Breaking News: Male Journalist Degrades Women For Five More Years Of Life!
Listen, it’s no secret that journalism is a male-dominated field, but what will we do about the amount of disrespect women have to endure because of it? Now, don’t get it twisted. This article is not an attack but a call for change (insert low-key passive-aggressive smiley face).
Let’s backtrack a little bit. As women, we endure so much. I'll go ahead and name a few of those things because this article calls for it. We go through monthly emotional and physical turmoil with no empathy to understand our distress, we are still dealing with the wage gap, and we still have to fight for the right to decide what to do with our bodies in 2023??? Shall I go on?
Upsetting and quite astonishing that we’ve come so far, but there’s immense work to be done.
There’s always a bright side to topics like these, though. For example, there are women out there that speak their minds and are so beautifully comfortable in their own independence that they get a rise out of extraordinarily well-known and proclaimed journalists on national television that then make complete fools of themselves.
Chelsea Handler is who I’m talking about, of course. Handler has been guest hosting The Daily Show since Trevor Noah’s departure and has been doing a pretty damn good job at it. The show’s Youtube channel uploaded a skit named “A Day In The Life Of a Childless Woman,” where Chelsea showcases what her days look like with no kids. She’s seen smoking a joint, taking time for herself, and flying all the way to Paris for her favorite croissant.
Not everyone will have the same sense of humor; as we all know, humor is completely subjective. Still, this video’s goal was to be an obvious parody of the average “Day In My Life” vlogs seen on TikTok. It was meant to be completely satire. If you either a) take every single piece of media seriously or b) are sexist, you’ll most definitely be giving this video a thumbs down. Of course, who had something to say about it?
Ah, yes, you guessed it!
I’m referring to the fiasco of commentary that journalists Tucker Carlson and Jesse Kelly decided to follow through with (on national television, might I add). It’s like they had previously agreed to compete on who could make the most disrespectful comment of all time while simultaneously being extremely degrading toward women in every way possible.
Image Courtesy: Yahoo! Entertainment
Here are a few quotes from Carlson and Kelly’s back-and-forth commentary:
Tucker said the skit’s point was to "make you feel good about being an aging, deeply unlikeable woman who never had kids."
Kelly follows up by adding, "Either way, they've been told they should do a career and don't have a family, and soon you're Chelsea Handler. Soon it's Valentine's Day, and your womb resembles a dried-up tumbleweed blowing down an old Western town. Your Valentine's Day date for the 10th year in a row is a 10-year-old copy of Magic Mike and a half-full bottle of Xanax. You're trying to pretend like you're happy, but you're not happy, and it's actually not her fault. She's been lied to by a country that's lost its way.”
I’ll stop there because there’s only so much you can take as a reader. Don’t worry. I get it! But this language is essential to acknowledge. Why are journalists, in this case, male journalists, allowed to go on live television, say all these degrading comments, and still be seen as ‘professional’ and ‘reputable’ sources? Hell f*cking no. This locker room talk should’ve ended ages ago. It’s embarrassing and outdated.
How do we have self-driving cars in 2023 and still allow male journalists to keep their jobs after they’ve said (and done) every horrible thing under the sun on live television? Let’s all get a grip and be so for real right now. Male journalists need to DO BETTER. A higher standard needs to be held for these so-called ‘professionals.’ It’s always been unacceptable, but we didn’t know better before then. We sure as hell do now, though.
Strike out,
Boca Raton
Maria Paula Gonzales
Maria Paula Gonzales is the Web Director for Strike Magazine Boca. When she’s not writing her way through life, she enjoys thrifting, looking for concerts to attend, and spending as much time in nature as possible. You can reach her at mariapaulag97@gmail.com
