European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 12, 1977, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Sexism Nyji Colonna staff write Darmstadt Germany is women Are stereotyped into Domestic an subordinate roles and the Media helps perpetuate that stereotype says Dee Yentzer a feminist who addressed stars and stripes journalists Here tuesday. You As professional journalists Havethe Power to help change the sexist Atti tude in our society Yentzer said. But the problem is that the vast majority of professional journalists Are men perceiving what women Are  Yentzer who said she has had one year of journalism training and is presently taking women s studies through the University of Maryland said she was making her assessments through research of the stars and stripes and military publications in Europe. I come Here As an observer she said. These Are the things i have perceived As a  said newspapers Are guilty of treat ing women s achievements As exceptions and not part of the Rule. Why is it Neces sary to qualify a woman s professional ability by sex she asked. The Media needs to Grant her professional integrity to be a person in her own  was accompanied by Maci Mac cot Mack an instructor of sociology an women s studies at the University of Mary land. I m basically Here As a Reader Yentzer said. I have researched the stars and stripes and have found that women Are oppressed in the Media. We Are oppressed but idolized by our oppressors. And it is thursday May 12, 1977 the stars and stripes Page 9 feminist charges that is perpetuates stereotype of women s subordinate role very difficult to fight oppression when you Are up on a  faults she finds in print and photog Raphy in the newspaper Are in the professional selectivity. And this is where newspapers can change society s  Don t gel to do anything with out an assessment of their Beauty. And Beauty is not an  she said. Women desire what society deems Nice to have. Society shows How Nice it is to be Beautiful and the Media uses it to at tract attention to a Story. You should give women credit for accomplishment not for her  Yentzer covered three Basic areas women in ridicule women in relationships and women in  showed what she called examples of sexism in the stars and stripes that stirred the More than so reporters and Edi tors men and women into arguments among themselves. Some of the arguments carried Over to the next  put men in the dominant and women in the subordinate roles. You Lack Equality in  an example she showed was in a Story about army enlisted women in the Field in which the reporter added a woman s weight. Why Yentzer  you would ordinarily do the same thing for a Man then its Fine. But i submit you would not do the same for a Man. No on cares what his weight is. Why must every one care what her weight is she said stories dwell on women Cut Ting it and getting locked into the gee Whiz syndrome. She said if it serves to identify then using woman is Fine. But there should not be the need to identify woman doctor male nurse woman me chanic  m not trying to Tell you your Job As journalists i m Only trying to Tell you what some women perceive through these Sto Ries. We should t need to distinguish be tween Man and woman. When you would ordinarily say Man. Then it is Okay to  in the area of relationships she cited the indignity that newspapers create through sentence Structure. Her examples brought nods of agreement from the journalists. In one example the picture of a husband an wife hugging the outline listed his name and said comforts his wife after a storm destroyed their  can t they be comforting each other Yentzer asked. Why can t Sheave a name she said a More appropriate outline would have read John and Mary Doc Comfort each other after a storm destroyed Thel House in the Media the Man seems to be carrying out the verb and the woman i always the object. That is wrong she  said too often women Are role As Mother wife appendages. Instead of saying wife of. When identifying her with her husband. Yenzer says a More fair approach would be to say her Hus band. It gives the woman  she said. The press creates notoriety by covering people. Why not give the woman her own identity. I admit that certain women gain their prominence because of their Hus band s position but when the woman docs something newsworthy that newsworthiness should be admitted As her  sports she said is another area that i extremely guilty of oppressing women. She said More coverage is Given to men s professional Golf than to women s. Then she showed what she called examples. A recent gymnastics Story was the target. The Story identified girl g and added terms such As the i15-year-old freshman with Brown braid hair. And ". Said Winn. Whose twin Kling eyes and Pixie styled hair Cut had the crowd roaring  think the crowd roared for her gymnastics  Yentzer said. And submit you would not describe a boy gym Nast s eyes and  such As gals Are also offensive. It has a correlative Guys. You Don t say Guys. Young ladies also. You Don t say Young gentlemen on the gym floor. An girls. You should be consistent. If you use boy then use girl. But Don t Call 23-year-old woman a  she said newspapers should cover More of what women Are doing today and give More coverage to the equal right amendment. I want to see important women getting Good copy the Way important men got Good copy. I want to see women s issues being  said the stars and stripes in depth report of women in the military was inequitable assessment of an achievement of women in the  is the kind of material that should be stressed she said. Feminist Dee Yentzer displays pages from stars and stripes which she claims supports her charges of sexism on the part of the paper s staff. Is Schuelter. 1 come Here As an observer. The problem is that the vast majority of pro is Stanaj journalists Are men. Oppressed but idolized too much emphasis on Beauty examples of male chauvinism in is cited Byrlea Larkin staff write Darmstadt Germany Sis is the stars and stripes a sexist newspaper Dee Yentzer. A feminist from Frankfurt thinks the newspaper reveals a hefty share of chauvinistic attitudes. She came Here to Tell the reporters and editors about the sexist Clements she sees in print. Yentzer a journalist with the Frankfurt chronicle came prepared with pages fro past issues of stars and stripes that she said illustrated her Point inequitable treatment of men and women in the news paper. The press is basically a male institution Yentzer told her mostly male Audi  told them that As journalists they have a responsibility to help change society s image of women As subordinate. Yet the articles and headlines she read fro past issues did just the opposite. Not All the writers and editors agreed with her. There was a healthy Exchange of ideas and opinions. There were even some whose blood pressure might have reached the unhealthy level. In sports stories women should recalled women not girls. Yentzer said. The word lady should not be used to identify woman unless the word gentleman would be used for a Man. Yentzer read parts of stories thai gave detailed physical descriptions of women Well manicured  hour Glass figure even bust measurements. Rarely is a Man s appearance described in such detail she said. Many of the military stories about women imply that in military Maneu vers women need men la help hem make it she said. She referred to a Story about isolated missile Sites. The women were called girls and the impression was that men were taking care of them she said. Yentzer objected to the stars and stripes frequent use of pictures of Winner sin Beauty contests. Women desire what society deems it Good to  she said. There s too much emphasis on women having Beauty As an  when the feminist complained about headlines that identified women by both their profession and sex the journalists look Issue with her View. Yentzer read a headline. Female co cleared in  she said she Felt the word female was not necessary since i the cop were a Man the word male would not Likely have been  stripes staffers argued that if the police officer had not been a woman theaory would have had less news value. Fur therr Nore today most policemen Are. Infant. Men. So they said the word was important in the  asked that writers identify women by their first names not  she read example after example in which Joan Mondale wife of the vice presi Dent was referred to Only As mrs.  the press creates notoriety. No one will Ever know Joan Mondale if you never use her  during the More than two hour Dis Cussion the feminist cited other examples showing More inequity of treatment of women in print. She emphasized thai her observations were made As a feminist Reader. She admitted that in some cases there could be journalistic justification for some of the things to which she  the end of the session one had the impression that both Yentzer and her Audi ence had gained a better understanding of each other. Some of the journalists admitted they had not realized certain words for exam ple were offensive. And Yentzer said she thai although she might not agree with cer Tain practices at least she had Learned the reasons behind them