NOW's Media Hall of Shame
"2008 Election Edition"
About NOW's Media Hall of Shame
During the 2008 presidential elections, media misogyny has reached an all-time high. Sen. Hillary Clinton -- who broke new ground for women with her inspiring campaign and came close to winning the Democratic nomination -- was the target of the most extraordinarily sexist attacks we've witnessed in a long time.
NOW warned that Michelle Obama would be next, and we were right. The media seemed intent on outdoing themselves by combining sexist and racist slurs against the potential first lady. Then came Gov. Sarah Palin -- the GOP's candidate for vice president -- whose choices around family and career have been questioned in a judgmental and intrusive manner that male candidates rarely experience.
From the national to the local level, any woman who serves or runs for political office (or is the spouse of someone who does) is subject to gender-based double standards and sexist attacks.
These insults serve to demean and stereotype ALL women. Any question of whether we still need a feminist movement is being answered every day in the media, and the answer is a resounding Yes.
NOW's Media Hall of Shame is a collection of some of the worst offenders from this season's election coverage, including TV, radio, print, web and even political cartoons. We want to know what YOU think -- rank these "Shamers" on a sexism scale of one thumb down (least offensive) to five thumbs down (most offensive).
The top offenders from the primary season were dis-honored at the 2008 National NOW Conference in July.
You can nominate someone to the Hall of Shame, and the most popular nominees might even get added to the website. Most importantly, you can take action by talking back to the media outlets that brought us this onslaught of sexism.
Be part of our Talkback Team -- sign up for our media activism email list and we'll let you know who's topping the Hall of Shame, and you can be the first to take action when there are new outrages from the media.
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