We’re Getting Our First Lady Moderator For Presidential Debates In 20 Years, And I’m Thanking Teens From NJ
Prior to the efforts of Elena Tsemberis, Sammi Siegel, and Emma Axelrod, our lack of female representation during the general debates hadn’t captured many recent major headlines. The three teens famously wrote in their Charge.org petition that after a learning 20 years had passed since a lady was policing the presidential podiums, they felt compelled “to take action.” Over 100,000 signatures later, we haveĀ Crowley to look forward to come October. And while the Commission may have very well picked Crowley, or some other reputable woman anyway, it was the efforts of these young girls that got the very issue thrust into the press — a usually difficult endeavor for underage girls if they aren’t making sex tapes or posting scandalous photos of themselves. Call me cynical, but I supremely doubt that The New York Times, one of the biggest boys clubs today, was just hankering to run an article about the gender disparity in presidential moderators.
These young ladies not only perhaps incentivized this pick, but at the very least, successfully brought the issue to our attention. And a time when many other less consequential stories — like Jennifer Aniston‘s engagement — are competing for those same eyeballs. So while many will tune in on October 16th thinking of Crowley, I know that as I’ll open my laptop and log on, I’ll be thinking of those young ladies.
(photo: twitter.com)