CNN's Carol Costelo
CNN recently aired a segment on “dirty girl” images in the media. They define dirty girls or bad girls as women who promote promiscuity and drinking, engage in “raunchy sex talk” and are sometimes violent. You can view the clip here. CNN attempts to make the case that some women view this type of behavior as a form of women empowerment. How do they make that case? By simply stating it and quoting one woman who basically says, “Why yes. That’s it.”
The network even promos the piece as a story on feminism with this teaser: “CNN’s Carol Costello explores what could be the “third wave” of feminism, and why that’s troubling.”
Townhall.com, a conservative, Republican blog, jumps on the feminist angle with this commentary, ”As if you needed further proof that woman’s “liberation” (aka feminism) has had less than stellar results.
“Since God’s distinct roles for men and women and the sanctity of marriage are considered quaint and beneath the enlightened intellect of today’s educated elite, some may see this as “progress,” and others see it as punishment.”
Wow. How do they even make that connection? Why is it that any woman who doesn’t fit a certain, safe stereotype is held up as an example of what’s wrong with feminism?
CNN could have produced an informative piece on the risks of alcohol or the media’s poor portrayal of women but instead turned it into a sensational tale about what happens to women who don’t “behave.” To underscore their messages, the editors show feminist writer Jaclyn Freidman talking about the correlation between alcohol use and rape. Over the weekend, Friedman discussed the piece on Twitter and said her message was spliced. She happens to be a strong voice against victim-blaming and recently penned this op-ed on campus rape.
CNN does ask one smart question about the latest media portrayals of the so-called bad girls (Chelsea Lately and Kesha, for example): Is this just entertainment? No, CNN. When “news” outlets like yours, create “stories” like this, it’s never “just” entertainment.
UPDATE: Read Kate Harding’s interview with Jaclyn Friedman about her CNN experience over at Shapely Prose. And Jodi Jacobson has a great piece on the CNN segment at RH Reality Check.
