All Eyes on You, None on Me

Why does the media hold women in power to a different standard?

Carina dieringer

THIS ARTICLE MENTIONS SEXUAL ASSAULT.

St. Paul Police Chief Axel Henry sued Mayor Kaohly Her over allegations of sexual assault in September. The lawsuit said, among other things, that Her sent texts to a city employee about getting “a good weinering,” touched Henry without consent, and paid him an unexpected visit while he was playing golf. The case has been covered by KSTP, the Star Tribune, Pioneer Press, and even national outlets CBS, NBC, and the New York Times.

Her has faced multiple controversies since her election in January. Though none of them are invalid, I do believe there is a difference between how the media portrays her compared to white men who are accused or even convicted of sexual assault. Why does it become a huge sensation when Her is accused of sexual assault, but men in power can live their whole lives as both successful businessmen and serial rapists without their reputation ever becoming tarnished?

CNN published an article titled “What 3 million new documents tell us about Trump’s ties to Jeffrey Epstein” in January. The New York Times published “How Trump Appears in the Epstein Files” two days later. Both articles primarily focus on the relationship between Epstein and Trump, and neither go into detail about the anonymous tips sent to the FBI detailing specific allegations that Trump participated in child sexual assault, rape, and sex trafficking. Neither article mentions the fact that these allegations were published and later deleted by the Department of Justice. The New York Times article referred to Trump as “Mr. Trump.” Courtesy titles are standard for NYT, but their use still has an impact on how we perceive the people they refer to. Why do we place credibility and honor on a man simply for being president, but we do not extend any of the same credibility or honor to women who say they are survivors of sexual assault by that man? Why are details of sexual assault allegations left out of mainstream news to preserve the reputation of men like Trump, but allegations against Her are described in detail by local and national media, despite both being unconfirmed? Further, why do we only trust survivors when their stories are backed up by the courts?

To be clear, I am not excusing Mayor Her’s behavior or denying the plausibility of the allegations against her. However, I do think it is interesting that in a space where sexual harassment and violence is a normalized culture (71% of women and 41% of men in the police force have experienced sexual harassment or assault in the workplace, according to a 2021 study sponsored by The United States National Institute of Justice), those who are typically participants in that culture suddenly become hostile when a white man is affected and a woman of color is the perpetrator. How many people have been sexually abused or mistreated by police officers, and are either too scared to say anything or were dismissed when they came forward with their stories? Why do we give a higher sense of credibility to a police chief than we do to anyone else?

Her is the first Hmong American, first woman, and first Asian American to be elected as mayor of St. Paul, which has the largest Hmong American population of any city in the United States. Her’s election solidified St. Paul as a city with 100% women of color in top government leadership positions. I voted for Mayor Her because I wanted to see a Hmong woman lead my city. Since then, I have denounced her for the way she has dehumanized unhoused people, cleared homeless encampments, and tried to shut down a library and community center in my neighborhood of East Side St. Paul.

Abuse of power is nothing new. We have seen it appear at every level of government. But the way we talk about the people who abuse their power can spread dangerous falsehoods. When a white man does things like this, the public sees him as a controversial but well-respected figure (Ex: Jacob Frey). When a woman of color does these things, people weaponize it against entire groups of people (“See, this is why women shouldn’t hold positions of power. This is why Asian people shouldn’t be in leadership roles”). When stories like this go viral and are covered nationally despite being local issues, it is because mainstream media needs to make money. Where does the money come from? Controversy, sensation, and engagement; no matter who suffers. People who have never been to St. Paul or even met a Hmong person may now have negative and dehumanizing views of Hmong women, and those views can be weaponized. The media is complicit in this because of who journalists choose to write about, who they don’t, and how they write about abuses of power.

Everyone who commits sexual violence should be held accountable for their actions. None of us should be complicit in a culture that normalizes sexual harassment or the dehumanization of any group of people. When you see a sensational story make headline news, ask yourself: why this story? At whose expense?