Women: Belittled, Even in Supporting Roles

Michelle Obama
Photo courtesy of KQED News

     The democratic national convention started this week with Michelle Obama giving an opening-night speech to remind people of "the man [Barack Obama] was before he was president."  On Tuesday, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram posted an Associated Press article online notifying people of Michelle Obama's speech.  The problem with this article, however, is that it belittles not only Michelle Obama herself, but also women's roles in supporting the president in general.

     It is AP style to give a person's full name on first reference in an article, but on second reference, the authors referred to Michelle Obama as "Mrs. Obama," specifically breaking the AP style rule to use both the first and last name on second reference when distinguishing between sources with the same last name.  By doing this, the article's authors sent out the message that Michelle Obama was nothing more than a wife, because they found it necessary to tack the "Mrs." onto her name and because they didn't supply her husband with a courtesy title as well.  Looking further into the article, it can be seen that women weren't relied on as heavily as men were as sources in support of Barack Obama.  Virginia Sen. Mark Warner was referenced supporting the president with a host of solid and intelligent facts like Barack Obama helping "the economy rebound" while Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren was only referenced making generalized observations like "it's tough out there" for American citizens.  By referencing men with stronger, smarter facts to support Barack Obama and by referring to Michelle Obama as "Mrs. Obama," the AP reporters sent the message that women aren't independent and intelligent people because they weren't credited as such.  This is an atrocious message to send, especially in a society where women have fought for years to gain gender equality.