Why Aren't There More Women Columnists?

[Synnical]

http://www.womensenews.org/article.cfm?aid=2751

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Editor's Note: The following is a commentary. The opinions expressed are those of the author and not necessarily the views of Women's eNews.

Heidi Schnakenberg

(WOMENSENEWS)--As a young woman, I stepped out into the treacherous waters of opinion journalism, and was amazed by the lack of civil discourse and the intensity of personal attacks that I received via e-mail, letters to the editor and on Web postings.

Subjects such as women's issues, racism, anti-war politics, environmental matters and virtually any topic deemed "liberal" inspired some vitriolic comments from readers that I will mention here.

I was called everything from "bitch" to "whore" and was often addressed as "sweetie" or "honey" before a launch of expletives. Most attackers took the position that I was just a cute, dumb college student (even though I was in my late 20s) in an effort to discredit me and I was most reliably attacked by a collection of right-wing Web sites and right-wing men who sent me letters.

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The presence of female opinion journalists has remained virtually unchanged over the past 25 years, with only 10 percent to 20 percent of all op-eds in the country being written by women. Only about a quarter of nationally syndicated columnists are women and they tend to be white and right-wing.

More at link

[shance]

1. What a good question. I guess because rich white males dictate everything.

And they only like females that tout the rich white male mantra/ideology.

[Triana]

2. I posted that in the Women's Issues Forum today...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=229&topic_id=4567&mesg_id=4567

It's certainly a relevant point. I've had the same experiences this woman has. And worse.

[Synnical]

4. Recommended in that forum

Will post now to Editorials.

Best Regards,

-Cindy in Fort Lauderdale

[Synnical]

6. Link to the cross post in Editorials

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=103&topic_id=212902&mesg_id=212902

[Nevernose]

3. Wow. I never thought of that before.

It's actually rather profound. I se the names "Malkin" and "Huffington" pop up every now and again, and sometimes, God forbid, "Coulter." But certainly not with the frequency of men, especially in the local papers.

Being a man, I guess I just never gave it much thought.

I'm going to forward your link to a couple of journalism teachers I know -- the ones with a feminist bent.

[Captain Hilts]

5. The Was Post is a major offender here.

Their list of columnists included two women that haven't had anything published in the WP in over a year: Donna Britt, who actually wrote for the WP and, mysteriously, Ellen Goodman, who was based out of the Boston Globe.

All they've got is Anne Applebaum and Ruth Marcus.

It's very common for the weekend "Outlook" section on Sundays to have only male authors of articles. I've been monitoring that for a while.

The WP seems to be where Harvard Crimson writers go to grow old.

[no_hypocrisy]

7. It's more complicated than my guesses, but here goes:

1. A lot of women (even today) are discouraged from publicly speaking out on anything, starting in the classroom. When I was in law school, when I knew an obscure answer to a question, I heard derisive "Ooooooooooh"s from the male contingent sitting in back of me.

2. Even if you can write cogently and persuasively (another point for another day), try to find a supportive editor and publisher to read and develop your essays. It may not be easy if they believe that readers will be left "cold" with a the ravings of a harpy or equally disaffected, hormonal woman on a rant. (You're getting the picture, right?)

3. To be noticed, you have to have an aura of celebrity where your personna is more notable than your writing. Style over substance. Subjects like NSA, wiretapping, William Jefferson, etc. are not sexy subjects, which don't add to the glitter of your profile.

OK, OK, admittedly this is an overgeneralization, but it's meant to make a point about women not being on equal footing with male journalists. You have to be a columnist like Maureen Dowd in order to get a respectable amount of attention and credentials.