Offender: Huffington Post

Media Outlet: Huffington Post website

The Offense: Who Has the Best Chest in Hollywood? (Photos, Poll), posted 9/26/09

NOW's Analysis: The Huffington Post exposes its tabloid side in this cheesy and insulting poll. Readers are invited to look at photos of women celebrities in which their breasts are prominently featured and then rate them on a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is "gross" and 10 is "gorgeous" -- seriously, this is not a joke.

Yes, the Internet is full of this kind of exploitative, sexist junk, but shouldn't we expect better from the Huffington Post? The website links to a previous contest where readers voted on men's chests, but that's just a little different, don't you think? Women are constantly judged and rated on their physical assets and sex appeal, and the Huffington Post really doesn't need to be in the business of encouraging this practice. Not to mention, how old was the grade school boy who devised the rating scale? The use of the word "gross" is so degrading and juvenile that the folks at Huffington Post should be embarassed.

Take Action: Write to Huffington Post and tell them to stop exploiting women. You can also post a comment under the story itself (but you have to have an account).

Lisa Bennett, NOW Communications Director, September 28, 2009

More offenders in : Objectification of Women, Sexist Piggery, Internet, Media Hall of Shame

Rank this item with our Misogyny Meter: Currently 3.15/5 1 2 3 4 5 i

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Offender: One-A-Day Teen Advantage Vitamins

Media Outlet: Commercials airing nationwide and products on store shelves

The Offense: Bayer, the maker of One-A-Day Teen Advantage, is peddling sex-specific vitamins that claim to promote healthy muscle function for him (in a blue and green box) and healthy skin for her (in a pink and orange box).

NOW's Analysis: According to the One-A-Day website, among the the "top health concerns of moms and teens" are the fact that teenage girls need to have healthy (read: aesthetically pleasing) skin, while teenage boys should have healthy muscle function. In case potential consumers aren't picking up the difference, the vitamins come in color-coordinated boxes, the pills themselves have been dyed pink or blue, and "for Her" and "for Him" appear on the boxes in fonts that were clearly chosen to convey feminine or masculine vibes.

In reality, most of the actual ingredients of the two products are the same, working toward the same ends: supporting a healthy immune system, bone strength and energy. The issue here is not the contents of the pills, but rather the way in which these differences are marketed. The message sent to girls is that looks are paramount, and by contrast, their own strength is unnecessary or irrelevant. Likewise, boys are encouraged to be active and adventurous -- there's even a Major League Baseball logo on the boys' box, while the girls' box features a breast cancer awareness ribbon. But, why shouldn't girls be concerend with having healthy muscles? And surely boys would like healthy skin, too, right?

While having sex-based differences in nutrition is understandable -- women typically need more iron, for example -- the method of packaging and advertising that Bayer employs is insulting. Not to mention, promoting these sex stereotypes to girls and boys during their teenage years lays a foundation for a lifetime of buying into rigid gender roles.

Take Action: Write to One-A-Day Vitamins and Bayer and tell them what you think.

Jess Hobbs, NOW Communications Team, September 10, 2009

More offenders in : Media Activism, Advertising, Objectification of Women, Television, Internet

Rank this item with our Misogyny Meter: Currently 2.68/5 1 2 3 4 5 i

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Update: Milbank and Cillizza apologize and "Mouthpiece Theater" is canceled.

Offender: Writer/Reporters Dana Milbank and Chris Cillizza

Media Outlet: The Washington Post website, posted 7/31/09

Offense: In a video segment called "Mouthpiece Theater" Milbank and Cillizza suggest beers that various political figures should have drank, had they been invited to President Obama's "beer summit." For Hillary Clinton, Milbank suggests "Mad Bitch" beer.

NOW's Analysis: In a stunningly unfunny video, two male reporters smirk their way through a long list of obscure beers with funny names, matching them up with politicians. Representatives Dennis Kucinich and Henry Waxman are poked fun of for looking like an "elf" and a "troll" respectively, while the fact that Senator Robert Byrd is "old" and perhaps "peculiar" is meant to elicit a laugh. Once you're working for one of the biggest newspapers in the U.S. shouldn't you really be past teasing people based on their appearance or other traits like age? Not these guys.

Milbank is no stranger to making snarky comments concerning Hillary Clinton, but when will it ever end? She's our secretary of state, for cryin' out loud -- isn't calling her a "bitch" crossing the line? Well, apparently it is. The Washington Post must have received enough complaints that they took the video down the same day it was posted. This is evidence that when enough of us speak out, it does work. But we still can't help but wonder how this kind of stuff slips by the editors in the first place. The video reeks of frat boy attitude and offensive humor, and it is out of place on the website of a serious newspaper.

Take Action: Write to The Washington Post and thank them for removing the video, but urge Ombudsman Deborah Howell to take this on, to demand that the website's editors hold their content producers to higher standards. Ask Howell to demand that no woman be called a "bitch" again on The Washington Post website or in the publication.

Lisa Bennett, NOW Communications Director, August 3, 2009

More offenders in : Sexist Piggery, Internet, Media Hall of Shame

Rank this item with our Misogyny Meter: Currently 3.16/5 1 2 3 4 5 i

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