Commander in Chic by Jennifer L. Pozner

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Learn more about how the media marginalizes and trivializes women in political spheres by reading the full text of this article in the January/ February 2006 issue of Horizons.	Commander in Chic by Jennifer L. Pozner Emily’s List, the fund-raising PAC for pro-choice Democratic women, turned 20 last month. Founded one year after NBC’s Tom Brokaw described vice presidential nominee Geraldine Ferraro as a “size 6” at the Democratic National Convention, the group has since helped to elect 80 female governors, senators and representatives, and hundreds of women to state offices. Its anniversary comes at a time when America seems fascinated with the concept of female political leadership, from the fictional (“This fall, a woman will be president,” proclaimed towering billboards publicizing Geena Davis’s ratings-smash Commander in Chief) to the fantasy (pundits salivating about a potential Hillary Clinton/Condoleezza Rice horse race in 2008 on Fox News’s The O’Reilly Factor, NBC’s Meet the Press and ABC’s Good Morning America). Ready or Not? Two recent Gallup and Roper Public Affairs polls show overwhelming support for female politicians among the general public: between 79 and 81 percent of Americans say they would feel comfortable with a female president, and similar numbers believe a woman would handle homeland security and foreign policy issues as well as or better than a male president. So, if the public is ready for a female president, why is it that the closest a woman has come to the Oval Office is Geena Davis on a Hollywood back lot? And, for that matter, why are women still stuck with token representation in the Senate, the House, and the Supreme Court? Jennifer L. Pozner is the executive director of Women In Media & News (WIMN). She lectures regularly on images of women in news and entertainment media. One of her most popular talks is titled “Condoleezza Rice Is a Size Six, and Other Useless Things I Learned from the News.” To learn more about WIMN, visit www.WIMNonline.org. Other Articles Online This Issue In the Picture Commander in Chic Finding Balance Who Needs PW? From Preacher in the Field to Mother in the Church Lent (Horizons Bible Study Resource) Dispatch from Forbearance Presbyterian Church Nurturing Our Faith Supporting Mission Mosaic 2006 Churchwide Gathering of Presbyterian Women	Current Issue About This Issue Features PW Resources Departments Jan/Feb Index How to Use In Our Next Issue Items underlined can be seen in this Web site, all others appear in the January/February 2006 issue of Horizons magazine. Subscribe to Horizons, call 800/524-2612 or order the January/February 2006 issue (HZN-06-200; $4 plus shipping and handling) now. Information Due to Hurricane Katrina, Horizons subscriptions have been suspended in the following three-digit ZIP Code ranges: 369, 393, 394, 395, 396, 700, 701, and 704. At their convenience, affected subscribers should write to Presbyterian Distribution Service, attn. Mindi Stivers, 100 Witherspoon St., Louisville, KY 40202-1396, email subscriptions@ctr.pcusa.org or call 800/524-2612 to have their subscriptions extended or have the missed copies mailed.
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Home \| Current Issue \| Archives \| Bible Study \| Web Exclusives \| PW

Jan/Feb 2006
FEATURES

Subscribe
About Us
Contact Us
Links of Interest

Learn more about how the media marginalizes and trivializes women in political spheres by reading the full text of this article in the January/ February 2006 issue of Horizons.

Commander in Chic by Jennifer L. Pozner

Emily’s List, the fund-raising PAC for pro-choice Democratic women, turned 20 last month. Founded one year after NBC’s Tom Brokaw described vice presidential nominee Geraldine Ferraro as a “size 6” at the Democratic National Convention, the group has since helped to elect 80 female governors, senators and representatives, and hundreds of women to state offices.

Its anniversary comes at a time when America seems fascinated with the concept of female political leadership, from the fictional (“This fall, a woman will be president,” proclaimed towering billboards publicizing Geena Davis’s ratings-smash Commander in Chief) to the fantasy (pundits salivating about a potential Hillary Clinton/Condoleezza Rice horse race in 2008 on Fox News’s The O’Reilly Factor, NBC’s Meet the Press and ABC’s Good Morning America).

Ready or Not?

Two recent Gallup and Roper Public Affairs polls show overwhelming support for female politicians among the general public: between 79 and 81 percent of Americans say they would feel comfortable with a female president, and similar numbers believe a woman would handle homeland security and foreign policy issues as well as or better than a male president. So, if the public is ready for a female president, why is it that the closest a woman has come to the Oval Office is Geena Davis on a Hollywood back lot? And, for that matter, why are women still stuck with token representation in the Senate, the House, and the Supreme Court?

Jennifer L. Pozner is the executive director of Women In Media & News (WIMN). She lectures regularly on images of women in news and entertainment media. One of her most popular talks is titled “Condoleezza Rice Is a Size Six, and Other Useless Things I Learned from the News.” To learn more about WIMN, visit www.WIMNonline.org.

Other Articles Online This Issue

In the Picture
Commander in Chic
Finding Balance
Who Needs PW?
From Preacher in the Field to Mother in the Church
Lent (Horizons Bible Study Resource)
Dispatch from Forbearance Presbyterian Church
Nurturing Our Faith
Supporting Mission
Mosaic
2006 Churchwide Gathering of Presbyterian Women

Current Issue

January/February 2006 Issue of Horizons Magazine

Items underlined can be seen in this Web site, all others appear in the January/February 2006 issue of Horizons magazine.

Subscribe to Horizons, call 800/524-2612 or order the January/February 2006 issue (HZN-06-200; $4 plus shipping and handling) now.

Information

Due to Hurricane Katrina, Horizons subscriptions have been suspended in the following three-digit ZIP Code ranges: 369, 393, 394, 395, 396, 700, 701, and 704.

At their convenience, affected subscribers should write to Presbyterian Distribution Service, attn. Mindi Stivers, 100 Witherspoon St., Louisville, KY 40202-1396, email subscriptions@ctr.pcusa.org or call 800/524-2612 to have their subscriptions extended or have the missed copies mailed.