I do my fair share of reading news stories. I feel that we cannot speak on the topics we do unless we are educated, so it leads me to sift through headlines on my phones every night on the plethora of apps on my phone. The Olympics in Rio have consumed the front pages of every outlet with headlines like "Phelps wins Gold in Every Single Swimming Event" OK, not really, but you get the point. I saw a few that looked like normal ones—headlines that I had no problem with. One that has now stood out was one from the Chicago Tribune. It read: "Wife of a Bears' lineman wins a bronze medal today in Rio Olympics." Outrage has since ensued, but why? Tons of people are saying that the Tribune was exceptionally sexist for the headline and that it should have read something more like, "Corey Codgell-Unrein won a bronze medal in trap shooting in Rio." To those who believe this, I have the following things to say to you:
Does anyone from Chicago actually know who she is without her husband's reference? I contend that not many reading that headline do, nor did they even know her name before that was posted.
Does anyone in Chicago care who won bronze medal in trap shooting enough to have it as a headline? Absolutely not.
Was the reference attached because her accomplishments weren't valuable enough? Yes, but not because she is a woman. People in Chicago care a lot more about Bears' football than they do a female trap shooter.
This headline was chosen because the Tribune followed the simple rules of news writing, not because they are sexist. They would go broke from lack of Newspaper sales if they were to pander to everyone who is bull-headed enough to take their choice as sheer sexism. Stories about bronze medalists in lesser known sports are not headline worthy. The fact that Chicago is home to a husband and wife that are both professional athletes is headline worthy.
This is the perfect example of a larger problem that occurs here in the U.S. Too many are much too quick to throw their anger on a group of people to feel self righteous; as though their opinion is a noble one in comparison to some injustice that is happening around them. It is also much easier to do this, because it takes a little effort and though, something that is apparently too much for the majority of those offended by this. Instead of realizing that the Chicago Tribune was crafting a headline so that people would actually care about what was happening, they immediately saw what they thought was the man getting credit for her medal and starting playing the blame game. Great people are getting their names dragged through the dirt because of people being offended, which is garbage.
So many moments like this happen, whether it be the Presidential race, sports or any form of entertainment. Words are taken out of context for the sake of bashing and negativity. What is wrong with us? Doesn't anyone understand what happens when sexism is accused now? Now Corey Codgell-Unrein and her husband's name will only be associated with sexism and her medal will actually be overshadowed thanks to so many negative comments. If her glory wasn't ruined before it is now.
When will we learn to toughen up a bit? Can someothing be said without offense in our country? Very valid questions that continue to go unanswered. Disgusting.
A final thought:
What are the names of the following celebs' partners?
Carrie Underwood
Gisele Bundchen
Hayden Panetteire
Kaley Cuoco
Not ringing a bell? Didn't think so. Now isn't that sexist, too?
