We all know the Daily Mail is usually the first to publish controversial content, whether it is celebs who have been spotted doing something risqué or a woman who believed she could control death (yes, that is a real article). But should they themselves be causing the controversy?
I can admit having a sneaky look at their over-dramatic click baited headlines, as a guilty pleasure. And during one of these moments of weakness, I happened upon the Daily Mail’s new section ‘Femail’. As you can probably deduct from the punny name, this is a news section specifically for us women where they claim that ‘Whether you’re looking for health or horoscopes, recipes or romance, we aim to provide all the answers.’. Now I, for one, was intrigued at what gems of knowledge we are missing out on that the Daily Mail, known for its insight, could provide!
When you enter the site itself you are instantly bombarded with images of celebrity couples, fluffy dogs, babies and scrumptious baked goods. When it comes to a serious news website should we really be segregating men and women according to what someone assumes our interests are, based on age old gender stereotypes? When the top headline of the day is ‘Hilarious photos of giant (and adorable) dogs that still think they’re puppies sweep the web’ on ‘Femail’, compared to their main homepage’s coverage of a savage road rage attack, it does make you question whether the Mail think that women are too delicate for ‘real’ news. Assuming that all that women want to read is recipes and horoscopes is a very sexist move. And besides, if readers do want to read those things, all they have to do is search for them on the Daily Mail website (like all the male bakers out there).
To make matters worse, the article that the Daily Mail have published to launch ‘Femail’ only emphasises the sexism. As females we couldn’t possibly work a normal new site, so they have provided us with ‘brilliant interactive features, ‘fun-to-use tools’ and it even comes with instructions on how to use the search bar – could it be more patronising? Mind you we may need this as we may be ‘sampling the internet for the very first time’. We are so behind with the times, come on girls get it together! The articles also provide us with instructions about our lives, from a ‘quick lowdown on everything from your ideal weight’ to ‘the best time to have sex’. Come on, are we really moving on to dictate what size we should be… But, fear not! It is not all serious, there is a chat area where ‘you can make new friends, swop (?!) jokes and advice’. They could at least spell correctly.
How are these headlines real?!
In this day and age, you would think we would be past labelling cooking, fashion and parenting as ‘women-only’ interests and restricting girls from the serious news stories and topics, such as sports and the economy. This is just as bad as not allowing a girl to have a toy sports car and prevent a boy having a Barbie doll!
But what would I know, I don’t even know how to use the internet…
We would love to know what you think about ‘Femail’ and whether you think it is unnecessary or just a great platform for women to look at stories that interest them… Please comment or email us with your opinions!
Edited by: Sarah Holmes
Sources:
Article: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/article-12511/Welcome-femail-uk.html
Image 1: http://www.theproposers.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/daily-mail-femail-logo.jpg
Image 2: https://media.giphy.com/media/l0HlwaXhhuDnSi9So/giphy.gif
Image 3: http://fora.mtv.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/bake.jpg
Image 4: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/index.html
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