We’ve come far, but not far enough. In Frank Bruni’s recent Op Ed for the New York Times — “Sexism’s Puzzling Stamina” — he notes that although we congratulate ourselves for having 20 women in the Senate, there are still 4 men to every 1 woman, and 9 male governors to every 1 female governor.
Sexism is a habit we just can’t seem to kick.
In a recent hearing the Senate reviewed sexual assault in the military. The panel of witnesses (pictured here)
included 11 men and only 1 woman, and the Senate committee was comprised of 19 men and 7 women. Isn’t it interesting that a panel consisting of mostly men is in charge of reviewing and making decisions about violence performed by men against women? There’s something very wrong with this picture.
Bruni also highlights the blatant inequality he sees in the media, including movies. In the piece, he wrote:
But what about movies? It was all the way back in 1986 that Sigourney Weaver trounced “Aliens” and landed on the cover of Time, supposedly presaging an era of action heroines. But there haven’t been so many: Angelina Jolie in the “Tomb Raider” adventures, “Salt” and a few other hectic flicks; Jennifer Lawrence in the unfolding “Hunger Games” serial. Last summer Kristen Stewart’s “Snow White” needed a “Huntsman” at her side, and this summer? I see an “Iron Man,” a “Man of Steel” and Will Smith, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon and Channing Tatum all shouldering the weight of civilization’s future. I see no comparable crew of warrior goddesses.
Although we have come far since the last wave of feminism that our mothers, grandmothers, and many of us pushed for, we still have a very long way to go.