Campbell Brown, Miley Cyrus, sex and hypocrisy

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Campbell Brown

Earlier today, Campbell Brown announced that she was resigning from CNN because of low ratings. Two years ago in 2008, this blogger asserted that CNN should follow Fox News' lead and have Brown use the legs, much as Fox News does. That in no way takes away from Campbell Brown's prowess as a news anchor, but still my take was considered sexist by some, yet others agreed with me that it wasn't. Meanwhile, Miley Cyrus rakes in the cash, and sex sells in media.

But really, what's Sexism?

Sexism in its purest form is putting a person down because of their sex. Again, Campbell Brown's a top-flight news anchor who should have the position she had with CNN and more. CNN was right to work a deal to land Brown over two years ago.

But in 2008, CNN was being clobbered by Fox News in TV ratings. Fox News was known for its presentation of female anchors in short skirts. Weathering criticism, Fox News continues the practice to this day and has established a ratings lead over CNN that's horrifyingly large.

But sexist? Even the definitions of Sexism listed in Wikipedia explain only that one can argue that while using sex to cause people to watch a telecast may be sexist, it's not agreed that this is the case. The reason for this is the extreme levels of hypocrisy on display in this debate.

For example, had I said CNN's Anderson Cooper should wear a polo shirt to show his cut muscular body, no one would blog that was sexist and some women would click the "like" button on Facebook (heck, some guys too). The fact is, Anderson Cooper's not leaving his show as of this writing. But more to the point is it seems to be OK to point to male sexual assets on television but not to female sexual assets, yet, the patterns of viewing shows a desire to "see female skin."

Some bloggers are down right hypocritical in their criticism of the "sex sells" approach. Entertainment Tonight blogger Aly Semigran said that my take of Campbell Brown was sexist. But get this, Aly Semigran herself is known as a blogger who specializes in blogging about sex scandals according to NewsObserver.com. In her posts, she uses terms like "icky" to describe a sex scandal, yet is drawn to blog about it like a fish to water.

Using terms like "icky" is a way to wash out the guilt Aly feels from writing about sex scandals and also to mask the sheer enjoyment she undoubtedly gets from blogging about everything from Tiger Woods Mistresses and the Tiger Woods Text Messages, to John Edwards and Rielle Hunter, and of course Charlie Sheen.

In other words, Aly Semigran covers the same ground that this blogger walks, but does so with guilt; I have none. Aly knows sex sells, but she's conflicted. That's the worst place to be.

It's terrible because Aly dives down the sexual fox hole with gusto and is willing to get dirty but runs the risk of not knowing when the lines between what's acceptable taste and isn't are blurred. If a person has no fear of using sex in media they know when not to use it and why.

For example, Aly seems to write about every sex scandal there is. If God were involved in a sex scandal, she'd blog it.  Last month, Aly wrote about another sex scandal that I consider very low-level: it would never make the Google Trends list so why bother? Yet Aly did so, and repeats an email Actress Garcelle Beauvais-Nilon wrote to CAA staff about her allegedly cheating husband that wasn't important to repost except for shock value and so you will not see here.

I could argue Aly was being sexist for, in her pursuit of sex scandal stories, presenting women in a certain light by presenting the same images of mistresses and hurt, angry, weathy wives over and over and over again. But because Aly has a fear of using sex that's masked with other reasons, blogging about a low-level story like that one becomes second nature, and the overall impact is lost on her. Makes me think of Desperate Housewives.

Yep, Desperate Housewives, which features the same story lines about, yep, cheating husbands and wives. Desperate Housewives proves that sex sells on television and was one of the most successful launches in television history in 2005.

That's the field Aly's playing in. A show that some call sexist and offensive. Yet here's Aly presenting the same kind of material to her audience and yet calling me sexist because I want a powerful female anchor and not a wife or a mistress to show some leg to get ratings. That's hypocrisy. Is Aly the kind who wears a cleavage showing blouse, dares a guy not to look down, then uses the same as an online profile picture? I wonder.

I will defend my point again and again. Sadly Campbell Brown's going to be off the air on CNN. Meanwhile, Miley Cyrus remains not only on the air but bigger than ever in the wake of the Miley Cyrus Lap Dance Video scandal. Fox News continues its combination of angry white guys, lovely blonde women, and Sarah Palin. And Desperate Housewives is still one of the most popular shows on television.

Sex sells for men and women. It's not a put down of anyone, but a fact of life.