2005 News
11/08/2005
From the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review--
Hail to the ‘Chief’
By Sammie Zier
Tonight is another must-see-TV night at Chatham College.
Ever since the September premiere of ABC's "Commander in Chief," a dozen or so women at the school have been loyal viewers of Geena Davis' turn as the nation's first female president.
They celebrate weekly with popcorn and sweet treats.
"I think the show lets people know overall that a woman can do anything," said Michanty Battle, a freshman political science and cultural studies major at Chatham and fan of the show. "It gives America a different perspective."
The White House Project, a New York City-based nonprofit, promotes "Commander in Chief" parties as a gateway into the discussion of women's roles in politics and the way they are perceived in the public eye.
It's important to get the names and faces of women politicians out there, especially in Pittsburgh, said Allyson Lowe, director of the Pennsylvania Center for Women, Politics and Public Policy at Chatham College.
Just seven women have held prominent positions in the Pittsburgh's city government during the past 50 years, including former Mayor Sophie Masloff, who came to the post in 1988 when her predecessor, Richard Caliguiri, died in office.
None of today's candidates for mayor of Pittsburgh are women, while just five women appear among the 26 candidates for Common Pleas Court judge, Allegheny County Council and Pittsburgh City Council.
Masloff has not seen the show but believes it can help people see women in leadership positions -- something the country may not be ready to embrace.
"Women can use any help they can get," she said.
Allegheny County Recorder of Deeds Valerie McDonald Roberts and Pittsburgh Councilwoman Twanda Carlisle watch the show.
"It is absolutely inspiring for young girls and women -- whether they want to pursue a political career or not," McDonald Roberts said. "And it gives a sense of pride that it can be done. Even though it's fiction, it gives you a sense of hope that a woman can and should lead."
Carlisle said, "The challenge is getting women more involved."
U.S. Representative Melissa Hart has not seen "Chief" yet, but said, "The show's only being produced because people are used to the idea of seeing a woman in power."
The show deserves credit for "trying to deal with issues in a realistic way," said Lowe, who coordinates Chatham's White House Party. "It's not common to see women as smart, powerful people on television. It shows that women can successfully hold power."
Often, when female politicians are a topic of discussion, they get drawn into the "hair, hemlines and husbands" routine, Lowe said. Rather than covering the issues at hand, media focus on women's private lives.
Alexis Papalia, 14, is a student at the Pittsburgh high school for Creative and Performing Arts and part of the Girls as Grantmakers program, which recently garnered national headlines for its "girlcott" of Abercrombie & Fitch T-shirts.
"Commander in Chief" has raised Papalia's hopes for equality for women in politics and the way they are regarded by the media.
"It seems like women in politics are portrayed as the underdogs -- like we can't really get anywhere in our messages -- and that we aren't as important as men or that we can't get as far as men in politics," she said. "Hopefully, it will make them think we can do this more than they feel we are currently capable of doing, because we really do need a woman president out there."
Papalia got her message across -- Abercrombie announced Friday it would pull the offensive shirts from its shelves.
Editor's note: Sammie Zier is a journalism student at Point Park University. Articles by Point Park University students appear in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review through a pilot reporting project by the university, the newspaper and the Richard M. Scaife Journalism Foundation.
http://pittsburghlive.com/x/tribune-review/tribpm/s_392350.html