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Just about everyone’s seen a newsreel. Either in an old documentary, or in history class, or spliced into a period movie. But how many of us have heard a newsreel narrated by a woman? I know I never have, but it appears there were some women in the field, after all, and I have proof.

This is an article from the Hartford Courant originally published July 22,1938:

Woman Newsreel Commentator Finds Her Job Thrilling
Good Voice, Excellent Diction Won Job for Sue Read

Being a woman newsreel commentator is an exciting life, according to Sue Read, one of the few women holding such a position. Miss Read in an interview with Edna Gorman of the New York Sun says “I’ve never had a greater thrill from anything I’ve done than to see and hear myself describing some important front-page event, knowing that within four days 28,000,000 people all over the United States and in South America and Canada will be viewing these newsreels.

Miss Read was asked how it is possible to follow a news cameraman into all sorts of adventures and always have the right comments ready to synchronize with the picture as it is taken.

Everyone asks me that question, Miss Read replied. However, newsreels aren’t made that way. “Pictures are taken any place in the world and rushed to the studios, usually by plane. A short script is then prepared by the staff, and this is voiced on the sound track,” she explained.

Another question every one asks Miss Read is: “How do you get a job like that, and how does it happen that even though there are a few girls doing this work, they are almost entirely limited to women’s fashions, while you have been doing horse races and ship sailings and similar news events?”

Well it seems that little Sue Read liked the idea. And being one who doesn’t let grass grow under her feet, she hunted up a man she had met who was somebody important in the business. But the important man only laughed at her. “Run along, child,” he said, “we don’t want any girls in this work.” But, eventually, he gave her a letter of introduction, and although his secretary insisted she was wasting her time, Miss Read got an audition. And they took her on just when they had definitely decided a woman would never, never do!

As for the rest, she has had a thorough training in dramatic expression, and both her diction and her speaking voice are charming.

She is a brunette, with eyes as expressive as her voice and a freshing, sunny smile. She believes that any girl who is planning her career should never limit it by patterning it after some one else. No two careers are alike, she says.

“And don’t believe people who say you must have ‘pull’,” she insists. “Pull can be such a harmful thing. It can get you in long before you are fitted for a place, and then you are let out, and have to start all over again.

Miss Read is a Quaker from Philadelphia, and was educated in Quaker schools. At a very early age she displayed more interest in dramatics than she did in regular school work. After inveigling her parents into letting her go to dramatic classes after school once a week, she was soon devoting all her time to dramatics, with a few special school subjects on the side.

She says she came to New York to study singing and, finding her voice wasn’t great enough for an outstanding vocal career, she made her interpretation the most important part of her singing. Her dramatic training has been of value to her here, so that she is able to give dramatic interpretations which have made her singing of box-office value and which has now landed her the enviable job of feminine news-reel commentator.

Her hobby, at the moment, is tap dancing.

Law & Order: SVU has quickly become my newest obsession (I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Thank you Netflix Instant queue! – I should get paid for this), and I have been thrilled to learn that actress Mariska Hargitay is every bit as awesome as her character, Detective Olivia Benson, who could probably fill a 10 Reasons of her own.

1. She’s got her head on straight when it comes to body image:

“I’m a size 8, and I feel proud of that because it’s healthy.  I’ve never felt compelled to be a skinny actress.  I think I’m a very attractive person, but that’s not where I get my esteem.  A guy at ABC told me to change my name and get a nose job.  I said, ‘You get a nose job.’”

2. Although SVU is often challenging, it has inspired her.

“It’s opened my eyes to the plight of victims. And helped me find new ways to make a difference in the world. Without SVU, I would’ve never started the Joyful Heart Foundation.”

3. Yeah, about that Joyful Heart thing…

“I used to call myself the “accidental activist.”  No more.  I have fully engaged in this mission.  It is part of my path, one of the reasons I am here.”

4. She is proud of her character.

“I thought the character was extremely complex and would be a challenge for me as an actor. The second I read the script, I was drawn to Olivia’s strength, passion, humanity, and her desire for change. But what most intrigued me was her past and how she could use it to help others face theirs.”

Click here for 6 more reasons to love Mariska

As a woman who shaves her legs about four times per year, I can appreciate this:

Rock that leg hair with pride and joy!  This is what Golden Globe Award winning actresses look like.  Hells to the yeah.

Screw the snark, TMZ, real women wear their own fur.

Edit: Feministing posted this before I did, but after I had already written it, dang!  Check out their criticism of media’s focus (and criticism) of women’s bodies.  Clearly this is a problem, and has always been, and sadly probably always will be.  However, seeing such a beautiful, talented woman assuredly showing off a follicle taboo is a little empowering because it says “hey social expectations, you don’t dictate what goes on in my shower,” which is a message that all of us could use a little more of.  Rock it, Mo’Nique.

