Becoming First Lady - Media Misses With Michelle Obama Coverage
Monday January 5, 2009
In a commentary for Women's eNews, Sheila Gibbons wonders if media coverage of the soon-to-be First Lady Michelle Obama (or any other in the future) will ever move past what she wears, how she parents, and what' her favorite comfort food is.
After all, she's an attorney who graduated from Harvard Law School and was a working mother until her husband's presidential campaign took off. She is much more than "First Mom," and as Gibbons notes:
Michelle Obama's impressive life credentials alone ought to inspire inquiry about her capacity to contribute to public life in the special role she will soon have. But conventional media's view of White House occupants--a type of elected royal family--consigns the first lady to a somewhat unreal role akin to a king's consort.Take a look at the challenges faced by Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama and you'll see -- she is intelligent enough and innovative enough to reshape the role of First Lady into something that more approximates the complex lives of working mothers across the country. We need a role model, and she needs a challenge. It's time for a change.
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Comments
Wow! This was one of the things I discussed with the authors of the book Mommy Guilt on my podcast today.
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/PunditMom/2009/01/05/Will-Michele-Obama-Spark-New-Mommy-War-Skirmishes
I understand your point, but why don’t you start writing about it instead about why the mass media isn’t doing it? I will never understand those who point out a deficit, but don’t attempt to make up the deficit. You can certainly help make it better.
Good point, Sherri, and that’s why I’ve since added links to several of my previous articles/commentaries that focus on topics other than Michelle’s wardrobe. I’ve written quite a bit about her work/life balance and her decision to focus on family and put aside career in her White House years. More is available here.
I think this says more about where WE are that we allow the media to traffic in “filler”.Mabe like jack Nicholson said so eloquently in the movie, “A few Good Men”, we can’t handle the truth”.
I am sure Michelle Obama is an intelligent woman…but you can be sure she
won’t be working as a lawyer for the nest 4
years. What will she be doing in that house
while her daughters are in school..and her
husband is president..Thinking up
creative ways to use her time..is what
should be the media’s concern..not how
many strands of pearls she is wearing.