Taking Action: National Organizations
National Organization for Women: Media Hall of Shame: As a result of the incredibly sexist media commentary during the 2008 election cycle, the National Organization for Women established the Media Hall of Shame. It rates the worst offenders and reminds us of the importance of challenging this type of language in the media.
The Women’s Media Center: The Women’s Media Center (WMC) has teamed with Media Matters to launch “Sexism Sells, But We’re Not Buying It,” a video and online petition campaign illustrating the pervasive nature of sexism in the media. The petition stage of the campaign has closed, and the WMC is scheduling meetings with media executives to work with them to address the need for women to be appropriately portrayed by the media. Check out their website, and learn how you can help them monitor the media and report sexist language or behavior via their Sexism Watch; they also encourage you to contact the media directly and provide a list of key contacts.
In addition, WMC is producing Unspinning the Spin: The Women’s Media Center Guide to Accurate, Bias-Free Language. The guide will provide background information, in a dictionary-thesaurus format, on sexist/biased terms and offer alternatives for journalists to choose from in preparing their materials.
The Center anticipates releasing the guide in 2009. Watch for its release, and then let your local newspapers and radio and television stations know about its availability.
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