Just a few of the questions that female celebrities get asked while on the red carpet include, “Who are you wearing tonight?” and, “How do you manage a career and a family?” Many women, including Jennifer Garner and Taylor Swift, are starting to retaliate by refusing to do interviews with certain reporters unless they ask more intellectual and gender-neutral questions.
This dispute doesn’t just affect the celebrities in the entertainment industry. These conversations regarding women’s equality have been started in a wide range of careers and lifestyles, the most recent being toward female journalists.
Rand Paul, a 2016 GOP presidential candidate, has been making headlines for his recent and repeatedly rude interactions with women reporters, which started after he shushed a CNBC reporter in February and attacked Savannah Guthrie earlier this month.
His treatment toward these female reporters has not only been analyzed, but is bringing attention to the way society views and values women in the media.
Megyn Kelly, host of “The Kelly File” on Fox News, said it best when she invited Paul on her show to discuss his recent actions and treatment of the two women reporters.
“Chuck Todd came out and said you have to be ‘careful’ because you attacked two prominent female interviewers,” Kelly said. “The Guardian said you were ‘condescending’ toward female reporters. And I, as a female reporter, will say to Chuck Todd and The Guardian: We don’t need your help.”
While watching the exchange unfold between Kelly and Paul, it was clear and reassuring to see women’s equality being pursued, just as it was also encouraging to see the that the stronger individual in this interview was not the presidential candidate himself but Kelly, a smart, hard-hitting female journalist. Kelly was neither afraid to call Paul out nor was she scared to criticize The Guardian and Todd for devaluing women.
I have worked in a newsroom before and can say from personal experience that I can understand how in a satellite interview the interviewer and Paul could easily get caught speaking over each other. However, Kelly was able to maintain control all while standing up for the rights of her female peers.
Kelly showed the strength and determination that women have been fighting for decades to reveal as she argued how females do not need the help of a man to defend themselves. She was persistent and forced Paul to publicly respond to the issue at hand.
“I do lose my cool, and I do lose my temper sometimes, and I should be better at that,” Paul said. “Can I do better? Yes. Am I sometimes thin-skinned? Yes. But … when I think of doing an interview with you, I don’t think of whether you’re a man or woman. I think of an intelligent person who’s going to ask me questions.”
While Paul’s response may have not been the best, Kelly was able to show him and male reporters the strength that women journalists actually have, as she didn’t hesitate to call him out on his inappropriate behavior in previous interviews.
There are interviews that turn out to be mediocre at best because the reporter is either uneducated about the topic up for discussion or is not willing to dig deeper and ask the hard questions. However, this conversation between the two grabbed my attention and inspired me as a senior journalism major.
Kelly’s determination and confidence made me excited to get out into the “real world” and have intellectual conversations. She made me realize the importance of seeking to understand and learn from others about issues that may be uncomfortable and controversial.
As disappointing as Paul’s, Todd’s and the Guardian’s actions were, Kelly proved herself a strong journalist who was well-spoken, educated and passionate about the issue of women in the media, which was encouraging and reassuring for me as I am pursuing a future in this field.