You'd Be So Much Prettier If You Smiled
When President Donald Trump insulted CNN reporter Kaitlan Collins during a press conference in early February, I got a feeling of deja vu.
From the site Democracy Now:
President Donald Trump: “You know, you are the worst reporter. No wonder
CNN has no ratings because of people like you. You know, she’s a young woman. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you smile. I’ve known you for 10 years. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a smile on your face.”
Kaitlan Collins: Well, I’m asking you about survivors of Jeffrey Epstein, Mr. President.”
President Donald Trump: “You know why? You know why you’re not smiling? Because you know you’re not telling the truth. And you’re a — you’re a very dishonest organization, and they should be ashamed of you.
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There are many, many instances of Trump insulting women reporters trying to do their jobs. It was the line about not smiling that got my attention.
I have been getting crap like that all my life, starting with my father. As a working reporter I am trying to ask serious questions. When the person I'm questioning says something to the effect of "You'd be so much prettier if you smiled," I am insulted.
No man gets spoken to that way. In any field.
Did Ida Tarbell smile when she exposed corruption? Did Nelly Bly smile when she went undercover in a mental hospital to expose horrendous conditions? Did Dorothy Thomson smile when she was reporting from Europe, so angering Hitler she was expelled from Germany?
Maybe, but that isn't the point.
Working women have always had it tough. When my mother went to medical school - one of three admitted that year - she was told to her face she was taking a position a man should've had because everyone knew she would soon marry and leave the profession. So she worked harder than any of the men. She did marry, but not until after over a decade of working in public health, usually as one of the few women in the department.
At a time when wages are stagnating and the cost of everything from groceries to health insurance to daycare is increasing, women are still being paid less than men across all industries, including journalism: 75 cents on the dollar, according to Ms. Magazine.
It doesn't matter how much education a woman has either, according to the Economic Policy Group, which calls itself a "nonpartisan think tank":.
Although women have seen gains in educational attainment over the last five decades, they still face a significant wage gap. Among workers, women outnumber men in the college-educated labor force and are more likely to obtain a graduate degree than men. Even so, women are paid less than men at every education level...
Among workers who have only a high school diploma, women are paid 20.1% less than men. Among workers who have a college degree, women are paid 24.2% less than men. That gap of $12.12 on an hourly basis translates to roughly $25,200 lower annual earnings for a full-time worker. Women with an advanced degree also experience a significant wage gap of $15.66 on an hourly basis, or over $32,500 annually, in 2024.
What’s very clear from the data is that women with advanced degrees are paid less per hour, on average, than men with only college degrees. Men with a college degree only are paid $50.01 per hour on average compared with $49.45 for women with an advanced degree.
I was never paid what I was worth for the length of my career until the end, when the cryptocurrency boom allowed the executive editor to give me the salary he thought I deserved, the highest I've ever earned. Of course, that made me one of the first to be fired when crypto tanked.
As for other women who are members of the White House press corp, there is always adaptation to the man to get what you want. That has always been the way women have been portrayed. When First Lady Nancy Reagan said she always wore red because that was Ronnie's favorite color, I remember seeing many women reporters suddenly wearing red dresses so the president would call on them.
I recall a lot of smiling at the time, too.
No man gets spoken to that way. In any field.
Did Ida Tarbell smile when she exposed corruption? Did Nelly Bly smile when she went undercover in a mental hospital to expose horrendous conditions? Did Dorothy Thomson smile when she was reporting from Europe, so angering Hitler she was expelled from Germany?
Maybe, but that isn't the point.
Working women have always had it tough. When my mother went to medical school - one of three admitted that year - she was told to her face she was taking a position a man should've had because everyone knew she would soon marry and leave the profession. So she worked harder than any of the men. She did marry, but not until after over a decade of working in public health, usually as one of the few women in the department.
At a time when wages are stagnating and the cost of everything from groceries to health insurance to daycare is increasing, women are still being paid less than men across all industries, including journalism: 75 cents on the dollar, according to Ms. Magazine.
It doesn't matter how much education a woman has either, according to the Economic Policy Group, which calls itself a "nonpartisan think tank":.
Although women have seen gains in educational attainment over the last five decades, they still face a significant wage gap. Among workers, women outnumber men in the college-educated labor force and are more likely to obtain a graduate degree than men. Even so, women are paid less than men at every education level...
Among workers who have only a high school diploma, women are paid 20.1% less than men. Among workers who have a college degree, women are paid 24.2% less than men. That gap of $12.12 on an hourly basis translates to roughly $25,200 lower annual earnings for a full-time worker. Women with an advanced degree also experience a significant wage gap of $15.66 on an hourly basis, or over $32,500 annually, in 2024.
What’s very clear from the data is that women with advanced degrees are paid less per hour, on average, than men with only college degrees. Men with a college degree only are paid $50.01 per hour on average compared with $49.45 for women with an advanced degree.
I was never paid what I was worth for the length of my career until the end, when the cryptocurrency boom allowed the executive editor to give me the salary he thought I deserved, the highest I've ever earned. Of course, that made me one of the first to be fired when crypto tanked.
As for other women who are members of the White House press corp, there is always adaptation to the man to get what you want. That has always been the way women have been portrayed. When First Lady Nancy Reagan said she always wore red because that was Ronnie's favorite color, I remember seeing many women reporters suddenly wearing red dresses so the president would call on them.
I recall a lot of smiling at the time, too.
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