Providence Journal Ruins a Perfectly Non-Sexist Article
Over the weekend Women’s Media Center staff had the pleasure of watching Massachusetts Democratic Senate hopeful Elizabeth Warren deliver a rousing speech discussing the economy, her candidacy and how she differs from her political opponent Scott Brown at the Netroots Nation 2012 event. Those who were lucky enough to see her shine in this moment were compelled to share some of Warren’s most powerful and poignant statements on twitter:
These tweets emphasize how Warren’s economic expertise and passion for politics join together to create a moment which highlights the need for more women like Warren to run for office. However, the power of Warren’s presence and her importance within the Democratic Party were later undermined when the Providence Journal in “Warren energizes gathering”, referred to her as “the Democratic Party’s new progressive darling.” (The article isn’t online but you can see the quote below captured form Lexis-Nexis.).
It is important to note that The Providence Journal is not the first news outlet to refer to Warren as darling as Name It. Change It. has written about on multiple occasions. The continued use of the word “darling” to describe Warren suggests that as a candidate she should not be taken seriously and as a key member of the Democratic Party she should not be taken seriously. This is the problem with sexist words such as “darling”, they diminish the significance of women’s roles in politics and they diminish the capabilities of women in politics. Female politicians are not darlings, they are politicians and to refer to them as anything else is disempowering.
Published by Kate McCarthy on 06/11/2012