CNN “mansplaining” news clip makes the rounds on social media
A clip from Anderson Cooper 360 has been circulating on social media showing Trump supporter Michael Caputo repeatedly yelling over commentator Kirsten Powers while debating the allegations against Brett Kavanaugh. Caputo became angry after Powers stated rhetoric like his, blaming women for their assaults and stating the allegations are false, is why women do not come forward with sexual abuse allegations. Many users on Twitter were quick to point out the irony of Caputo mansplaining Powers about the sexual assault allegations against Kavanaugh. The clip is an example of what many times happens to women on television, where men constantly speak over them even on issues like sexual assaults against women, which should have a woman’s perspective. Even in the tweet, CNN chooses to use a quote from Caputo stating it is inappropriate for him to get called out by Powers rather than a quote from Powers stating the argument she was trying to make. The news segment is also an example of the lack of diversity on news shows. Powers was the only women on the panel while the two other guests were men along with the host Anderson Cooper. There were also no people of color on the panel. In order to counteract mansplaining and victim blaming on such sensitive issues, news shows should have more diverse panels.
I really agree with you here. I would say it isn't even about equal representation- in order for there to be fair reporting , there should be more women of color then there are white men. We don't need a white man's perspective (esp. on this issue but also on every issue). It would be better to see a panel of women including mostly queer womyn and womyn of color, and people of color and nonbinary and trans people and people of different socioeconomic backgrounds discussing the hearing. The problem of mansplaining on TV would be fixed if we only had one white man for every 10 people whose identities are marginalized. Really the only people we should be hearing from on issues of sexual assault and situations like Ford's are from women (men are also sexually assaulted, but Ford is having a specific experience because she is a woman, hearing from women who understand this power dynamic and what it feels like for your experiences to be invalidated by men is important).
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