. "Name it. Change it. Campaign Launches into Action." Women's Media Center. Retrieved September 27, 2010.
  12. “Women’s Media Center Condemns Passage of Stupak-Pitts Amendment.” Women's Media Center. Retrieved February 16, 2010.
  13. Not Under The Bus website. Retrieved March 9, 2010.
  14. “Women's Media Center Launches New Media Campaign to Keep Women’s Health Care Fair, Safe, and Accessible to All.” Feminist Online. December 10, 2009. Retrieved February 15, 2010.
  15. “Stupak's NYT Op-Ed: Congresswoman Capps Responds.” RH Reality Check. December 10, 2009. Retrieved February 15, 2010.
  16. 1 2 "Stop Anti-Choice Super Bowl Ad." Women's Media Center. Retrieved February 15, 2010.
  17. "CBS Urged To Scrap Super Bowl Ad With Tebow, Mom." Associated Press/ESPN website. Retrieved March 24, 2010.
  18. 1 2 "Editorial: The Tebow ad; CBS is right in refusing to bow to pressure not to run an advocacy ad during the Super Bowl", Los Angeles Times , February 5, 2010, retrieved November 3, 2014
  19. 1 2 Jonsson, Patrik (January 30, 2010), "Why Tebow and not gay dating ad? CBS on Super Bowl hot seat; Gay groups are calling CBS homophobic for agreeing to air an antiabortion ad featuring Tim Tebow and not the ad for gay dating website ManCrunch", The Christian Science Monitor , retrieved November 3, 2014
  20. "Editorial:Super Bowl Censorship", New York Times , January 30, 2010, retrieved November 3, 2014
  21. "Controversy Over Pro-Life Super Bowl Ad Featuring Tim Tebow", Fox News , January 27, 2010, retrieved November 3, 2014
  22. "The Truth About CBS: C-hoice, B-ias, and the S-uper Bowl." Huffington Post. Retrieved February 16, 2010.
  23. Sima Barmania (2012-06-19). "Women under siege: The use of rape as a weapon of war in Syria". The Independent. Archived from the original on June 20, 2012. Retrieved 2012-08-27.
  24. "The ultimate assault: Charting Syria's use of rape to terrorize its people". Women Under Siege. July 11, 2012. Retrieved 2012-08-27.
  25. Akila Radhakrishnan (2014-01-13). "New report details ongoing sexualized violence in Burma". Women Under Siege. Retrieved 2014-03-23.
  26. "License to rape: How Burma's military employs systematic sexualized violence". Women Under Siege. March 15, 2012. Retrieved 2014-03-23.