MAUREEN O’CONNOR

“Making Sense of Maureen O’Connor”, clearly demonstrates the extra burden borne by female elected leaders. While each and every elected official, including Mayor O’Connor, has strengths and weaknesses, your article not only highlighted her weaknesses, but converted her strengths into weaknesses in a rather perverse fashion. Specifically, why, on the one hand, is Mayor Bradley exalted for his perceived leadership vis-a-vis the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics while Mayor O’Connor is portrayed as shirking her leadership responsibilities when she creates a stunning three-week Soviet-American cultural exchange? In addition to the negative emphasis of your text in the O’Connor profile, the magazine’s cover photograph as well as those exhibited through the profile depicted Mayor O’Connor in a most negative light. The photographs communicated hostile and negative images; when these photographs are juxtaposed to the magnificent and flattering photographs that accompanies your recent profile of Richard Alatorre, it is easy to conclude that female leaders are disadvantaged by their depiction in the media.

While the bias may be unintended, the subtlety of its message shapes the opinions and aspirations of our reading public. Greater efforts must be made to balance the view.

JANICE KAMENIR-REZNIK, IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT, CALIFORNIA WOMEN LAWYERS, Sherman Oaks