Why men are experts and women are confessional

The media’s big problem — The Caroline Calloway story shows that young women are being forced to plunder their personal lives for content. It’s time we broke the pattern, argues Dawn Foster.

Where are the Yale plates? Along with seemingly half the internet, I read the essay by Natalie Beach on her time ghostwriting for Instagram influencer Caroline Calloway. Calloway had been forewarned of the publication of the piece, and used her Instagram account to criticise it before reading it, stating she had lied about the disappearance of some Yale plates Beach had gifted her because she was young. 

The article was pre-hyped, but reading it made me and many others feel uneasy. The public airing of personal gripes about a historical friendship felt deeply intrusive, rubbernecking the private issues of the two women. The growth of Calloway as a brand on Instagram, and the essay Beach published are both artefacts in a media that treats young women very differently to everyone else: approaching editors, young women are often expected to plunder their personal life when writing. Starting out, many women (myself included) are asked what personal link they have to the subject they have pitched. Men pitching do not find the same issue, finding their pitches accepted or rejected without being asked if they have experienced the issues they wish to write on. Men are taken as experts: young women are expected to be confessional. 

The essay aired many of Beach’s grievances with Calloway. Both seemed to have suffered differently in the years they were friends. The class difference between Beach and Calloway was clear: Beach’s attempts to succeed as a writer were scuppered by troubles with cash and not having a family who could bail her out when she found herself homeless. Calloway had a safety net of cash from her family, but clearly suffered when studying at Cambridge, hiding her reality from her Instagram followers. 

Influencers and public figures are expected to share their lives with their public, with their entire existence treated as a commodity to be consumed. We feel we know influencers we follow, knowing that the images and stories told are carefully chosen and constructed. A huge number are young women, and it remains a new field and style. Their public life is treated as a genuine creation, offered to the public for consumption. We know the constructed lives are fake, and only recently subject to laws on advertising. Finding out that Calloway may have created a false appearance and story of her life is not remotely surprising.

Reading about the fall out of their friendship feeds that hunger for conflict: Natalie clearly suffered in the years the pair were friends and felt she had been wronged, and was treated poorly by everyone she met. The media still treats young women as childlike, and expects us to write about our lives, toss away our privacy, and plunder our experiences for writing material. Many editors trust us only to write about ourselves, whereas men can write about anything they fancy, rarely quizzed on the origin of their purported expertise. Women are treated as capable of gossip and writing about their personal experiences and little else. 

The catastrophic fallout of their relationship has been consumed with glee after weeks of Calloway trailing the supposed betrayal on Instagram. Finishing the essay, the only feeling I experienced was a persistent hope that both women found help and happiness. The media will continue to watch Calloway closely, and hopefully Beach can find more outlets to write in, and submit articles that aren’t about her life and experiences. Some of the response to the clamour has been misogynist in its approach. Both are treated as fools for their behaviour and decisions, and the public betrayal has been infantilised. It is not remotely edifying to read and watch, but it is also not surprising: it remains a story of a media that fully consumes women and chews them up before spitting them out. The pair have both suffered greatly: hopefully they can be helped, albeit privately.

Follow Dawn Foster on Twitter.

Enjoyed this article? Like Huck on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.


Ad

Latest on Huck

Crowd of silhouetted people at a nighttime event with colourful lighting and a bright spotlight on stage.
Music

Clubbing is good for your health, according to neuroscientists

We Become One — A new documentary explores the positive effects that dance music and shared musical experiences can have on the human brain.

Written by: Zahra Onsori

Indoor skate park with ramps, riders, and abstract architectural elements in blue, white, and black tones.
Sport

In England’s rural north, skateboarding is femme

Zine scene — A new project from visual artist Juliet Klottrup, ‘Skate Like a Lass’, spotlights the FLINTA+ collectives who are redefining what it means to be a skater.

Written by: Zahra Onsori

Black-and-white image of two men in suits, with the text "EVERYTHING IS COMPUTER" in large bright yellow letters overlaying the image.
Culture

Donald Trump says that “everything is computer” – does he have a point?

Huck’s March dispatch — As AI creeps increasingly into our daily lives and our attention spans are lost to social media content, newsletter columnist Emma Garland unpicks the US President’s eyebrow-raising turn of phrase at a White House car show.

Written by: Emma Garland

A group of people, likely children, sitting around a table surrounded by various comic books, magazines, and plates of food.
© Michael Jang
Culture

How the ’70s radicalised the landscape of photography

The ’70s Lens — Half a century ago, visionary photographers including Nan Goldin, Joel Meyerowitz and Larry Sultan pushed the envelope of what was possible in image-making, blurring the boundaries between high and low art. A new exhibition revisits the era.

Written by: Miss Rosen

Silhouette of person on horseback against orange sunset sky, with electricity pylon in foreground.
Culture

The inner-city riding club serving Newcastle’s youth

Stepney Western — Harry Lawson’s new experimental documentary sets up a Western film in the English North East, by focusing on a stables that also functions as a charity for disadvantaged young people.

Written by: Isaac Muk

Couple sitting on ground in book-filled environment
Culture

The British intimacy of ‘the afters’

Not Going Home — In 1998, photographer Mischa Haller travelled to nightclubs just as their doors were shutting and dancers streamed out onto the streets, capturing the country’s partying youth in the early morning haze.

Written by: Ella Glossop

Signup to our newsletter

Sign up to stay informed from the cutting edge of sport, music and counterculture, with personal takes on the state of media and pop culture in your inbox every month from Emma Garland, former Digital Editor of Huck, exclusive interviews, recommendations and more.

Please wait...

Accessibility Settings

Text

Applies the Open Dyslexic font, designed to improve readability for individuals with dyslexia.

Applies a more readable font throughout the website, improving readability.

Underlines links throughout the website, making them easier to distinguish.

Adjusts the font size for improved readability.

Visuals

Reduces animations and disables autoplaying videos across the website, reducing distractions and improving focus.

Reduces the colour saturation throughout the website to create a more soothing visual experience.

Increases the contrast of elements on the website, making text and interface elements easier to distinguish.