“I think that when you’re in the public eye, you automatically become a role model, because people are reading about you and looking at pictures of stuff you’ve done. But, you know, no one’s perfect, everyone makes mistakes. I have made mistakes and I will make mistakes. I’m only human.”

- Dakota Fanning

From Daily Express via Jezebel.

“There’s a direct connection between a woman’s ability to plan her family, space her pregnancies, and give birth safely, and her ability to get an education, work outside the home, support her family, and participate fully in the life of her community.

When a girl becomes a mother before she becomes literate, when a woman gives birth alone and is left with a permanent disability, when a mother toils daily to feed her large family but cannot convince her husband to agree to contraception, these struggles represent suffering that can and should be avoided. They represent potential that goes unfulfilled. And they also represent an opportunity to extend critical help to women worldwide and the children who depend on them.

Investing in the health of women, adolescents, and girls is not only the right thing to do; it is also the smart thing to do.”

- U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s
Remarks on the 15th Anniversary of the International Conference on Population and Development

Full transcript here via Jezebel.

I’ve touched on 30 Rock before and argued against it as a feminist show.  I’ve reviewed season 1 and watched season 2, and am more often offended and stupified than impressed.  But I keep trying.  Anyway, clearly there are many people who do like 30 Rock and Tina Fey, and Colleen at Cultural Voice Over has an interesting post up about Liz Lemon as a feminist icon.  Here are some of my thoughts about her thoughts:

And then it occurred to me…Liz Lemon (played by Tina Fey, of course) of 30 Rock has to be, truly, one of the best female icons on television right now.Essentially, Liz Lemon is a lot like Tina Fey (except “more of a loser,” as Fey herself once said.) But they seem to represent the same concepts and ideas, and the similarities are obvious when comparing Lemon and Fey’s careers and histories.

I had revered Tina Fey as a feminist role model until I started doing a little research and kept getting stuck when trying to put together a 10 Reasons for her.  I’m willing to admit that I’ve made some stretches in the feature before in finding quotes to support the theory that so-and-so is a feminist role model, but Tina was tough.  I found (and continue to find) myself wondering why I had been operating under the assumption that Tina was a feminist – because she’s intelligent?  Because she isn’t overtly and constantly sexual/ized?  Because she wears glasses?  I’m still not sure, but I’ve had trouble finding enough evidence to convince myself she’s a strong feminist role model (not that she needs to be one).

There are oh so many reasons why us women looooove Liz Lemon. She strives and struggles to “have it all!” as a creative writer, business woman, single woman on the New York dating scene, and a sometimes “clock-a-tickin’” wannabe mother.

Stereotypes are dangerous, double-edged swords.  They exist because there is some truth to them, but as often as they provide us with a blueprint for understanding a group of people they fail us in misrepresenting the individuals that compose that group.  As Colleen notes, Liz is never fully satisfied in any of her roles, and never views herself as successful or deserving or confident, despite her clear successes and intelligence.  And the baby-crazed thing is insulting.

Women say they can relate to Lemon because they “eat like her,” or are “dorky” like she is. Or they get nervous around men like she frequently does. We can relate to her. We see her at home, not made-up, hair a mess and lounging around in un-sexy sweats eating blocks of cheese late in the night.

It’s nice to see a dorky, unique character on tv.  It’s nice to see her as an independent career woman.  It’s nice to see someone who eats.  However, Liz is always either ashamed of her eating or mocked, teased or insulted by her coworkers about them.  The things that we see in Liz that are reflections of ourselves are things that Liz is constantly dogged for and never defends.  Jack is Liz’s boss, so it wouldn’t be easy for her to confront his misogyny, but ignoring and taking it day-in and day-out isn’t really inspiring.

I started watching 30 Rock hoping that Tina Fey’s influence would create an awesome feminist role model in Liz Lemon, and I have been disappointed at every turn.  What’s your perspective?

I’ll admit that I typically don’t give crime shows a fair chance.  Something about horrific crimes as entertainment rubs me the wrong way, and when sex gets rolled into the mix it seems like a recipe for disaster.  But I gave Law & Order: Special Victims Unit it’s chance, and let me tell you – I was pleasantly surprised (thanks Netflix instant queue!).

I still believe strongly that sex and violence are a dangerous cocktail, but SVU handles the topics with class.  The violence, although sexual, is never sexy, and the bad guys are almost always clearly bad (exceptions include child perps and false accusers).  Stranger rape, date rape, marital rape are all treated with equal seriousness (a level of respect we often can’t even expect from our own local news), and more controversial topics such as sexual orientation, sex work, and patient-doctor confidentiality and spousal privilege are handled with care.

