Bonner And Faludi: A Feminist Synthesis Essay

Similarly, Bonner and Faludi share uncommon opinions on how our country's media treated the attack on September 11th. Both writers state in the beginnings of their works the weakness of the media and United States citizens. This weakness is not described as a weakness that contributed to the attack, but instead a weakness of how we interpreted life in the aftermath. People were so quick to believe anything and everything the media shared with them. “After the attacks, journalists were swept up in the national feelings of fear and outrage -- and failed to do their job”, this quote is the very first statement made by Bonner in his article. He had written about the journalists’ exaggeration of the event into fears could have been avoided. Also, …show more content…
Although a feminist lens is added to the argument, she agrees with Bonner’s opinion of media failure. “By what mental process had these journalists traveled from the inferno at ground zero to a repudiation of female independence?” (20). Both authors ask, why did the media twist and skew such an event? Not only do Bonner and Faludi ask the same question but they agree to the same answer. The term “anti-American” is used in both of these works. As the result of both Bonner and Faludi being from a journalism background, they can testify to the pressure from peers and bosses of not wanting to sound “anti-American”. It can be compared to “fitting in” when working in the media industry. As stated in Bonner’s article, “hysteria is fueled by journalists who didn’t want to risk being branded anti-American”. This brand can ruin a journalist's career. Faludi provides many examples of this in her book, one of which a Women’s Rights Conference panelist, Sunera Thobani shares an unpopular opinion of the hypocrisy in the United States. She speaks to America’s involvement with women from third world countries. This landed her brands such as, “‘communist-linked,’ and ‘publicly inciting hatred against Americans’”