Did Candy Crowley's Weight Loss Play a Role in Her Promotion at CNN?

by Roxann MtJoy · 2010-02-07 16:18:00 UTC
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Award-winning CNN senior political correspondent Candy Crowley took the reigns of the weekly show "State of the Union" today. I am particularly proud that she will be the only female in the formerly all-boys club of Sunday morning political shows because she and I share an alma mater, Randolph-Macon Woman's College. Thus, I am also particularly annoyed with how  much attention her weight, not her illustrious career and stellar qualifications, is receiving this week.

Crowley, 61, lost a significant amount of weight since covering the last Presidential election and isn't sure whether or not she would have received this latest promotion if she hadn't. "Would I have gotten the job without having lost the weight? I don't know. That's an X factor," Crowley says, adding, "I readily admit I'm not the most obvious pick, from a purely cosmetic point of view."

We're talking here about a woman who has covered all but one political convention since Carter's nomination, contributed to Emmy and Peabody Award-winning news teams, and covered stories from the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina to the U.S. bombing of Libya to Ronald Reagan's trips to China. How and why does weight even enter into the conversation? Crowley herself has commented on the issue, saying, "It's stunning to me that something I consider so separate and apart from what I do for a living has taken up so much space in some people's thoughts. I am a hard-news journalist. That is what I do."

It is stunning and -- I hardly think I need to point this out -- quite a double standard. When was the last time you heard the weight of, say, Bill O'Reilly or David Gregory, discussed? My guess is probably never. I suppose it is best to take this for what it is -- a great moment for Crowley and for women journalists. While it is incredibly frustrating that weight has entered the conversation, Candy Crowley's promotion is a step in the right direction and should be celebrated. But I will really break out the champagne the day a woman's looks aren't even mentioned as a potential job qualification.

Photo credit: Hymiegladstone

Roxann MtJoy is a freelance writer who previously worked as a case manager at a domestic violence shelter. She is currently attending graduate school for theater in Mount Vernon, N.Y.
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