A photo of a Belle of the Ball surrounded by gentlemen callers? Yes, it's that time again, time to check out on our 'leading' 'independent' magazine of the left, The Nation. This feature focuses on the May 7, 2007 issue. It's the "green issue" -- no, not the Green party. Please. Van Fair has their green issue and if The Nation couldn't trail behind Van Fair, they might have to do some actual thinking.
On these theme issues. They do them because it's easier to sell them. But, strangely, four years and counting and the rag's never done a theme issue on Iraq. In case anyone forgot, the stats last time remained 4 men published for every 1 woman.
Editorials & Comments
"Going Green" -- unsigned
Teresa Stack's "Disseminate Information, Protect Democracy" -- they want you to stop the raise in postal rates to save "independent media" and they name drop The American Spectator and National Review because, surely, to subscribers of the magazine, those are the two best examples of "independent" media.
Depak Bhargava & Angelica Salas' "The Fight of Our Lives"
John Nichols' "Impeachment Fever Rises"
"Kurt Vonnegut" -- unsigned
5 pieces.
Score: 2 women, 2 men.
Columns
Calvin Trillin's "The Sage of Paul Wolfowitz"
AlterPunk's "The Real 'Fake' News" -- from the boy who knows . . . about fake news.
Gary Younge's "The Good Victim"
3 pieces
Score: 0 women, 3 men
Articles
James Hansen's "Why We Can't Wait" -- because, it turns out, we're all Stevie Nicks!
Christian Parenti's "Big Is Beautiful" -- as lame as the title.
Doug Henwood's "Cooler Elites"
Mark Hertsgaard's "Adapt or Die"
Matthew Gilbert's "Farewell, Sweet Ice"
Elizabeth Economy's "China vs. Earth"
Jeff Goodell's "The Dirty Rock"
George Monbiot's "Flying Into Trouble" -- no, it's not From The Diaries of . . .
A.C Thompson & Duane Moles' "Don't Bet On Offsets"
Lawrence Weschler's "Fevered Imagination"
10 pieces.
Score: 1 women, 10 men.
Critics
Marco Roth's "Eight Books by Georges Simenon"
Charles Taylor's "Ill Will"
Coral Bracho's "Your Voice (poem)"
Stuart Klawans on film
Score: 1 women, 3 men.
Total score: 4 women, 18 men.
Year to date score: 42 women, 174 men.
That's 4.17 men for every woman.
And you wonder why, in an appeal to stop the postal rate increase, the magazine is more comfortable citing The American Spectator and National Review than it is Ms. magazine?
Wonder no more, the truth is right in front of you. When it's time to hear voices, the rag carves out a space for one woman to speak, after four men have already gone.
Let's be really clear that, in 2007, 2 men for every woman wouldn't cut it. Let's be equally clear that there are more women in the US than there are men. But there's apparently a tokenism at play at The Nation which is why they have, thus far this year, printed pieces written or co-written by 42 women while publishing 174 pieces written or co-written by men. To give an equal number of bylines to women at this point, they would have to run 132.
The Nation is supposed to be the leading magazine of the left. Of course, it's easier to spout that belief if you don't read it. But how do they kid themselves that they are in any way reflective when the proportion of males receiving bylines is that much greater than women?
It's still breaks down to one woman gets a byline for every four men. We think that's not only non-reflective of the society we live in, we think that's disgusting.
The lack of women being featured in the magazine was brought to C.I.'s attention by a group of women late in 2006. For a column at Polly's Brew, C.I. went back and compiled the stats for that year. What we had discussed was following 2007's issues each time they arrived in the mailbox. Ava and C.I. were in charge of the December 24, 2006 edition and that was the first week that a 2007 issue had arrived (January 1, 2007 issue). They immediately started up "The Nation Stats." "The Nation Stats" ran again in our December 31st edition (covering the magazine's January 8, 2007 issue -- a "double issue"). January 21st, we covered the January 22nd issue in "The Nation Stats." January 28th, "The Nation Stats" covered two issues since two arrived the same day for three of us participating in this feature. February 4th, we covered the Feb 12th issue in "The Nation Stats." February 11th we covered the February 19th issue in "The Nation Stats." February 25th, we coved the February 26th issue in "The Nation Stats." March 4th we covered the March 5th and March 12th issues of the magainze in "The Nation Stats." March 11th, we covered the March 19th issue in "The Nation Stats." April 1st, we covered the March 26th and April 2nd issues in "The Nation Stats." April 8th, we covered the April 9th and April 6th issues in "The Nation Stats." April 22nd, we covered the April 32rd and April 30 issues in
"The Nation Stats."
