Diplomatic Relations are Not Romantic Relations
Why is it that when female world leaders meet with their male counterparts, newspapers imply that there also romantic relations at play? We’ve seen it hundreds of times before with reports about the relationship between German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy. What is purely a diplomatic relationship is only that: a political, professional relationship. Yet newspapers cannot seem to drop the romantic intrigue.
The recent Benetton ads, featuring heads of states kissing, prompted firstpost.com to quip, “In a strange way the only kiss that actually has resonance is the Angela Merkel-Nicolas Sarkozy kiss because that’s the only one rooted in any kind of reality . . . The Benetton kiss is a cheeky consummation of the unlikely couple’s odd romance.”
The newest target of tabloid gossip columns news journals is the amicable relationship between President Barack Obama and Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard. The writers at news.com.au actually had the poor taste to title their article about the President’s diplomatic visit to the Land Down Under “THE AUDACITY OF GROPE: Julia and Barack's special relationship.”
The article’s description of their meeting reads like a tween romance novel. “Gillard blushes, like a high school girl who has, finally, after much bedroom plotting, captured the gaze of the football captain” and, “They are a touching pair . . . Their hands, like disembodied life forms, seek out the other's shoulders, backs and, quite possibly, bottoms.” This is not journalistic reporting but rather sexist coverage of a diplomatic meeting. Gillard is the first woman to hold the post of PM and deserves the respect that her title merits.
What makes this kind of reporting truly repulsive, and frankly unprofessional, is that we only see these kinds of articles pop up when a female head of state is involved. These women leaders will never be seen as equals to their male counterparts if the news coverage of their work is written like gossip fodder. Journalists must respect the integrity of the position and the integrity of the position holder and provide fair coverage of both female and male leaders alike.