Media top headlines October 26
In media news today, a Washington Post columnist knocks CNN over its coverage of Joe Rogan, President Biden jokes to school children about avoiding questions from reporters, and Terry McAuliffe got 'agitated' when asked about his panicking campaign by Axios
An opinion article on NBC News argued that Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., might be "bad for bisexual Americans" because she is opposing her fellow Democrats.
On Tuesday, NBC News published an opinion piece titled "Is Arizona's Kyrsten Sinema bad for bisexual Americans?" which focused on Sinema’s continued resistance against President Biden’s Build Back Better plan.
U.S. Senator Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) leaves the Capitol building following a vote in the Senate, in Washington, U.S., October 5, 2021. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
Sinema has been a target of criticism by progressive Democrats and their allies in the media for her opposition to several components of the trillion dollar economic legislation. Writer Lux Alptraum focused on Sinema’s status changing from a "bi icon" to "an unreliable centrist" and "a self-absorbed Democratic turncoat."
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"Instead of a brash, bisexual icon willing and able to stand up to the far right, she’s now seen as an unreliable centrist, a self-absorbed Democratic turncoat more fixated on getting attention and lining her own pockets than uplifting her community. No longer a bi icon, she’s now held up as a cautionary tale about the limits of representation," Alptraum wrote.
U.S. Senator Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) arrives for a vote to the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., October 19, 2021. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz
More importantly, Alptraum showed concern for Sinema’s representation of bisexual women. As a bisexual woman herself, Alptraum claimed that Sinema’s recent stances pushes the image that bisexual women are "untrustworthy" and "greedy."
"Bi women are constantly told we’re untrustworthy, that our attraction to multiple genders means we’re more likely to cheat. We’re called greedy for finding more than one gender attractive, ‘confusing’ for liking more than one gender and self-absorbed because apparently our brains are unable to think about much beyond our own sexual gratification. Within the LGBTQ community, bisexuals can be viewed as fair-weather members at best — likely to bail the second we stop having fun. Media outlets might not be talking about Sinema’s sex life, but her political reputation as greedy, unreliable and attention-seeking echoes many of the stereotypes my community has been dealing with for years," Alptraum said.
Alptraum continued to argue that Sinema, by speaking out against the Build Back Better plan, is acting against "the best interests" of her own community.
U.S. Senator Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) leaves the Senate Democrats weekly policy lunch at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., October 26, 2021. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz (Reuters)
"But in practice, it’s clear that politicians from marginalized backgrounds don’t always act in the best interests of their community. Sinema herself is proof of that. Despite her own history with poverty, she’s worked to gut the social safety net provisions included in the Build Back Better Act," Alptraum wrote.
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Although, Alptraum showed optimism that Sinema will "inspire a new wave of openly bisexual politicians, simply out of a desperation to prove that Kyrsten Sinema is not an accurate representation of all bisexuals."
Sinema faced intense backlash for her moderate views by both progressive activists and media pundits. In early October, Sinema was confronted by activists in an Arizona State University public bathroom for her beliefs which was justified by various left-wing sites.