On Friday, July 3, Sarah Palin announced she would be resigning from her post as Governor of Alaska, mid-term.  Like all political figures, Palin’s record, policies and performance should be subject to rigorous and even withering media critique. However, The Women’s Media Center strongly objects to sexist media coverage focused on her appearance and reproductive abilities. Regardless of political stance or party affiliation, women should not be unfairly subjected to critique of their physical attributes, and as a non-partisan media advocacy organization, The Women’s Media Center objects to all sexist media coverage.

From Todd S. Purdum’s widely discussed Vanity Fair article, which notes Palin is “the best-looking woman ever to rise to such heights” and “the first indisputably fertile female to dare to dance with the big boys” to CNN’s Rick Sanchez speculating on Palin’s reasons for resigning her position by asking “Could she be pregnant again?;”  these comments would clearly not be leveraged if Palin were a man. The recent Vanity Fair and CNN pieces are only two examples of sexist mainstream media coverage of Sarah Palin. There are many more.

When the media attacks one woman on these grounds, it attacks all women and girls on these grounds, creating a climate where we see fewer and fewer women able to speak out, lead us and represent all Americans.
Carol Jenkins
WMC President