Dear Sarah,

I know you might be tired of me cause I’m tired of writing about you too. But I couldn’t let the bush league job that Newsweek pulled on you this week go without commenting.

First, I think that picture did a disservice to you and women in elected office. It was far too tarty in my opinion, but it was originally taken for Runner’s World so the spandex was appropriate. While some will say that you asked for the humiliation that Newsweek served up, I am not in agreement. The photo shot was for Runners World and fits in that context. The Newsweek cover is so way out of context it is inappropriate.

Thankfully the Women’s Media Center sees it that way too. See, feminists do get it, Sarah! And Media Matters allows us to take a peek into the issue to see the other images Newsweek chose to use of you. *shudder*

I’ve said it before so many times and I’ll say it again. We can disagree on your policy stances, bash your book and eye-roll your “If they had just listened to me” tour. But when we start to pick on your appearance, harp on the fact that you were a beauty queen or use photos in a sexist manner to embarrass, that is going to a place where I won’t go.

Because if we let Newsweek do this to you, we are only proving your theory that the big bad media are out to get you. And honestly, sometimes they are. But this time, Katie Couric was spot on.

LOS ANGELES (October 28, 2009) – In a new special report, the Parents Television Council® found that storylines depicting violence against females are increasing and being shown more graphically and in ways that have not been seen in the history of television.

The PTC’s report, Women in Peril: A Look at TV’s Disturbing New Storyline Trend, examined fatal and nonfatal female victimizations on prime time broadcast television and found that there was a significant increase in all forms of female victimization storylines; an increase in the depiction of teen girls as victims; an increase in the use of female victimization as a punch line in comedy series; and an increase in the depiction of intimate partner violence.

“Our new research points to a disturbing trend: by depicting violence against women with increasing frequency, or as a trivial, even humorous matter, the broadcast networks may ultimately be contributing to a desensitized atmosphere in which people view aggression and violence directed at women as normative, even acceptable,” said PTC President Tim Winter.

“Just last week, actresses like Nicole Kidman testified before the Congress that Hollywood probably has contributed to violence against women by portraying them as weak sex objects.  We all must pay attention to the fact that this is a problem in our society.  The fact is that children are influenced by what they see on TV and that certainly includes media violence,” said PTC Director of Communications and Public Education Melissa Henson.

The study compares the qualitative and quantitative differences in the treatments of violence against women on prime time broadcast television between 2004 and 2009.  PTC analysts examined all primetime programming (excluding sports and news programs) on the major broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC)* during the February and May 2004 and 2009 sweeps periods for a total of 209.5 hours of programming.

Major Findings

1. Incidents of violence against women and teenage girls are increasing on television at rates that far exceed the overall increases in violence on television.  Violence, irrespective of gender, on television increased only 2% from 2004 to 2009, while incidents of violence against women increased 120% during that same period.

• The most frequent type of violence against women on television was beating (29%), followed by credible threats of violence (18%), shooting (11%), rape (8%), stabbing (6%), and torture (2%).  Violence against women resulted in death 19% of the time.
• Violence towards women or the graphic consequences of violence tends overwhelmingly to be depicted (92%) rather than implied (5%) or described (3%).

1. Every network but ABC demonstrated a significant increase in the number of storylines that included violence against women between 2004 and 2009.

1. Although female victims were primarily of adult age, collectively, there was a 400% increase in the depiction of teen girls as victims across all networks from 2004 to 2009.

1. Fox stood out for using violence against women as a punch line in its comedies — in particular Family Guy and American Dad — trivializing the gravity of the issue of violence against women.

1. From 2004 to 2009 there was an 81% increase in incidences of intimate partner violence on television.

“Our study today serves as a clarion call to all Americans about a critical issue with dire consequences.  We are calling on television producers and network executives, members of the advertising community, elected representatives and appointed government officials, and most importantly, the viewing public, to stand up against this disturbing trend.  In a country where more than 60% of children have been exposed to violence in their daily lives, according to recent research by Justice Department, we must take the utmost care not to normalize violent behavior – especially violence against women – through our television programming,” Winter added.

From:  http://www.parentstv.org/PTC/news/release/2009/1028.asp

To read at the full report and view video clips from the study, visit:

http://www.parentstv.org/womeninperil.

*CW and MyNetworkTV did not exist in 2004.

To speak with a representative from the Parents Television Council, please contact Kelly Oliver (ext. 140) or Megan Franko (ext. 148) at (703) 683-5004.

Looking for obnoxious chauvinism? There’s an app for that.

Pepsi’s Amp energy drink issued an apology for its new iPhone app, called Before You Score, which drew outrage from some female consumers who deemed the application sexist.

Amp tweeted, “Our app tried 2 show the humorous lengths guys go 2 pick up women. We apologize if it’s in bad taste & appreciate your feedback,” and even included a self-deprecating “pepsifail” hashtag.

The Before You Score app drew ire for its male-centric approach to categorizing women, calling itself “a roadmap to success with your favorite kinds of women — 24, in all.” Female types include “cougar,” “bookworm,” “treehugger” and “rebound girl,” and when a user selects the type of woman of his choice, the app provides information that will supposedly help a guy “score” that type, complete with pickup lines.

On iTunes, Amp’s new iPhone app drew critical ratings. “I don’t know what was going on in that marketing meeting that got this application anywhere near a drawing board, but I do know: despite not liking Pepsi beforehand simply because of a difference in taste, now I have a reason to dislike the brand for creating this little gem. I knew guys would put women in groups before (and honestly, don’t we do the same with men?) but this…this is just offensive,” one wrote.

Another said, “Dear PepsiCo, Your score is zero. Do you really think you have no women customers? Well, guess what, you do (or at least, you did), and I for one think this pathetic, sexist excuse for ‘fun’ is one of the worst marketing ideas you’ve ever come up with.”

Male users, however, seemed to think that the ladies needed to lighten up, writing things like, “People need to get over themselves. This is a great app and will be popular. It’s for guys. Don’t tell me girls don’t joke around like this either.”

And on Twitter, users picked up on Amp’s apology as well as the “pepsifail” hashtag, with tweets falling on both sides of the spectrum. “Proof that Pepsi is run by men. Completely and totally offensive. I hope they are ok with men being their only consumers too,” one tweeted, while another wrote, “Until Amp app removed, I’m guessing PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi advising her daughter to avoid boys with iPhones.”

Supporters chimed in: “Good response from Pepsi to their iPhone App shenanigans. Creating your own Fail hashtag is pretty brave,” and “How is this different than what Axe/Lynx have been doing for years?”

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