Rue the Day: Fox News Celebrates Dogs Rather Than Women’s Equality

Although the rest of the media chose to honor women Monday, the conservative network decided canines were more deserving of the spotlight. The animal holiday is meant to raise awareness about mistreatment, but Fox spent most of its time blathering about the adorability of man’s best friend.

Women’s Equality Day was designated by Congress in 1971, whereas National Dog Day has been in existence since only 2004. But seniority isn’t the only reason the network should have chosen to commend the former over the latter. Katie Halper wrote a tongue-in-cheek comparison of the two for Salon, and here are some of the highlights:

Women’s Equality Day • The date celebrates the anniversary of the 1920 passage of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, which granted women the right to vote. • Day celebrates not just the 19th Amendment and the strike but highlights the victories and room for improvement in the area of women’s rights. • Equal Rights for Women are still not included in the Constitution, and politicians continue to fight for the Equal Rights Amendment. • Women on average make 77 cents for every dollar a man makes, a difference of 23 percent, which creates a yearly median income disparity of more than $11,000. It’s even worse for women of color. African-American and Latina women make 64 cents and 55 cents per men’s dollar. That means they are paid $18,817 and $23,298 less than non-Hispanic white men annually.

National Dog Day • It was the brainchild of Colleen Paige, a wildlife animal behaviorist, pet friendly interior designer, fine art pet photographer and the editor in chief of Pet Home Magazine. • It is also known as the International Dog Day & National Dog Appreciation Day. • Dogs are really cute. • Dogs are victims of Cat Supremacy, the catriarchy and dogism. Stereotypes include being loud, smelling, not to be trusted with babies, needy, dependent. • Dogs face double standards. A quiet cat is just a cat. A quiet dog is a bitch.

In a proclamation Monday, the 93rd anniversary of the certification of the 19th Amendment giving women the right to vote, President Obama encouraged Congress to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act to address income disparity between men and women. He also commended legislators for approving the Violence Against Women and Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay acts.

Fox News also made a statement Monday with its coverage choice, sending a message that had little to do with dogs.

—Posted by Natasha Hakimi