Furthermore, the female characters on the show are complex, intelligent, and self-sufficient.  On top of this, their counterparts are possibly the most decent men I’ve seen on television in a long time.  Detectives look out for each other regardless of gender, and there is a sense of camaraderie and caring that has nothing to do with genitalia.  For instance, knowing Detective Benson’s sensitive history with her father (all she knows about him is that he’s the man who raped her mother), Detective Stabler calls out a coworker who made an inappropriate joke about the subject.  He does this discretely and out of a desire to protect his partner, not a poor sensitive woman, and Det. Benson watches Stabler’s back with an equal amount of respect and concern when his buttons are pushed.

Although Det. Benson is still in the minority as a woman detective on the unit, she is quickly replacing Special Agent Dana Scully as my favorite woman in uniform.  She is always the defender of justice, warmly and kindly comforting the victims of the atrocities featured on the show while giving the Ice Queen a run for her money when she gets alone in the room with a perp.  The various ADAs across seasons (nearly always portrayed by women) are equally cool and collected and fantastic at their jobs.

One of the most unique themes that I’ve noticed in watching, however, is the clear and direct condemnation of misogyny.  Many of the perps on the show target women (prostitutes, girlfriends, wives, strangers) because they are women.  One of the ADAs sets out to be the first lawyer to successfully convict a rapist of a hate crime.  The hatred and loathing these criminals (and occasionally cops) have for women illustrate the most vile misogyny that can be imagined – and they way that it is portrayed is as disgusting and loathsome as it really is.

Although there isn’t a great deal of ethnic diversity on the team and no significant address of ablism, the competent women on the show are a breath of fresh air, as are their respectful and admirable coworkers – men as allies in “women’s issues” fights are too sparse on television.  The women are still held to a higher standard as far as the limited variety in body image portrayed and the requirement that they are still able to demonstrate a sensitive and nurturant side that is more acceptably absent in male characters, but I’m willing to argue that Law & Order SVU is a pretty feminist-friendly show.  And with 11 seasons under its belt, I’m impressed that it has been given the chance to put these images and messages out there for so long.

Shoutouts to the post at Bitch blog that addressed this a little while ago.  Follow their (and my) advice and give it chance if you haven’t yet!

1. She values health for health’s sake, not for beauty’s sake.

“Women in particular need to keep an eye on their physical and mental health, because if we’re scurrying to and from appointments and errands, we don’t have a lot of time to take care of ourselves. We need to do a better job of putting ourselves higher on our own ‘to do’ list.”

2. She believes in the importance of identity.

“One of the lessons that I grew up with was to always stay true to yourself and never let what somebody else says distract you from your goals. And so when I hear about negative and false attacks, I really don’t invest any energy in them, because I know who I am.”

3. She understands the difficulty inherent in being a working mother…

“The work-life balance is a harsh reality for so many women, who are forced every day to make impossible choices. Do they take their kids to the doctor…and risk getting fired? Do they work weekends so they can afford to send their kids to better childcare…even though it means even less time with their families? Do they take another shift at work, so they can pay for piano lessons for their kids…even though it means they have to stop volunteering for the PTA? It just shouldn’t be this difficult to raise healthy families.”

4. …and what that “personal is political” phrase is all about.

“Policies that support families aren’t political issues.  They’re personal.  They’re the causes I carry with me every single day.”

Read the rest of this entry »

It’s going to be a busy week folks, so I present to you a quick video from the Feminist Majority that clears up a few things about the f-word.  The clip features some familiar faces, such as Lisa Loeb, America Ferrara, Allison Janney (the awesome step-mom in Juno), Kate Walsh, Cameryn Manheim, Michael Moore, and Amy Brenneman, and features the sweet tunes of Ani DiFranco in the background.

Who are some of your favorite feminists, either that I missed in this clip or that you’d like to give props to?

She may be a fictitious character, but Donna Pinciotti is one bad dudette.  Whenever the guys are running their mouths, Donna is there to set them straight, and I like to think that her intelligence, outspoken attitude, and empowerment make up for their regular idiocy.  Just this week I saw the episode “Baby Fever,” which features some fantastic Donna moments.

In the episode, Kitty asks Laurie to watch an infant she is babysitting for a friend while she and Red visit the Pinciottis next door for fondue.  Laurie is inept at changing the baby’s diaper, and Donna steps in.  Eric is impressed with her maternal instincts and makes a bigger deal of her diaper-changing abilities than he did when she was published in the school paper.  Donna calls him out on this, but he doesn’t get it, telling her that it gave him warm fuzzies to think of what a great stay-at-home mom she was going to make someday.  Donna has other ideas.

In the end, Donna decides it’s too early to be having this fight with Eric, and they kiss and make up.  However, the fact that Donna thought about the issue, thought about her future, and shared her concerns with her friends (albeit in “the circle,” if you know what I mean) sends a pretty positive message to the teen and young adult audience the show is targeted to.  As reruns continue to air on The CW and TeenNick (formerly The “N”), I take pleasure in the idea that younger generations of women continue to be exposed to feminist role-models like Donna on TV.

Who are some of your other favorite TV feminists?

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