Run away with me

A few nights ago I was unable to sleep, so scrolling through BBC news on my ipod I come across a list of the “faces of the year” - a list of women who have dominated the headlines. I did find the inclusion of a giant panda quite bizarre, not merely because I always assumed the term “women”, but I’m no expert on linguistics. Going through this list a second time its not just the inclusion of a panda which is unsettling its the exclusion of some of the truly influencial women of the year.

The BBC’s choice of women clearly reflect a more tabloid approach to current events. While a selection of their choices such as U.S congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and Libyan woman Eman al-Obeidi seem appropriate the majority of the woman on the list are there as a result of dubious headline stories. The most influncial woman in the month of April is Sarah Burton - Kate Middleton’s wedding dress designer. July’s choice is Charlene Wittstock - known around the world as the saddest looking princess we’ve all seen since Princess Di (too soon?) rounding off October we have the Duchess of Alba, an 85 year old woman whose only contribution to society (this year at least) was to get married. November’s choice is equally baffling - Corporal Kelsey de Santis, a female marine who asked Justin Timberlake to attend her Marine Corps ball. What struck me about the choices for this list is that undoubtedly these women have made headlines around the world, but for what? their stories didn’t drift beyond tabloid rags or a 1 minute piece in the nightly bullitein. The ommisions in this list are glaring, where is Christine Lagarde, the first female leader of the IMF? Where are the 3 female winners of the nobel peace prize? Where is Dilma Rosseff, the first female president of Brazil? 

Unfortunately what I think this list reflects is the increasing tabloidisation of the news. A US marine asking a famous pop star to a ball is not news, this is a light interest story…you know some puff piece right before the sport and weather on the 6pm news. The fact that the BBC news, one of the most influential and respected news organisations consider this woman, along with a panda and a geriatric newlywed to be the “faces” of 2011 is an insult to the women who have pushed boundaries, risked their lives and truly made a difference to the world in whatever way possible. I think this list is also an insult to the intelligence of the general public and the public outcry against the superficial nature of these choices is well deserved on the part of the BBC.